Taylor Swift brought me to tears with her heartbreakingly beautiful performance of "Soon You'll Get Better" for the One World: Together at Home concert on Saturday night. The singer was one of the final acts for the unique globally broadcast event, and her emotional track off the Lover album really drove the message of the evening home.

The song, originally accompanied by the Dixie Chicks, was inspired by Swift's mother, Andrea, and her battle with cancer over the past few years. Soon after the release of Lover, Swift said she wasn't sure if she'd ever perform the track live because it's so personal. However, she made an exception for the at-home concert, aimed to honor the healthcare workers on the front lines against the COVID-19 pandemic and uplift the spirits of people around the world. "Soon you'll get better" is a message so many people need to hear right now.

In addition to Swift's song, other celebrities joined forces to share their talents for the powerful event. Jennifer Lopez sat down for a low-key cover of Barbra Streisand's "People," Lady Gaga performed Charlie Chaplin's classic tune "Smile," and Kacey Musgraves graced audiences with her lovely track "Rainbow."

Watch Swift's strikingly personal performance above. Her vulnerability and the poignant lyrics make this a memorable performance that will tug at your heartstrings.

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Taylor Swift's Sang "Soon You'll Get Better" Live For the First Time in an Emotional Performance - POPSUGAR

"It's just fun. It kind of keeps my life a little bit on the lighter side." Wochit

Ryan "NEON" Citro was in his fifth season with the Milwaukee Bucks' Rim Rockers when the 2019-2020 NBA season came to a haltover the coronavirus.

Citro is part of a team of ten whofly off of trampolines and dunk basketballs to hype up the crowdduringhome games and community events.

While the remainder of the season is inlimbo and the gym whereCitro works as a personal trainer is temporarily closed, he'scontinuing to do trick shots from his home in Oak Creek.

"It's just fun," he said. "It kind ofkeeps my life a little bit on the lighter-side when everybody is in a state of panic."

About a year ago, Citro started filming and uploading videos ofhimself doing trick shots online.

He aims to shoot one a day, and usually films them at his gym,Bridgewater Performance in Franklin.

When he thinks of an idea for a trick shot, he adds it to a running list on his phone, and always tries it out at least once.

Milwaukee Bucks' Rim Rocker Ryan "NEON" Citro met his fiance, Mariah Nigl, when she was a Bucks dancer.(Photo: Submitted)

"I always have to turn my camera on because I've tried some stuff just to see what would happen, and it's gone in," he laughed.

Since Citro has been home, he's shotfrom theroof of his house, backwards from his car, and with ashovel while doing yard work.

Behind the camera is Citro's fiance and former Bucks dancer Mariah Nigl.

Not only does she film the videos, she also chases down basketballs wherever they may fly and contributes ideas for shots.

"He loves to do it, and ultimately, I want to see him happy," Nigl said.

An athlete isn't somethingCitrobecame, it was always a part of who he was.

"I first climbed up on the top of the refrigerator by myself when I was 3," he said.

That was the year his mom signed him up for gymnastics, which he did through age 16. His dad got him intoT-ballas soon he was old enough to join.

"Before I could walk, I was throwing stuff around," Citro said.

He went onto play baseball forUpper Iowa University, where he studiedexercise and sports science, and taught classes and personally trained clients at the school's Recreation Center.

He also played basketball until starting high school inCudahy, then was a diver his junior and senior years. He is currentlythe head diving coach for Oak Creek High School.

"Gymnastics gave me a very different skill set than most teenagers have, to where I could go and probably be competitive in any sport I tried," he said."I liked being the guy that stood out."

Ryan "NEON" Citro is a Milwaukee Bucks' Rim Rocker, a personal trainer at Bridgewater Performance, and the head diving coach at Oak Creek High School.(Photo: Hannah Kirby/ Now News Group)

While Citro was visiting home during college, his friend who was aRim Rockerinvited Citroto one of the team'spractices.

"After I hit it one time, it was kind of like, 'I can do this,' " Citro said.

He was invited to be on the team that night.

"I've always been more-so a team guy than an individual guy throughout my life," he said. "From what I saw, how much they brought me into their circle that quick, it just seemed like something I wanted to be a part of."

But with only a year and a half left of school, he decided to headback to Iowa to finish up his degree.

As soon as he returned to the area after graduation, he reached back out to the team.

But, the first night of try-outs didn't go as planned. On his way down from a dunk, he broke his ankle.

He underwent surgery a couple days later three pins were placed in his ankle followed by eight months of physical therapy.

"Then, I got right back to dunking," he said.

If it wasn't for his injury, he wouldn't have gotten his Rim Rockers' nickname, "NEON."

When he started trainingwith the team, he worelong neon compression socks that helped to keep his ankle warm and mobile.Then he added neon shirts to his practice ensemble.

"I like to feel like I brighten people's days," he said.

Hesaid his dad, who passed away in 2013 from lung cancer, inspires him to bring joy to others.

Now, Citro sports neon leggings and sleeves atevery game, and has an exclusiveglow-in-the-dark ball for his trick shot videosthrough a partnership with Maximum Versatile Performance.

Ryan "NEON" Citro usually films basketball trick shot videos at Bridgewater Performance in Franklin, where he's a personal trainer.(Photo: Hannah Kirby/ Now News Group)

"We really never stop moving during games," Citro said.

In the first half, the Rim Rockers throwT-shirts and mini balls into the stands "to get people fired up."

They start warming up at halftimeand typically perform right after the third quarter or during the first time-out of the fourth quarter.

Routines are usually a minute and a half full of individual dunks, two teammates dunking together and the wholeteam passing to each other and dunking, Citro said.

"The possibilities are endless," he said.

Citro has performed atthree of the last four NBA All-Star Game weekends, including this year's in Chicago, and last year'sJr. NBA Global Championship.

"It sounds cliche, but it's one big family," he said. "We hang out outside of it, talk to each other daily. It's the closest thing to brothers."

Citro's videos can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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While the NBA season is on hold, this Bucks' Rim Rocker continues shooting trick shots from his Oak Creek home - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

LAWRENCE, Kan. The Big 12 Conference announced its 2020 Winter Scholar-Athletes of the Year on Tuesday, and Kansas senior Haley Downey was selected as this years Womens Swimming and Diving Co-Scholar Athlete.

The exercise science and pre-physical therapy major accumulated a 4.0 GPA while appearing in 100% of this seasons competitions. She has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team each of the last three seasons as well as a 2017 Academic All-Rookie Team member. Head coach Clark Campbell also announced that Downey was awarded the Team Academic Award for the 2019-20 season earlier this month. To add on to her list of accomplishments, she was also a 2020 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Recipient.

While competing at the Big 12 Championship, Downey claimed three top-five finishes including a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.

The Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award was created back in 2012-13 with a recipient being named from each conference-sponsored sport. In order to be considered for the award, the Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20% of the teams scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.

"We are so happy for Haley's Big 12 honor. She was a leader in the pool and classroom during her entire Jayhawk career. Haley was truly an exemplary collegiate student-athlete."

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Haley Downey Named Big 12 Women's Swimming & Diving Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year - Kansas Jayhawks

I find buttons to sew on and the result is always satisfying. Illustration: Eva Bee/The Observer

The first thing I do each morning is open the back door and sniff the air. It contains a surprising amount of information. Recently, it has become a little warmer. It still has a bite, but it lacks the viscosity it had in the coldest months. Now, it carries the scent of leaves and flowers, of turned earth. It is suddenly full of birdsong.

Ive spent my whole life falling in and out of isolation and this is one of the tricks Ive learned. Living as an undiagnosed autistic woman until I was nearly 40, Ive regularly suffered mental and physical crashes that drag me outside of life for a while. By trying to be like everyone else, Ive pushed myself too far, too often.

Every three years, give or take and Im not convinced Ive broken the cycle yet anxiety has engulfed me, or Ive become so exhausted that my body has gone on strike. Whatever the cause, the outside world recedes for a season.

Ive lived through periods of continuous panic, when the machinations of my own mind have stood in the way of doing anything of much significance. But there are minor gestures I can make, which take little effort and give me something pleasurable. Sniffing the air is just one of them. I can find buttons to sew on, for example, and the result is always satisfying. I can usually find something to pickle, and then to give away.

At the moment, Im flowing my nervous energies into growing things. Every day, I water my plants (the ones that want watering Im learning to neglect my cactus). Geraniums, for some reason, are particularly rewarding on this front. They seem to offer an endless cycle of renewal that demands my assistance. Every few days, the one on my windowsill produces a desiccated flower or a yellow leaf that I can ease off the stem and feel like Im carrying out an act of nurture. Its a strange kind of harvest, but it pleases me. I am given the gift of making things tidy again.

These times out of life have an emotional quality all of their own, a heady mix of intensity and drift. My attention is entirely unmoored. Right now, I have boundless capacity for reading newspaper websites, for assessing the contents of my larder and tidying my house, but an utter aversion to the book Im supposed to be writing. I am hypervigilant, driven towards the practicalities of sustaining life. Everything else seems flimsy in comparison.

These confined days are a heady mix of intensity and drift

In these moments, I think of the author Jean Rhys, whose magnetic attraction to tumult found her living above a pub in Maidstone in 1951. Her husband, Max, was in the nearby prison for larceny, and Jean had rolled from one form of trouble to another for so long that it seemed like she wouldnt recognise peace if she stumbled over it. By now, she was a known drunk and a fighter, with a spell in Holloway behind her.

While lodging in Maidstone to be close to Max, Jeans world shrank and it seemed to comfort her. Her attention shifted to an appreciation of her simple surroundings. She admired the row of black elephants on the mantelpiece, the plate of red apples on the table and the flowers that her landlady brought to her room. So you see, what more can I want? she said. For the first time in years, she stopped drinking (although she was saving up for a real debauch some time). I go about in a sort of dream, I suppose, she wrote.

I recognise that dream state well: the shifted priorities, the uncanny calm amid chaos, and the way that the minutiae become unexpectedly luminous. It was here that Rhys finally began to write the story she had yearned to tell about the first Mrs Rochester, the madwoman in the attic in Jane Eyre. It was a long time since she had been able to write at all. Her early literary promise seemed to have dissolved. But here, in the most straightened of circumstances, she was able to find a new perspective, and, most of all, she had time.

Its tempting to claim that this period in exile gave birth to her enduring classic, The Wide Sargasso Sea. But that would be a gross overstatement: Rhys signed a contract for the book six years later and only delivered the manuscript nine years after that. Her masterpiece was 15 years away from that little room with its flowers and elephants, and there was certainly more tumult to come. But for all its trauma, Rhyss time in Maidstone was something of a relief. The worst had happened. Everything stopped for a while. And in that space, she could think differently.

Not all of us find peace in the times when life stands still, though. Isolation can leave us pacing like a caged tiger, measuring the dimensions of the rooms that contain us. These are often moments when the ego cries out, when we feel sidelined or ignored. This moment of mass confinement sees many of us grappling with a sudden sense of irrelevance, of being restrained from succeeding. We are urged to think of the bigger picture, and we do, but that does nothing to soothe the sense that our lifes work the sum total of our ambition is now considered petty.

Isolation is not just time alone. Its also a personal U-turn, a seismic shift in identity that undermines our very sense of self. Being busy being part of the brisk congress of daily life is our code for being important, needed, wanted.

Being busy makes us skim over life like a stone on still water

In less interesting times, we will meet acquaintances on the street and tell each other how busy we are, what a rush were in, how fast life is. In fallow periods, time opens up, and we read it as an insult. The outside world does not require us. We are surplus stock, just another human body. The shame of it hangs over us, an unspeakable thing. But there is unpicking to be done here, because the pace at which we live is so often destructive. Being busy makes us skim over life like a stone on still water. In quieter times, we can feel the presence of all the things we miss in our hurry. We begin to notice the cobwebs that have formed in forgotten corners, the gardens that are overrun with weeds.

After I left my academic job two years ago, I realised that my sense of importance was only relevant in that very specific microcosm, and that the extra financial rewards of a salaried job were mostly squandered on fuelling my headlong pursuit of work itself. The takeaways and expensive groceries; the costly services that preserved my time. I was a whole industry of my own, a republic formed to make me believe I was important.

There is pleasure not just in small things, but in being small. When my health failed and it all fell away, I was relieved to drop the illusion. That doesnt mean it was easy. That doesnt mean it wasnt painful and full of paranoia and regret.

It felt like that moment of waking and watching a dream recede, incrementally remembering what is real and what is not. I had believed that I was the pin holding everything together, but it turned out that I wasnt. To know that at the time was agony. To know it now is a liberation. Im not that important in the scheme of things. That leaves me free to walk away from things that do more harm than good.

Often we resist change for so long that everything has to collapse before we can welcome it in. But thats not to say that crises and certainly not pandemics are some kind of divine intervention to make us mend our ways. Change comes because we live within a system governed by entropy. Change comes because our sense of control is an illusion.

As writer and philosopher Alan Watts says, we cannot be happy until we find a way to accept that our life is riddled with insecurity. For as long as we want it to be fair, we suffer. Change invites us to surrender. And if we refuse, it carries on regardless.

My standard response to a crisis like this is to burn shoe leather. If I can walk until Im exhausted, I can usually wear out the anxious part of my brain, too. This time around, Im not allowed even that luxury. Im embracing change yet again, pounding on my exercise bike in front of the TV, following ridiculous workout videos on YouTube, dancing to old records. Im not enjoying these things exactly, but they park my sense of dislocation for a while. Meanwhile, Im waiting to see what the change will bring me.

Wintering: How I Learned to Flourish When Life Became Frozen by Katherine May (Rider, 14.99). Buy a copy for 12.59 at guardianbookshop.com

Continued here:
Living in our isolation bubbles can bring great rewards - The Guardian

Peter Dunn, Special to USA TODAY Published 7:40 a.m. ET April 21, 2020 | Updated 2:59 p.m. ET April 21, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is impacting the global economy and raising fears of a recession. What causes a recession and what are the signs? USA TODAY

Dear Pete,

I had planned on retiring from my job this October after 42 years in the workforce. But with all this stock market crash and recession stuff, Im not sure I can or should. I live alone, currently bring home $4,100 a month, and I have $452,000 in my 401(k) (even after the crash). I havent filed for social security yet, but Ill receive about $2,500 a month. Ill be 67 when I file. I dont have too many bills, and we only spend about $3,000 a month. I think I can make it work, but Im just nervous about leaving the workforce with all the unknowns.

Robert,

Kansas City

Answer: Your apprehension is understandable. To attempt to retire in one of the most challenging financial environments in a century is undoubtedly harrowing, but based on the situation you described, you might just be the type of person to pull it off without a hitch.

To understand why youre likely to be successful, you first must understand what typically compromises a retirement plan.

Save better, spend better: Money tips and advice delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here

There are four circumstances that will typically ruin a retirement strategy before its even rolled out.

The good news is I dont think youre vulnerable to any of the four culprits.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Retirement and COVID-19: Retirement planning during coronavirus pandemic: Here's what to watch for

Don't downsize: More baby boomers stay in their homes as they reach retirement, skipping downsizing

Becauseyoure older than 65, you wont be forced to come up with an alternative health insurance strategy, which typically puts a strain on the retirement finances of those who retire prior to age 65. This remains a problem until they become eligible for Medicare at 65. Fortunately, youve avoided this very expensive period of time. Additionally, at67 youll be able to claim your full Social Security retirement benefit, as opposed to accepting a reduced amount at a youngerage.

The second circumstance youve avoided is an expensive lifestyle. As it stands now, you only live on about 73% of your take-home pay. Thats phenomenal and is arguably the primary reason you will be able to successfully retire in October. A successful retirement is rarely defined by having a lotof money. Its usually determined by not needing a lot of it. Thats you.

The next factortripping up many retirees is the percentage of money needed from non-fixed income sources. In other words, if your fixed-income sources (Social Security, pension, etc.) arent enough to fully fund your retirement, youd at least like them to be a high percentage of your income. Per your numbers, 83% of your initial retirement income needs will come from a fixed source (Social Security). That means youll only need your assets to fund the remaining 17%, which in your case is $500 a month.

The final circumstance which can ruin a retirement before it begins is the percentage of total assets required to support your lifestyle afteryour working years end. For years, financial experts warned people to not withdraw more than 4% of their total assets, in order to ensure their money will last throughout retirement. That "four percent rule certainly has its flaws, but its still a decent litmus test. By your account, you only need $500 a month from your nest egg, which is only 0.6% of your assets.

Robert, I think you can retire in October, and do so in peace. Between now and then, make sure your 401(k) is properly allocated, and continue to maintain that $3,000-a-month lifestyle. If you havent already, make an appointment with a financial planner sooner rather than later, and they can chart your specific strategy going forward.

Congratulations on creating a sustainable retirement strategy. Your discipline and diligence made it happen. Allow me to be the first to wish you an (early) happy retirement.

Peter Dunn is an author, speaker and radio host, and he has a free podcast: "Million Dollar Plan." Have a question for Pete the Planner? Email him at AskPete@petetheplanner.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

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The stock market is crashing and we're in a recession. Can I still retire? - USA TODAY

The question of retirement is typically one that plays out over the long term. Most people have the chance to plan for years, gradually building resources and exploring possibilities before they set a target date for retirement. However, no matter how much you plan, life can throw you a curveball like the sudden outbreak of a pandemic that results in an unprecedented economic shutdown.

For some, this has raised another question: If youre already close to retirement, should you just accelerate your timeline? Its a relevant consideration, given that theres no concrete answer as to when and how the U.S. economy will open back up fully. Unfortunately, there isnt a blanket answer. The factors that play into a decision like this means the answer is different for everyone. Before you move up your retirement in the wake of this crisis, there are certain questions you should ask yourself.

This is perhaps the most crucial question. With the number of new unemployment claims soaring at virtually unprecedented rates, its no secret that a lot of people are out of work. As of April 16, a shocking 22 million Americans had filed unemployment claims in just the previous four weeks.

Related:The 20 Industries That Will Never Be the Same After the Coronavirus

Simply put, if youre one of the people who has been laid off, that puts you in a different situation. If you were five years away from retirement, the process of finding another job you might hold for only a few years could be a bit daunting. If youre still working, its a lot easier to stick to your original plan. But if youve just gotten a pink slip in the sort of career where positions are few and far between, you might take the sudden change as a good reason to reconsider your plans.

Another crucial question to ask: What are your career prospects in your field? Once again, its not an easy one to answer immediately. Few, if any, industries have clear futures right now, so you might not have a sense of how hard finding new work would be. Consider how much impact social distancing will have on your industry. Then look at how many open positions there traditionallyhave been. This should give you a better feel for how difficult it could be to land another job.

If it took you years to find your current job, that is something to consider before leaving prematurely. Likewise, if you work in an industry thats already contracting as times change, you might be on the verge of a forced retirement anyway. Whether youre freshly laid off or confident that youll be able to leave on your own terms, taking the time to understand what sort of work is out there there is an important step in the process.

The ability to work remotely used to be a nice perk. Today, its become a lifeline for some businesses to stay in operation while so many others have had no choice but to shutter until further notice. For someone trying to figure out whether now is the time to retire, which side of the work-from-home fence you landed on is all the more important.

See:26 Highest-Paying Jobs That Let You Work From Home

Clearly, the short-term health of your industry depends on how much work can be done remotely. If you are fortunate enough that you can do your job from home, you might not want to give that up so quickly.

But theres an even more important element at play here, too: your health. Given that most people within five years of retirement are in their late 50s or early 60s, youre in a high-risk group that is more likely to experience potentially deadly COVID-19 complications, and limiting social contact should be at a premium. If youre doing work that puts you around people, moving your retirement plans up a few years could be a prudent decision, even if its a bit tougher for you financially.

Theres no easy way of knowing if your company is heading toward cutbacks, but some people working at small businesses might have a good reason to accelerate retirement to help out their employer. With budgets crunched in ways that never could have been anticipated, plenty of companies are in the process of making some very difficult calculations about what they can and cant afford.

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If your company is in the process of cutting back resources and your retirement might help keep the business afloat or save a younger coworkers job that could play into your decision. Certainly dont make any assumptions, but if you have the sort of relationship with your boss that allows for an open and honest conversation about this, consider asking about plans for dealing with the crisis and whether your decision to retire could ease the pinch. Dont feel pressure to retire before youre ready, though.

One of the major reasons that people work so hard to prepare for retirement is because deciding to forgo a stable income is a major step. When you dont have a paycheck, all of your expenses come from your savings and investments.

Consider:How To Protect Your Retirement Savings During the Coronavirus Scare

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into some income streams. Plenty of pending retirees might have investments in rental properties with tenants no longer able to pay rent in the face of a sudden and unexpected loss of employment. Or, stock dividends might not be nearly as stable as they were when the investment was made. As such, if you have alternate income streams, you should take time to examine how consistent they might be in the coming months.

If you do have a steady source of income, early retirement wouldnt necessarily require tapping into your 401(k) when markets are down. So, if you are confident your other income streams are somewhat reliable, you might be in a better position to shave a few years off of your career.

Of course, the money flowing in is just one half of the equation in retirement. Money flowing out also deserves just as much attention. You already should have a projection on what you expect to spend weekly, monthly and annually in retirement if not, start working it out. Take a look at those projections and ask yourself what you can cut.

Clearly, your retirement is a time to enjoy, but if losing some minor luxuries makes retirement financially possible, its time to reconsider your spending. Take some time to make a few different budgets at different spending levels to see what the end results look like. If reducing spending is an option you can live with, you will have some flexibility to change your plans.

Debt is essentially investing in reverse, and getting yourself out from under any major financial liabilities prior to ending your career should always be a goal whether youre retiring soon or not.

Some types of debt are less of a concern. A mortgage with a fixed (and low) interest rate will have structured, predictable costs that you can plan around. But if you are still sweeping away credit card debt or other high-interest loans, that can significantly hinder your long-term plans. Pushing up your retirement while you still owe money may prove problematic. Make sure you have a clear plan for how you will pay off debt while sustaining your lifestyle.

Another big question is what exactly you plan to do with your retirement. Youve been saving your whole life for this moment. Its worth knowing that your nest egg isnt just going to sustain you but will bring you real happiness in your golden years.

Check Out:16 Real People Affected By the Coronavirus Give Their Best Financial Advice

If all you really want from your retirement is time to enjoy life with family and friends, that potentially will require a lot less in savings. Likewise, if youre planning on having a second career, you dont need to be as concerned about building a large enough 401(k) since you will still have an income.

However, if you want to open that bed and breakfast or start another small business, or if you had thoughts about philanthropy or traveling the world, giving up the last few years of income before you retire might seriously impact those plans.

Having a place already lined up and paid for should be something you seriously consider prior to making any decisions about your retirement. This is even more relevant now as the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic has made the future of the housing market uncertain. Sure, its possible that low interest rates will persist and people with liquid assets like those who might be close to retirement will be able to take advantage of a buyers market. But rolling the dice on that would be a big risk to take.

If you already own your home, you can always wait and see what the market looks like in a year or two. But, if youre renting or in an uncertain living situation, delaying your retirement for a few more years may prove to be the smarter decision.

This is one situation where its impolite not to ask your age. Thats because the size of your Social Security checks depends on how old you are when you begin drawing them. So, while losing a few more years of income from your job is one consideration to moving up your retirement date, the long-term and permanent reduction in your Social Security benefits also should be weighed.

You can begin drawing on your Social Security as early as age 62, but doing so means only getting 70% of the monthly payment you would receive if you waited until full retirement age.

If choosing to retire now means getting a significantly smaller Social Security benefit, youll have to live with that decision for quite a while. So, be sure youve considered how it will impact those monthly checks and how that could affect your finances in the long term.

Just because you decide to retire doesnt mean youll immediately file for your Social Security benefits. If you can end your career now but delay drawing on Social Security until youve reached your maximum benefits, that changes the equation for you. However, if putting off those monthly checks for a few years means having to sell off stocks, you could be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

This is a question that hinges not just on how much you have saved, but what kind of savings it is. If you have a lot of cash stowed away in your checking account and CDs that are maturing in the coming months and years, your assets are more liquid and you have more options. If you can delay drawing Social Security until youve reached your maximum benefits without having to sell off any stocks, the consequences of moving up your retirement plans will be reduced significantly.

You might have read about the need to shift assets in your retirement funds away from stocks and into bonds the closer you get to retirement. Well, if youre five years or less from retirement, the past three months are exactly why that particular piece of advice is so universally acknowledged.

Stock markets are predictable when your time frame is long enough at least 10 years or so but theyre also wildly unpredictable over any single 10-year stretch. If you can wait out the periodic crashes and avoid selling stocks, youre in a good position. But, if too much of your money is tied up in stocks, the need for cash to cover expenses could result in selling at prices well below true value.

If you followed the classic advice by shifting your money into bonds and other stable assets ahead of time, youre probably in decent shape right now. You can focus on selling off other assets while you wait for stock markets to recover, and youll have those assets to draw on later in retirement when theyre back to whole.

If not, the income from your job will be a lot more important over the next five years if for no other reason than it can prevent you from having to sell stocks. As such, moving up your retirement will be much more difficult if you failed to prepare your portfolio.

One basic aspect of the dynamics of the financial markets is that, as often as not, bonds increase in value when stocks are falling. So, while now is the worst time to be selling stocks and buying bonds, its one of the best times to be selling bonds. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is up about 5% on the year while the S&P 500 had plunged more than 13% as of April 16.

Generally speaking, selling bonds before maturity injects a lot more risk into owning them. Whats more, markets could be due for another major plunge or two that will make you wish you had held onto your bond assets.

If you own enough bonds and are comfortable with selling them ahead of maturity, this can allow you to retire a few years early. It also prevents you from selling stocks and, subsequently, hurting your nest egg. Keep in mind that youll probably want to start getting your stock/bond mix back to normal when the markets calm.

Granted, trying to time the market is not, generally speaking, a good idea. But people within five years of retirement and on solid financial footing could consider taking advantage of down markets to make up for lost income from early retirement.

Clearly, buying stocks now is risky; theres no guarantee that markets arent in for another major drop as the crisis continues to unfold. But, the truth is that down markets present an opportunity to buy cheap stocks that could pay off later on.

Look:50 Stocks That Have Suffered the Biggest Losses During the Coronavirus Scare

The long-term view of the stock market is a bit more consistent than the picture you get by focusing on just the past six months. The S&P 500 might swing up and down wildly, but it averages out to an annual return of about 10% a year over its history. Even after a crash as big as the 2008 financial crisis, the losses were recovered over the next five years.

If you have plenty of stable assets and cash on hand, you might take the down market as a chance to make some extra stock investments that you can draw on later in retirement.

The last thing anyone is looking for now is more uncertainty, but the simple fact is theres no sure thing when it comes to retiring early. Only you and your financial advisor really know whether your finances are ready for retirement. For that matter, only you really know if youre ready for your career to end.

So, take the time to review the above questions and see what they tell you about your situation. But ultimately, you matter more than your finances. Consider your nest egg, but also discuss the decision with your loved ones.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If You Planned To Retire in the Next 5 Years, Should You Just Do It Now?

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If You Planned To Retire in the Next 5 Years, Should You Just Do It Now? - Yahoo News

A retired emergency medicine physician who answered the call of the governor and returned to work has a health update of his own.

WGN has been following Dr. Scott Altman, since mid-March. He was eager to jump back into action and help during the COVID-19 crisis. Along the way, hes shared updates from his post at Advocate Christ Medical Center in south suburban Oak Lawn.

Im working down at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn on their strike team within their command center helping to process admissions, approving the testing for coronavirus because testing is so limited, helping manage patient flow, Altman said.

Then, on April 10, Altman woke up feeling a bit under the weather. He said he had a runny nose, itchy eyes and a cough.

What he thought was a bout with spring allergies, turned out to be the very virus he came out of retirement to help fight.

I had done three shifts that week, but I just felt more tired than I expected and I woke up Saturday morning and there was no question felt like I had been hit by a train, he said. Sore, achy, the worst part was the stomachache. I never had fever, never had much of a cough, never had shortness of breath the usual symptoms they tell you to watch out for.

After two or three days, Altman felt he was out of the woods. However, he said shortly after, the second wave of the sickness came. He said it was worse than the first. He said he was wheezing, coughing and could feel weight and heaviness in his chest.

Its something infectious disease doctors have described as they learn more about how COVI-19 behaves in the body a second wave of symptoms much stronger than the first.

And then yesterday morning, I woke up and it was over. Wow. As easily as I knew, last Saturday morning that I had it. When I woke up yesterday morning, it was gone, he said.

He said while he still had a lack of energy, he didnt have a fever and didnt have difficulty breathing.

The virus did spread throughout his household, but his wife and children are doing well. As he recovers at home, Altman said he hasnt put much thought into his journey from retiree, to someone back on the frontlines, to COVID-19 patient.

Health care workers, this is what we do, he said. We really dont go into health care with a sense that we are immune to what ails our patients.

Health care workers can be cleared to return to work if they are symptom-free after 72 hours. Altman is planning to go back on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES Chipotle Mexican Grill agreed Tuesday to pay a record $25 million fine to resolve criminal charges that it served tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people in the U.S. from 2015 to 2018, federal prosecutors said.

The fast food company was charged in Los Angeles federal court with two counts of violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by serving adulterated food that sickened diners at its restaurant with norovirus, which causes diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.

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MADISON, Wis. Health officials in Wisconsin said they have identified at least seven people who appear to have contracted the coronavirus from participating in the April 7 election, the first such cases following in-person voting that was held despite widespread concern about the public health risks.

The cases involve six voters and one poll worker in Milwaukee, where difficulty finding poll workers forced the city to pare nearly 200 voting locations back to just five, and where voters some in masks, some with no protection were forced to wait in long linesfor hours.

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CHICAGO Gov. JB Pritzker says testing will increase in nursing homes as COVID-19 cases spread fast in those facilities.

Nearly a quarter of all deaths due to the virus can be traced back to nursing homes or long-term health care facilities in the state, according to state of Illinois numbers.

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Doctor who came out of retirement to help amid COVID-19 pandemic develops illness himself - WGN TV Chicago

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Reta Lancaster worries a lot that she or her husband, Richard, will be stricken by the new coronavirus. But the retired Indianapolis couple havent had a moments worry about paying their bills.

The couple, who spent careers in teaching and nonprofits, proved to themselves during two bear markets since 2000 that a large cash stash and whats known as a bucket strategy would get them through the cruelest of markets. And it seems to be working again during the markets abrupt turn from near record highs to a nearly 35% drop at one point in recent weeks.

We really are feeling fortunate, said the 88-year-old Reta, contrasting her peace of mind with retirees whose savings have been savaged during the coronavirus crisis.

A typical iteration of the Lancasters strategy includes three buckets designed to give retirees long-term growth potential as well as a stash of cash and liquid investments that can be drawn upon for living expenses and as a bulwark from having to sell stocks in a market downturn.

In the first bucket, a retiree typically has at least two years of cash for any expenses no matter what the stock market does.

A second bucket, containing primarily bonds, provides another safeguarda stash to get through a stock-market beating as Treasuries typically act as a haven when equities are tumbling. As time goes on, bond income via interest or through maturity replenishes cash thats been spent from the first bucket.

The third bucket is key: This is where stocks go to provide more long-term growth than bonds or cash, while also potentially yielding cash dividends for use in the first bucket. When a market downturn comes, however, this bucket can be left untouched until stocks rebound.

Christine Benz, director of personal finance for Morningstar, examined the impact of the market tumult on a prototypical bucket strategy in late March. Her conclusion: The third bucket made up of stocks was awful, but that was to be expected. The second bucket of bonds, which are supposed to be relatively safe, had been hit with some worrisome losses.

But investors were pacified by their cash, Benz said. Now is the bucket portfolios time to shine. Its giving people comfort, she said, and keeping people from bailing out of deep losses on the riskier stock investments they will need over time.

Benz contrasts this volatile period with times when stocks are steadily climbing. During long rising markets, Benz said, investors look at stock gains and question why they should keep two years of cash out of stocks and bonds. Some studies have questioned the strategy, too, because sizable cash stashes can deprive retirees of the growth they need to make portfolios last for 20 or 30 years.

Whats more, bonds have provided meager income in recent years and havent always performed as expected during recent downturns. In 2018, bonds were a disappointment and in March, safe Treasuries fell along with stocks at a certain point although they have been cushioning stock losses recently.

The long-held belief that bonds give you a hedge against a fall in stocks is not always true, said Patrick Leary, head of trading for InCapital.

While the bucket approach is used by many financial planners, the design of the buckets varies. Some financial planners in the first bucket want cash to last three years in case a long bear market occurs. Others are satisfied with one year. Advisors differ on investment choices, too: Some stick to federally insured savings accounts and certificates of deposit for cash, while some take on a little more risk with money-market funds and short-term bond funds.

We really are feeling fortunate.

In the second bucket, bonds and bond funds are key because they replenish cash as retirees spend the money they originally had stashed away in bucket one. But there is no universal prescription. Advisors usually pick a mixture of bond types, but some lean toward safe U.S. Treasury bonds and top-quality corporates, while others try to boost income with larger exposures to riskier corporate bonds and small allocations of dividend-paying stocks.

This second bucket has been a particular thorn in recent years for many financial planners, who say they have been struggling to hold relatively safe bonds that will provide enough income to replenish the cash retirees need. Ten-year Treasuries, for instance, were recently yielding around 0.70%, compared with 1.6% early this year.

Yet higher-yielding bondseverything from corporate bonds, to floating rate bank loans, mortgages and municipal bondshave been dicey as the coronavirus crisis has pummeled the economy. For example, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), lost 21% between March 6 and March 19.

Meanwhile, financial planners say they are sticking with well-diversified portfolios and the security their clients have from large amounts of cash to ride out the coronavirus lockdown.

Most people have 10 or more years to ride out the storm, and during that time money comes to them virtually every month, said Marc Hadley, the Lancasters financial planner.

If this crisis goes on long enough, though, Long Island financial planner Larry Heller said he might need to suggest some clients reduce their spending. That happened in the financial crisis as the market fell 57% and people panicked and demanded an escape from stocks.

Yet retirees appear positioned well and no one has asked him to sell stocks, Heller says. They get a check every month so they dont worry, he said. They can sleep.

Write to us at retirement@barrons.com

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This Retirement Strategy Worked Like a Charm When the Stock Market Crashed. Heres Why. - Barron's

IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WLUC) - The IRS says tens of millions Americans will get their coronavirus stimulus checks deposited in their bank accounts.

But for many, financial struggles will continue during the COVID-19 outbreak. As thousands of people aren't working right now, and possibly still waiting for unemployment benefits, finances can be tough, but there is still time.

"Stay on that roller coaster, to get to the final end because time is on your hand at this point, said Stephanie Nocerini, a LPL Financial Advisor.

Thats why financial planner Stephanie Nocerini also recommends to have 3 separate 'pots of money.

"Your first pot of money is the money used to pay your regular bills, she said.

She says the second is your savings account. With everything so uncertain during this time, Nocerini, says saving can be the best thing.

"You need to feel comfortable with the amount of savings that you have. Now, one person's savings account may not be the limit that somebody else's, said Nocerini.

The third pot of money, is the money you can put into retirement, or long-term.

"A contingency fund, where you can maybe invest that money, and know that it could lose value but it could gain value, and that's kind of the money you let time take care of that money, she said.

With everything uncertain, Nocerini wants to remind us, the money market will always go up and down.

"History has shown that this happens there are pullbacks, there are recessions, and there are times in the market where things have to re-balance."

And with stimulus checks coming, she says those may help.

"Some people are going to get this stimulus check, and they are going to have to use their money to pay their rent, pay their mortgage, said Nocerini.

She says if you are set with your bills, to save that money, until the market opens again.

"History has shown that it may take time, to do that, but it has always come back stronger after something like this happens, said Nocerini.

For more tips, visit https://banknib.com/lpl-financial-2/.

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Bills, savings and retirement: Having three 'pots' of money can help in tough times - UpperMichigansSource.com

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski might not be done just yet.

Though Gronkowski retired and didnt play last season, he is still leaving the door open for a return to the NFL. So could he join his former quarterback, Tom Brady, in Tampa Bay?

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Gronkowski will be 31 years old when next season opens. Brady, of course, just left the Patriots for the Buccaneers in free agency.

Heres TMZ with more on the latest with Gronkowski:

Just call Rob Gronkowski the pancake man ... 'cause hes flipping AGAIN on retirement talk -- this time saying hes not totally done with football after all!!! The NFLs greatest-ever tight end has been in a tug-o-war almost since the day he quit the NFL in 2019 ... going back and forth on whether or not hes officially done.

The latest? Gronk told Andy Cohen this week on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that a reunion with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay aint totally out of the question.

Im feeling good right now, the Patriots legend said. Im happy where Im at. You just never know, man. You just never know. You never know. Im not totally done.

Gronk says the only thing thats holding him back is a passion for the game ... adding, I like to stay in shape, but Ive gotta get that feeling back.

Rob retired in March 2019 ... and has said injuries -- including roughly 20 concussions -- played a big role in him calling it a career at the age of 29.

Gronkowski appeared on Cohens show to promote Survive & Thrive: COVID-19 Celebrity Challenge, which will be live streamed on the Facebook channel of the Arthritis Foundation on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

During the event, Gronkowski and other celebrities including Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher will face off in various physical and personal challenges that provide an authentic peek into the lives of celebrities as they adjust to a life in isolation.

Free to watch, the event will include both entertaining and educational culinary, athletic, and business challenges, along with challenges for the viewers with a chance to win special prizes for those who donate to the Arthritis Foundation.

Heres video of Gronkowskis interview with Cohen:

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NFL analyst Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater.

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NFL rumors: Will Patriots Rob Gronkowski come out of retirement to join Tom Brady on Buccaneers? (VIDEO) - NJ.com