Boomer Guru Names 10 Best New Years Resolutions for 2011

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- America's 78 million Baby Boomers will start turning age 65 this coming New Years Day.  That may be the traditional age for retirement, but most Boomers are far from traditional retirement.  They want to stay active and be prepared for the challenges and joys this next stage of life will bring.  

"2011 should be a great year for Boomers who follow this advice," says nationally-known Boomer retirement financial expert Richard Roll, and founder of the Baby Boomers Retirement Network (BBRN)™.  BBRN's free web-based membership site and resources (www.boomersretirementnetwork.com) help Boomers navigate through these uncharted waters and prepare for their next phase of life.

Roll's checklist includes the 10 things every Baby Boomer can do in 2011 to restore their future retirement dreams and avoid many pitfalls.  It covers the 10 major areas that cause stress and uncertainty for Boomers, including having enough money, best investment opportunities, caring for aging parents, deciding where to live, maintaining your spirit and well-being, and others.

"I created this checklist because so many Boomers have been asking me what they need to do to get their future retirement plans on track for 2011.  These New Years resolutions are designed to get them far down the road to where they want to be by addressing the 10 major factors that cause problems if left unchecked," says Roll, whose national media appearances have been seen by millions.

To get the full 2011 Boomers New Years Resolution checklist free, along with useful resources and a free newsletter, simply send an email to [email protected].

The Top 10 New Years Resolutions for Baby Boomers in 2011

Here is a brief summary of Roll's Top 10 New Years Resolutions for Boomers in 2011 (and for everyone else who wants to be able to retire some day, too):  

I resolve to:

1. Take Control and Have Enough Money to Retire Some Day—Put away enough money in 2011 to get your 401(k) match, if your employer offers it.  That's free money that can immediately double your retirement investment (just make sure you don't keep it all in one company's stock).
2. Re-Balance, Diversify, and Keep the Costs of My Investments Low—Take a new look at all the investment choices offered in your 401(k) plan.  Make sure to re-balance your investment allocations and put some into investments that will preserve asset value in the next few years, including ETF fund groups that can benefit from emerging economies that are growing faster than our own.
3. Investigate the Best Ways to Have Continuing Income After I Retire From My Primary Career—Cultivate passions and talents that can provide you ongoing income (such as subject matter expertise, information marketing, consulting, collecting).  Forget about the old idea of "retiring from."  Think of what it is you will "retire to."  
4. Get Moving Every Day in 2011 and Improve My Health—The biggest single health threat for most Boomers is from diseases of the heart and circulatory system.  The best antidote: Get moving every day, for 30 minutes a day, in the exercise of your choice (and with the approval of your doctor).  Too many people think of their health in terms of treatment, rather than prevention of disease, and that's a calamity.
5. Take Better Steps to Help in Caring for My Aging Parents, And Provide for Preserving My Own Sanity—Anticipate the predictable stages of change in the capacities of your parents, and start a conversation with them now to clarify their wishes regarding actions to be taken or not taken at the end of life.  Put in motion the documents, which will provide legally for their wishes to be carried out.  Don't keep putting it off, and don't assume everything will stay the same
6. Have a Will (and also a Living Will) Made Up This Year by An Attorney, Based on My Outline—Even if you don't care a whit what happens to your money or property after you die, you owe it to your relatives to have a will (and a Living Will, so that in any event, you won't burden your children, spouse or caretaker with making the key decisions without your input). Without a will, family squabbles and bickering will inevitably arise (and momentarily tarnish your memory).
7. Build My Dreams Together With My Spouse and Significant Others—Start sharing your future retirement dreams together now...it's stimulating, fun and productive.  The key to planning for your enjoyable next stage of life is to build-in all the possibilities. You should organize activities that you can do individually as well as activities that you can pursue as a couple.
8. Learn My A, B, C's: Research and Decide the Best Place(s) for Me to Live in the Future, and When—Where to live for the rest of your life? That's a question many baby boomers are asking themselves and each other these days. While many aspects of retirement planning get involved with considerations of money, Here is where you will consider the potentially huge variations in your annual cost-of-living - the expense side of the equation, based on where you ultimately decide to live.
9. Enjoy a Travel Adventure While Visiting My A,B,C's—It's difficult to know what life is like in a different part of the country, or the world, without spending some quality time there, in a few choice locations, at different times of the year.  2011 is your year to start planning for this critically important decision by investing in one or more strategic travel adventures, to investigate the potential best new location for your next stage of life.
10. Tap Into the Wisdom of the Ages to Strengthen My Spirit and Wellbeing—To deepen your faith beyond today's concerns, tap into the Wisdom of the ages and strengthen your inner resources.  Whether through a church, temple, yoga, volunteering, other spiritual practices, reading of the sacred texts, or all of the above, restore your faith in the eternal intelligence of the universe.  Much has been written on the topic of finding happiness after retirement because it is so fundamental and yet so challenging for many retirees. One good place to start is with a little self-examination, along with obtaining inspiration from wise authors and trusted acquaintances whose ideas and input you wouldn't have easily discovered by yourself.

To get the full 2011 Boomers New Years Resolution checklist free, along with useful resources and a free newsletter, simply send an email to [email protected].

About the Boomers Retirement Network (BBRN)™

The Baby Boomers Retirement Network (BBRN)™ (www.boomersretirementnetwork.com) has already helped thousands of Baby Boomers get started in planning and living a more successful and satisfying future path of life. Founded in 2006 by Richard Roll, the Harvard-trained personal finance authority and best-selling author who has been called the Guru of Baby Boomer Retirement, BBRN provides a stream of exclusive, hand-picked services, advice, savings, and "use today" travel, lifestyle, health, and financial benefits to give its members greater well-being and control than most others in their situation.

The BBRN's patent-pending, easy-to-use "10-Minute Retirement Quiz" begins your process of asking and answering the key financial, family, and lifestyle planning questions all Baby Boomers currently face. In less than 10 minutes it gives you back a personalized roadmap and learning center that gives you just the answers you need, when you need them. Based in Stamford, CT, the BBRN provides its services directly to consumers online, as well as through selected organizations, employers, and financial institutions on a group-wide basis.

SOURCE The Baby Boomers Retirement Network (BBRN)