A Labor Day Roundup

This week, I start the roundup with Redeeming Riches’ 10 Guiding Principles For The “New Retirement.” I’m only slightly disappointed that Jason didn’t use the line “this isn’t going to be like your father’s retirement.” I never tire of the old cliches. The first new principle? Don’t stop working. That’s right, you won’t just grab a beer and slack off for the next 20 years, you might just have a whole second career ahead. Both to stay out of trouble, and to keep a bit of income coming in.

By coincidence, another 10 list – this one 10 Key Characteristics of Debt-Free People (of Modest Means) by my fellow Money Maven Len Penzo. I love these kind of lists, they make you stop and think how you might change your own behavior to improve your situation, in this case getting out of debt.

The last of the lists this week was BSimple’s 8 Financial Seeds to Plant Now to Simplify Your Finances. An inspiring list of how to start some simple efforts which can benefit you in a big way in the future. BSimple doesn’t promote himself as a religious blogger, but the parable of the mustard seed is easy to see in this excellent article.

Next we are introduced to the Big Difference Between Average and Median Net Worths. Turns out, the average American household net worth is $435K, but the median is only $91K. The observation itself is from Dr Thomas Stanley’s blog, with Free Money Finance offering some of his own commentary. A good read.

Last this week, Tax Girl invited a guest poster to discuss Are Expiring Tax Cuts a Good Thing? Michael Rozbruch gives an overview of just what will happen when the tax cuts expire, if they are allowed to do so. We still have nearly 4 months to see what happens.

Happy Labor Day!

Joe