We have two kids to put through college, a mortgage for the next 20 years, car payments and urban living expenses to deal with, so retirement has seemed like a distant concern. Yet, my husband's hitting the big five oh this year and I'm not far behind him. So it's not too early at all to make a solid financial retirement plan.
State Farm has been on our minds a lot this past week. Yesterday, Chicago had a spring blizzard with over 5" of snow and a Subaru skidded into my Rogue at a stop light and slammed me hard. Thankfully nobody was injured and we were still able to drive, but the cars involved needed body work. Accidents are always inconvenient, but State Farm insured both vehicles involved and made the claims process pretty painless. I was impressed how quickly they set up a rental car and a body shop the same day of the accident.
If State Farm is as efficient and knowledgeable about retirement income planning as they are about protecting our cars, I'd trust them with my future as well as my present. They've partnered up with renowned industry speaker, Tom Hegna and his Seven Steps to Retirement Security for a start. He has solid advice in understandable chunks that can be customized for everyone's unique situation. Unlike traditional age charts with unrealistically high savings requirements, Tom Hegna's ideas are attainable and easy to implement.
We also have to rave a bit about State Farm's Fireside Chat format and the Next Door Chicago Cafe where we met to watch highlights of the Don't Worry, Retire Happy™ television special and discuss it on camera. It was invaluable to have a talk back with real people in real time. Their life stories, questions and fears for the future put a human face to the facts and figures. My husband only half jokes that as freelancing creatives we'll have to work till the day we die, but after the Fireside Chat I'm armed with a new confidence that even in the present economy, most working Americans truly do have the time, financial resources and courage to retire happy.
We're also enamored with State Farm's Next Door Chicago Cafe. It's a welcoming space with WiFi, excellent coffee, and a host of free coaching and classes for the community. I'm so excited this innovative space exists. Now you can benefit from State Farm's skills without a car crash or negative life event happening first! Come on by and have a cup of coffee and network. Lifelong learning is amazing and essential.
During the Don't Worry, Retire Happy™ talk back, some of our fellow attendees admitted out loud what most of us were thinking, that traditional retirement savings talks had their eyes glazing over and the words turning to gibberish. Thankfully, Tom Hegna is a best-selling author who's not only an articulate retirement income expert, but entertaining and easy to understand.
We're huge fans of public television as a source for excellent educational content. You can catch the Don't Worry, Retire Happy™ TV special on your local public television station. The show is airing as a fundraiser and those who wish to support their local station with a pledge can receive a copy of the DVD or book + DVD. Check out more details here on social media via the Don't Worry, Retire Happy™ Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
This blog post on "Don't Worry, Retire Happy™": The 7 Steps to Retirement Security", is sponsored by State Farm®. I accepted the opportunity to participate and want my readers to know that the opinions and statements expressed in this post are completely my own.