Tips for Preparing for Retirement

Retirement

4th in a series of 5 posts

Managing our own financial affairs now while we are young with agile minds and bodies is truly important and should begin as early in life as possible. It's ideal to begin actually saving for retirement when you are still in your 20s and just starting out in your career. By the time we approach middle age it's time to start seriously thinking about how you will make retire happen. Since women still have a longer life expectancy rate than men do this is particularly critical if you are female. But men certainly also need to be concerned about how they will manage financially later in life.

Nobody knows for sure what lies ahead

MBE partnered with Genworth for this post

Broaching the subject of retirement can be overwhelming and downright difficult because really no one wants to get old. I know that's how I feel now -- I'm a Baby Boomer and am now in my 50s and my oldest child just graduated from high school. I honestly don't want to have to think about all that old-age stuff.

The reality is, though, that none of us can stop the passage of time. So we may as well look for opportunities in our future and leverage them for the better by educating ourselves about what's most important right now.

Me at my son's high school graduation

To start, there are some vital questions to go over with your financial advisor when it comes to discussing retirement readiness.

• Does my current mix of portfolio asset holdings provide long-term growth potential as well as liquid cash that I can spend as I need it?
• Will my income at retirement keep up with inflation?
• What if I outlive my financial resources?
• How about if I'm struck with catastrophic illness that drains my bank account?

Speaking of retirement, if you're lucky enough to be taking that big step this year, definitely do your research online to find timely and practical advice in this article to help you decide whether or not to remain in the workforce in your lifelong profession or to start a "second career." As a reminder make sure you sign up for Medicare on time so you will receive the maximum benefits as soon as you're eligible.

I'll drink to that! MommyBlogExpert.com

Seriously. The main point is whether you're set to retire this year or in twenty years, there's plenty that each of us can be doing now to get ready.

Knowledge really is power. It's time to leverage it.

About Genworth
Genworth, headquartered in Richmond, VA, offers a range of services to client living in all 50 U.S. states. Among the products available are retirement income, life and long term care insurance and mortgage insurance. For more information visit Genworth.com and their Twitter and Facebook pages.

FTC Disclosure: Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network, however all opinions are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Tapsbook iPad Photobook App Makes Sharing Scrapbook Style Albums Easy for Busy Families

Technology

This is a compensated post

I'm a busy mom that stores way too many photos (we're talking thousands of images) on each of my various Apple mobile devices including my iPhone 5, iPad 2 and iPad Mini as well as my Mac Mini desktop. If that sounds like you, too, then it's great to have company and you are going to want to check out a new free iOS 5.0-6.1 app for iPad called Tapsbook that I just discovered.

iPad Mini and iPad 2, MommyBlogExpert.com

Tapsbook allows you and I to easily collect and gather photos from all the places where they're hiding out: on mobile devices and cameras as well as on Facebook, Google+, Picasa, DropBox and in your local libraries. But Tapsbook doesn't just help you organize all these images in one compact and accessible place, it's also a secure cloud-based visual storytelling platform that makes it a breeze to sort, edit and build beautiful heirloom quality photobooks and other creative keepsakes that you can then share digitally with family and friends.
  

Screenshot, Image from Tapsbook

I had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at this app and try it out before it was just released and wanted to tell you about some of the reasons why I think this is a great resource for families to share photos among each other. Tapsbook is aptly named because all you have to do is tap your screen a few times to create and share your precious photo collections with those you care most about. 

I know I can't wait to turn the images you see below that I shot last summer at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France into a photobook all about our family vacation to Europe that I'll be able to share with friends.

MommyBlogExpert.com

MommyBlogExpert.com

Setting up Tapsbook is simple. Once you've downloaded the app to your iPad, it will take just a few minutes to sign up by entering your email address, name and unique password. The next step with the click of a button is to link all the places where you have photos stored so that they'll be automatically imported into the app whenever new pictures are taken. That way your photos will always be up to date. 

The scrapbooking fun then begins as you choose photos you'd like to include in a particular photobook simply by swiping, dragging and dropping them where you want them. The last part, of course, is the best--sharing what you've created with loved ones to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

Watch this video to see for yourself how easy and fun this is to work with...




What sets Tapsbook apart from other photo sharing apps

• Provides automatic discovery and building of stories
• Generates beautiful, personalized story pages
• Offers instant sharing and automatic updates
• Paves the way for an innovative, fast and fun experience

Remember to protect all the photobooks you make by choosing your own cloud based storage provider to keep them safe.

TapsBook is available now and it's free, so why not download it right now from the iTunes Store?

FTC Disclosure: I was compensated for my time and effort to test the app and write this review. However, thoughts here are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one. 

Coca-Cola Steps to Wellness Challenge - Mommy Blog Expert Wins First Place at BlogHer 13

Fitness

During BlogHer 2013 Chicago last week there was a new activity that I really was excited to join in called the Steps to Wellness Challenge, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company. Luckily I'm not extremely overweight, but blogging is a sedentary profession and I can definitely afford to lose a few pounds and get in better shape. So I was thrilled that the oldest soft drink company in America was integrating a fitness element into our annual conference for the first time.

The view from my room at Sheraton Chicago, MommyBlogExpert.com

First Lady Michelle Obama talks about motivating kids to "Get Moving" to fight unhealthy lifestyles. I'd take it one step further: To combat the obesity epidemic in this country, all moms need to model good diet and fitness habits for our children. And there's no better place to start than at BlogHer where influential bloggers who have the power to change public opinion flock each year.

Me at the Hasbro Party at Hard Rock Cafe Chicago

For this challenge Coke offered everyone registered for BlogHer (more than 4,000 mostly women bloggers, according to the official organizers) a cute red heart-shaped pedometer to wear throughout the conference. Stakes were high: the Grand Prize, valued at up to $3,500, was the winner's choice of either a personal trainer or nutritionist for a year. There were also several smaller prizes that would be awarded to runner ups.

Incognito, during a rare minute sitting down, MommyBlogExpert.com

Last Thursday night, Coke started issuing pedometers to attendees at the Night at the Expo opening event. However, I wasn't able to pick up mine until first thing the next morning, so there were definitely others ahead of me before I even took my first step. I love competitions, though, and I also really enjoy walking, especially to see a great city like Chicago on foot. So it didn't take any convincing to get me to jump into the game. 

Keep in mind, I'm the mother of four kids born in a year (a son, followed by girl, girl, boy triplets) and I'm in my mid 50s now. I've never run a marathon, either, and I don't work out at the gym regularly, but I do love to snow ski, bicycle ride, and play tennis as well as walk 2-3 miles per day, 7 days a week at home.

Here I am running in this Samsung Galaxy 4S booth shot

This is my third BlogHer, so I knew that I'd be doing a lot of walking (and some running to save time) anyway over the long weekend, between official BlogHer events and the Expo Hall and to and from the more than a dozen off-site private parties I was invited to. So -- as a personal challenge to myself -- I decided just for the fun of it to push myself as much as I possibly could over the two day competition.

My Coca-Cola Pedometer, MommyBlogExpert.com

Early in the contest I stopped by the Coke Wellness Station in the Expo Hall and was truly surprised to find out that I was in first place. Not long after, though, I discovered I had slipped to second or third place. Knowing I'd lost my lead position motivated me to work twice as hard to get even more steps in. The more I walked, jogged and ran, the more steps my pedometer recorded and the better I felt. In fact, just seeing these ever increasing digital numbers encouraged me to push myself far past what I had thought possible. Talk about an endorphin high that I hadn't felt in years.

I received this cute workout towel at the Coca-Cola exhibit

Shortly after the contest ended, to my surprise, a friend told me Coke had tweeted out that I'd won the Steps to Wellness challenge ...

Congrats @mommyblogexpert on winning the #StepsToWellness challenge at #BlogHer13! 37,808 steps & 18.9 miles walked, that's impressive! ^DD
— The Coca-Cola Co. (@CocaColaCo) July 27, 2013

Thanks to Coca-Cola and all the steps I took in Chicago during BlogHer 13, I'll soon be doing something that's been on my bucket list for way too long. Over the next year, I'll be working with a personal trainer to finally realize my dream of being in the best physical condition of my life. Guess what else? My teen children are actually proud of this great physical accomplishment. 

Stay tuned for more posts as I document my progress!

Chicago skyline at dusk, MommyBlogExpert.com

Find out more about what Coca-Cola is doing to fight obesity HERE

FTC Disclosure: I've attended multiple BlogHer conferences and have also been a speaker at this event. I paid for my own 2013 full conference ticket. As disclosed above, I did win the Steps to Wellness Challenge grand prize from Coca-Cola. However, this post is purely voluntary and I did not receive any compensation for writing it. Thoughts here are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.