Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

ELKINS (KFSM) If youre still in need of some solar eclipse glasses before the big event on Monday (Aug. 21), start making your way to Elkins.

The Elkins public library will be giving away about 500 pairs of the ISO-approved glasses beginning at 10 a.m. when the library opens.

The Elkins School District was originally planning on having students view the eclipse, and the library provided a pair of glasses for all the students and staff.

However, on Sunday (Aug. 20) district officials announced the school would be streaming the event live due to safety concerns. The students will be watching indoors so they will not be tempted to look at the sun directly. Parents can check students out to allow them to watch the eclipse at their own risk.

Library officials picked up the glasses and will be giving them away before the solar event.

More:
Elkins Public Library Giving Away Hundreds Of Solar Eclipse Glasses - 5newsonline.com

What if I could prescribe a pill that could prevent or treat high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, even depression and dementia? And what if researchers had extensively researched this pill and the result was: ample proof that its effective. On top of that, its practically free and has no bad side effects. As a matter of fact, its only side effects are improved sleep, increased energy, and weight loss.

Actually, folks, this powerful medicine exists. Its real and readily available for everyone. Its called intensive lifestyle change. Its active ingredients are physical activity and drastic improvements in diet, and it works well. Amazingly well. If it were an actual pill, no doubt millions of people would be clamoring for it and some pharmaceutical company would reap massive profits. But heres how you can get it. Intensive lifestyle changes involves knowledge and action which many doctors think is just too difficult to teach, and many patients think is too difficult to do.

Im here to report that intensive lifestyle change is doable, sensible, and essential for good health. Cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish is a pioneer of intensive lifestyle change. I had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Harvard Medical School Lifestyle Medicine Conference in July. (You can listen to his TED talks here.) Dr. Ornish and his team started researching this program decades ago, and they have consistently found positive results.

So, what exactly that does their program look like? It emphasizes nutrition and exercise, as one would expect, but it also addresses psychological factors like loneliness, isolation, depression, and anger. Why? Because research shows emotional and social health is associated with a reduced risk of disease and premature death. He spoke about the importance (research-proven) of connection, intimacy, and love. He points out that a lot of bad behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and overeating are actually peoples attempts to self-medicate emotional pain.

Heres how it works: nine weeks of nutrition and meal prep instruction on a plant-based, low-refined-carb and low-trans-fat diet, as well as shared meals with the group; recommendation for and guidance in three to five hours of moderate physical activity, along with two or three strength-training sessions per week; stress management, communications skills, and relaxation instruction; and a support group. The goal is for patients to adopt these health-promoting strategies for the rest of their lives.

The overall message for physicians is this: an intensive lifestyle change program wont work if its just ordered by docs, or if patients are expected to engage with it based on threats and warnings. During the course I learned the importance of avoiding guilt, shame, and scare tactics, and getting away from labels such as good or bad. Any lifestyle change has to be meaningful and pleasurable. If its meaningful and pleasurable, people will do it. For these changes to be most effective, people have to want to continue them for the rest of their lives. The physicians job is to act as a coach for the patient, encouraging and guiding their efforts, without judgment.

The Ornish program is just one approach to diet, exercise, and psychological lifestyle changes. Dr. Ornish is honest about this, and he himself points out that many programs emphasize the same things as his does:

He also emphasizes that any increase in physical activity is desirable, and patients can follow the specific recommendations from their physical therapists, doctors, or trainers. And of course, people can use a variety of resources and methods to improve stress management, coping, and communication skills.

Interested in online resources for healthy diet, exercise, and psychological change? Heres some additional reading.

See the original post:
Intensive lifestyle change: It works, and it's more than diet and exercise - Harvard Health (blog)

Kate Upton.Jordan Strauss/AP

Supermodel Kate Upton may be taking on more movie roles, but she is not acting around when she steps into the gym. In a recent interview with Shape, the 25-year-old actress spoke about how she worked her way up to lifting 500-pound weights and stopped looking at the scale.

Here's what she did to change her approach to diet and exercise.

Hip thrusts, sled pulls, and deadlifts are just a few of the exercises Upton's trainer Ben Bruno has her doing. But Upton had to work her way up to lifting heavy weights and wasn't quick to jump onboard.

"When I started training with him, he would say, 'Let's put 500 pounds on the sled,' and I would immediately say, 'I can't do that,'" she told Shape. "So he started standing on the sled so I couldn't see how much weight was on there. Now my attitude has changed completely, and I'm always pushing myself to do more."

And she actually has been pushing more and more weight on the sled, as Bruno posted to Instagram.

"To me, exercise is about working really hard in the gym to be healthy and feel good and confident about my body," she said. "Weight training helps me do that the best. Lifting heavy weights leans you out if you do it the correct way."

She has worked hard to learn how to lift the right way.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for Upton who trains earlier on in the day. She likes to eat a lot of protein and calls herself "a female Popeye" because of how much spinach she eats.

"I always have breakfast because I can't do a hard workout if I don't eat," she said. "I usually have eggs and spinach beforehand or an omelet with a bunch of veggies in it and maybe a little feta. If I'm at the gym acting like a badass lifting all those weights, it would be pretty embarrassing if I fainted."

Upton claims that to deal with the pressure of the fashion industry and to have to be a certain weight, she took herself out of the conversation and started focusing on her strength not her size.

"Once I started focusing on being strong and doing weight training, I became the size that I needed to be for modeling," she said. "I changed the battle inside my head to be about strength and having balance in my life instead of fitting into a pair of jeans."

A few of the things Upton mentioned in her interview include wine, french fries, chocolate, chips, cheese, and bread and she definitely isn't into deprivation. While the model likes to stick with healthier options to fuel her everyday, she isn't afraid to indulge occasionally and even eats one "bad" food daily.

"I like to have a little 'bad' every day," she said. "Having a treat makes you feel like it's worth it."

Not only has Upton's confidence been boosted with weight training, but so has her physical strength, appetite, and desire to be a "badass" every day and it's inspiring us, too.

Read more here:
25-year-old supermodel Kate Upton says weightlifting completely changed her body and outlook on fitness - INSIDER

Kristina went to the doctor and saw 250 pounds on the scale. That, along with a friend's unexpected death, quitting her job, and getting accepted to her dream graduate school program across the country, inspired her to make a big change so she did! Her weight-loss journey began in March 2014.

She found out about the ketogenic diet, which is basically a low-carb, high-fat diet, on Reddit. After doing a few hours of research, she made the switch. Starting in at around 250 pounds, she's lost 102 pounds so far! Kristina told POPSUGAR, "I first hit 100 pounds down on my 25th birthday (Nov. 4, 2016), and have bounced around a bit since then." She adds that a few stumbles are bound to happen on any weight-loss journey, "but I'm back at it and super close to a new low weight."

When following the ketogenic diet, Kristina's food intake is very low-carb (20 grams of net carbs per day), moderate in protein, and high in fat. She says, "I've counted calories from the beginning as well, because I do best with knowing the caloric value of my foods. Not everyone on keto tracks all their food, but it works for me. Right now I'm trying out new macros and going for high-protein, moderate-fat I want to build muscles! But it's still very low-carb."

Kristina currently practices intermittent fasting, so she eats all her food between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. every day. She says, "It fits well with my work schedule and I prefer fewer, bigger meals to feel full." In the morning, she drinks an enormous coffee with MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil, almond milk, half-and-half, and stevia. She eats eggs and bacon, then a huge salad with protein and a fatty dressing for lunch. "And then I'm done for the day! I drink at least a gallon of water a day, but don't snack. I've tried to cut out snacks since the beginning, because I much prefer having a full meal."

You may be surprised to hear that Kristina says, "I started off doing zero exercise, just focusing on my diet. I knew that if I changed too much, too fast, I'd burn out and quit. So for the first year on keto, I did essentially no exercise. I walked to school and took occasional yoga classes on campus, but nothing serious. I first joined a gym a year ago (in 2016, more than two years into keto) to get serious about exercise. I started off doing a lot of cardio, but now I'm focusing on weights. I work out five times a week, alternating days of heavy lifting (I do the StrongLifts 5x5 program) with days of moderate cardio."

Aside from losing over 100 pounds, Kristina is really excited about some nonscale victories, like being able to cross her legs. She also shares, "Fitting easily in an airplane seat with no anxiety was also amazing. Oh, and shopping is a LOT more fun now! I've finally gotten back into single-digit jean sizes for the first time since probably fifth grade I've been fat for a long, long time."

A huge motivator on her journey has been Instagram. Kristina says, "When I first started my weight-loss journey, it was easy to stay motivated because the weight was just falling off me I lost 70 pounds in the first year but things slowed down and got harder after that. When I reached 90 pounds down, I knew I needed something to help me get to 100 lost." So she created an Instagram for motivation ellipticalfragilistic. Kristina says, "I love seeing other people killing it at the gym, or making good food choices, or sharing transformation pictures. So I figured I should too!"

She says a huge key to her success was "making it a habit. Eating low-carb just became . . . what I did. A habit. Same with going to the gym five times a week. It was hard to adjust at first, and there were lots of days that I just wanted to go home and be lazy, but I pushed myself to make it a habit. Now it feels weird NOT to go to the gym! I love the saying that's something like, 'People say motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily.' You have to make the choice to commit to it every day."

For #facetofacefriday let's talk about what these pictures AREN'T. So, a lot of times, I get comments saying things like "Beautiful in both," and while those are nice and well-intentioned, they rankle a little - because here's the thing: I don't make or post these to say "Wow look how ugly I was back then," or anything like that. It's just a visual representation of change. I've *always* thought I was pretty. This before pic used to be one of my favorites. I thought I looked damn good! So when I hear "Beautiful in both," I think, 'Yeah, never said I wasn't.' I have never said I was ugly when I was fat. Ever. Because I wasn't! I thought I was hot shit! I am a vain bitch and I always have been I didn't lose weight to be more beautiful. I lost it because I was tired of being uncomfortable in my body. Losing weight isn't just about looks. It's about hard work, dedication, quality of life, and wanting to achieve fucking GOALS. My face is more angular now. More conventionally attractive by society's standards. That's all. I wasn't ugly before. I was just fat. . . . . #weightloss #weightlossjourney #keto #ketoaf #ketogenic #ketogeniclifestyle #ketocommunity #ketosis #ketolife #ketofam #ketogenicdiet #lchf #lowcarbhighfat #eatfatlosefat #losingweightfeelinggreat #extremeweightloss #transformation #weightlossmotivation #weightlosstransformation #beforeandafter #beforeandafterweightloss #beforeandduring #100poundsdown

A post shared by Kristina (@ellipticalifragilistic) on Aug 11, 2017 at 2:27pm PDT

If Kristina has one piece of advice for other people on their own weight-loss journey, it's to "take pictures and measurements! I didn't take my measurements until this year, and I'm still kicking myself about it. Progress pictures are awesome, but having that numerical feedback (that's not the scale) is so helpful."

She also says, "Don't feel like you have to know EVERYTHING when you start. I'm still learning new things about keto now, three years in! Get the basics, and figure it out as you go." And don't feel like you have to make a huge lifestyle change all at once. "You don't need to eat totally clean AND live in the gym AND get a Fitbit AND start juicing AND do a detox, or whatever. Start where you start. That's better than nothing."

More:
Kristina Dropped 102 Pounds by "Doing Zero Exercise" in the First Year - POPSUGAR

Jessica Dickler, CNBC Published 1:00 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2017

The idea of having a retirement nest egg of $1 million is a lot of money, but can you make it work these days? Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60

Not every business will succeed, and a ROBS carries one particularly notable risk: You could jeopardize your retirement.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For many soon-to-be retirees, a cool $1 million sounds like substantial savings goal, yet that largely depends on where you live.

In some parts of the country, it will barely last a decade.

"It's the benchmark everyone has in mind but it's important to be more specific, there's so much range across different states. Your personal situation plays a big role," said Mark Evitt, features editor at GOBankingRates.

The personal finance site compared average expenses for people age 65 and older, including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care in every state to come up with how long a nest egg of $1 million would really last.

Top 5 states where your dollar will last the longest:1. Mississippi$1 million will last: 26 years, 4 months2. Arkansas$1 million will last: 25 years, 6 months3. Oklahoma$1 million will last: 25 years, 2 months4. Michigan$1 million will last: 25 years5. Tennessee$1 million will last: 25 years

It's no surprise that dollars stretched the furthest in states like Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, where retirees could live a life of leisure for at least a quarter of a century.

"One of the benefits of living in the Southeast is that the cost of living is significantly lower," Evitt said.

However, in Hawaii, where residents pay roughly 30% more for household items across the board, that same amount will only get you just shy of a dozen years largely because of the cost of living and pricey real estate.

Top 5 states where your dollar will last the shortest:1. Hawaii$1 million will last: 11 years, 11 months2. California$1 million will last: 16 years, 5 months3. Alaska$1 million will last: 17 years, 0 months4. New York$1 million will last: 17 years, 1 month5. Massachusetts$1 million will last: 17 years, 4 months

(If you are thinking more outside the box, here are the world's top 10 retirement destinations.)

More: How seniors can save with discounts

More: How to prepare for retirement in your 50s

More: YouTube video tricking consumers on how to pay bills using Social Security numbers

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2x6dwb2

Read the original post:
How long $1 million will last in retirement - USA TODAY

by Christy Bieber for The Motley Fool @CNNMoney August 21, 2017: 10:16 AM ET

Well, the bad news is Americans are woefully behind on saving for retirement. The good news is, you don't have to be one of the millions of retirees struggling to live on a bare bones budget.

By following just five steps, you'll set yourself up for a retirement spent traveling the world, spoiling your grandkids, or, at the very least, not losing sleep over money.

1. Invest as early and as aggressively as possible

Investing early is the best way to get rich, because you'll need to invest more later to catch up if you wait. No matter when you start investing, though, the amount you invest should increase with your salary.

If you invest a fixed percentage of your income, then your contributions will automatically increase along with your salary. The question is: What percentage of your income is appropriate? While many think 10% is enough, this is actually low.

Consider how much money you'd accumulate if your investments returned an average of 7% per year, you earned the median income for an American worker (about $45,000 a year recently), you got small annual raises, and you contributed 10% of your salary to a tax-deferred account.

Age 25-34

$3,362.67

$336.27

$58,156.00

Age 35-44

$4,229.33

$422.93

$189,915.00

Age 45-54

$4,225.00

$422.50

$454,706.00

Age 55-64

$4,186.00

$418.60

$986,154.00

Your retirement income would be around $40,000, assuming you drew from your account for 25 years and continued to earn a conservative return of around 3.25% during retirement. That would put you far ahead of the average American retiree -- but you wouldn't quite be living in the lap of luxury.

These numbers also assume you started at 25, which many people don't. If you waited until 40, you'd need to save more than $1,200 a month -- about 35% of your wages -- to save up the same amount.

But what if you started early, invested aggressively (earning 7% per year), and saved 20% of your median income?

Age 25-34

$3,362.67

$672.53

$116,312.00

Age 35-44

$4,229.33

$845.87

$380,004.00

Age 45-54

$4,225.00

$845.00

$909,936.00

Age 55-64

$4,186.00

$837.20

$1,970,000.00

When you retired, your income will be around $81,000, which should be plenty -- especially when combined with Social Security -- to provide you with financial freedom.

If you've started later, you can still achieve a comparable income, but you'll need to save much more aggressively.

2. Automate your saving

When saving money takes effort, you're less likely to do it. In fact, one in six Americans responding to a survey weren't saving more because they hadn't gotten around to it.

Most people tend to stick with the status quo -- in fact, studies found participation rates in a 401(k) jump from 40% when employees must opt in to almost 100% when they must opt out. So use your natural inertia to your advantage: Automate investments by having a percentage of income diverted to your 401(k) or IRA. You're less likely to skip a contribution if it means having to submit paperwork.

3. Manage your risk appropriately

It's not just how much you invest that matters, but also what you invest in. If your portfolio is too conservative, your savings won't grow fast enough to provide you with a sizable retirement income. On the other hand, if you chase growth recklessly and ignore the inherent risks of your investments, you could be left with nothing.

Consider the difference between a conservatively invested traditional IRA and an aggressively invested IRA, assuming you contribute $5,500 per year to this tax-advantaged retirement account from age 25 to age 65:

If you invest in a conservative blend of stocks and bonds and earn 4%, your account will be worth $543,546.

If you earn a 7% return by investing primarily in stocks, your account will be worth $1,174,863.

Over time, that 3% difference in performance would more than double your money. Ironically, investing too much money in "safe" investments like bonds can be more risky than keeping most of your portfolio in stocks, because the stock market is much more likely to turn your small monthly investments into a livable income many years down the road.

You should tailor your investing strategy to your personal risk tolerance, but err on the side of being aggressive when you're young and still have time to recover from downturns. As you near retirement, you can gradually switch to safer investments in order to protect the capital you've built up.

4. Watch out for fees

Investing is typically not free. Some 401(k) accounts have fees, and mutual funds generally charge both annual fees and transaction fees. While you can't entirely escape these costs, you should know what you're paying and do everything you can to minimize the fees you pay.

Lets say you start saving at age 25, invest $5,500 for 40 years until age 65, and earn a 7% return on your investments. How much could fees ding your savings?

If you paid a 0.25% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $1,099,175

If you paid a 1% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $902,262

If you paid a 1.5% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $792,654

Over the course of 40 years, paying a 1.5% fee instead of a 0.25% fee would cost you $306,500 -- enough to cover expensive healthcare or a few nice trips around the world.

If you're investing through a 401(k), then your options are somewhat limited, and most of the mutual funds you can choose from will likely charge around 1%. However, if you invest through an IRA, your choices are almost limitless. There are plenty of low-cost exchange-traded funds that charge 0.25% or less for a diversified basket of stocks. A fund that tracks an index is a great choice for an investor who wants to benefit from the stock market's growth without assuming the risk and work involved in picking individual stocks.

5. Stick to the plan

Once you've carefully laid your plan for retiring rich, you need to adhere to it religiously. Even a slight and temporary deviation from the plan -- say, suspending your contributions for a few months, tapping your retirement account to cover unrelated expenses, or selling a holding early in an attempt to reap short-term gains -- could set you back big-time.

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If you put your contributions on hold, you'll lose out on both the money you should have contributed and the compound interest it would have achieved. If you make an early withdrawal from a tax-advantaged retirement account, not only will you cost your future self far more than you're withdrawing, but you may also incur income tax and penalties on the amount you distribute. It's not worth giving up your future financial security for anything you'd do today. When you're retired and living in comfort and financial security, you'll thank your former self for the years of discipline and sacrifice.

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 21, 2017: 10:16 AM ET

Read the original:
5 simple steps to retiring rich - CNNMoney

When it comes to retirement, theres one question that is sure to get a lot of people to save: Could you survive if you only received Social Security?

But the fact is millions live off their monthly Social Security benefit check. How do they do it?

Barbara Woodruff, 65, of St. Louis told Grandparents.com how she manages.

Her check: $633 a month. This is much less than the national average.

As of June, the average Social Security benefit was $1,254.78 per month.

Woodruff is collecting less than many folks because health problems reduced her working years, she told Grandparents.coms Daisy Chan. As Chan points out, Social Security benefits are based on your earnings during your working years.

Part of the reason Woodruff can survive on just Social Security is that she gets subsidized housing. She pays $189 for a one-bedroom apartment. She also receives $33 a month in food stamps.

Read more about how Woodruff gets by.

Woodruff has a lot of company in trying to survive on Social Security. As Rebecca Lake reported for Investopedia.com, 21 percent of married couples and 43 percent of single seniors count on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income.

Social Security isnt a substitute for building a solid retirement base, and if youve still got time before you retire, consider looking for ways to shore up your savings, Lake wrote. Start by chipping in as much as you reasonably can to your employers retirement plan, especially if it comes with a matching contribution. If you dont have a 401(k) or similar plan at work, an individual retirement account (IRA) is another way to grow your savings. The more you set aside now, the less pressure youll feel to make your Social Security benefits stretch.

If you think youll be relying just on Social Security, here are some articles with tips on how to make the money stretch.

How to Have a Comfortable Retirement on Social Security Alone

9 Ways to Retire on Social Security Alone

11 Ideas for Living on Nothing More than Social Security in Retirement

Are you living on just Social Security? If so, how do you do it? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com.

Retirement rants and ravesIm interested in your experiences or concerns about retirement. Did you retire early and if so, how did you do it?

Is retirement everything you hoped for? Are you scared youll run out of money?

What you share might help others. So send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please include your name, city and state. In the subject line put Retirement Rants and Raves.

One recent rant came from a friend.

So, you worked hard, saved your money, cut off your adult children, and retired, Maribel Soto of Burke, Va. Are you prepared for retirements close companion: aging? The consequences of aging will have a monumental effect on your financial position. It will not be enough to have perfect adult children who did not deflate your retirement wealth. Do your adult children/loved ones have the competence and capability to navigate the health care, legal, and social services systems to ensure your well-being and quality of life?

Soto asks some good questions considering her own experience.

Try telling the Social Security Administration that the court has declared you as your mothers legal guardian, she wrote. Show up with all your court records, and they will say, We do not recognize the courts assessment, we have to conduct our own, meanwhile we cant tell you why her benefits have been stopped. Yet, the assisted living facility has to be paid. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Heres Sotos poetic take on aging:Loving father,Loving mother,Loving son,Loving daughter,Only one faces Medicaid, Social Security, the court system, the banks, and the creditors.. . . and she is not enough.

Retirement blogI believe that wealth happens intentionally and for me this means reading as much as I can about all things financial, especially retirement.

Since were talking about retiring on just Social Security, heres a blog post that you may find helpful: 5 American Cities Where You Can Retire On Just Social Security

Retirement assignment

Theres so much to know and keep watch on when it comes to retirement planning. So every week Ill have a home assignment for you.

This week, if you havent done it already, set up your online Social Security account, which allows you to check your information, including how much youll get once you start collecting benefits. Knowing this information is key to retirement planning.

Heres the direct link for my Social Security.

Before you get started, watch the video created by Social Security on how to create your account. Youll find it at the bottom of the page.

I also recommend you read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting by Social Security on setting up an online account.

I want to hear how your home assignment went. What did you learn? Did the assignment make you change any of your plans?

Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put Retirement Assignment in the subject line. Ill also be open to suggestions for assignments.

Newsletter comments policyPlease note it is my personal policy to identify readers who respond to questions I ask in my newsletters. I find it encourages thoughtful and civil conversation. I want my newsletters to be a safe place to express your opinion. On sensitive matters or upon request, Im happy to include just your first name and/or last initial. But I prefer not to post anonymous comments (I do make exceptions when Im asking questions that might reveal sensitive information or cause conflict.)

Have a question about your finances? Michelle Singletary has a weekly live chat every Thursday at noon where she discusses financial dilemmas with readers. You can also write to Michelle directly by sending an email to michelle.singletary@washpost.com. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writers name, unless otherwise requested. To read more Color of Money columns, go here.

If youre viewing this post online sign up to receive Michelle Singletarys free newsletters right into your email box: Your Retirement on Mondays & Personal Finance on Thursdays

Read and share Michelle Singletarys Color of Money Column on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Follow Michelle Singletary on Twitter (@SingletaryM) and Facebook

More:
Could you live off Social Security alone? - Washington Post

Due to women getting married later, fewer women gettingmarried and, among those who do marry, an increase in divorce, women arespending fewer years married overall, according to the Center for Retirement Researchat Boston College.

If women as a group now spend about half of their adultyears unmarried, it probably makes sense to explore their savings andinvestment behavior separately from men, the center says. This change hassignificant implications for financial planning.

For the oldest cohort, those born between 1931 and 1941, 72% of womens yearsbetween the ages of 20 and the last interview were spent married. Looking at mid-Boomers, i.e. those born between 1954 and 1959, the years spentmarried in that same timeframe had dropped to 54%. There is strong evidence to show that an individual's marital statusespecially an unexpected change in marital statushas a big impact on financial security over time.

The reason why the number of years women are married has declined is because,among the oldest cohort, the average age that women got married was 21.4. Formid-Boomers, this has crept up to 24.3. Among the oldest cohort, 3.9% nevermarried, and for mid-Boomers, this has risen to 12.2%. Just over one-third,33.9%, of the oldest cohort divorced, and today, 49.3% of mid-Boomer women aredivorced.

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston Collegesreport on this issue, Do Women Still Spend Most of Their Lives Married?, canbe downloaded here.

Excerpt from:
Women Spending Fewer Years Married, Shifting Retirement Outlook - Planadviser.com

How do you determine how much money you will need in retirement? A lot depends on the retirement lifestyle that you desire. A person who wants to travel and has a large bucket list will need more money than one who has simpler needs. There are many schools of thought about how much money is necessary and we will look at one of them here.

The 80% Rule is a good guideline for those a long way from retiring who want to, at a minimum, retain the standard of living they had before retirement. Many financial planners suggest that 80% of your pre-retirement income will give you a retirement standard of living that is substantially similar to your pre-retirement standard of living. This is based on three assumptions:

First, you will not be paying payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) or making pension contributions (CSRS or FERS). For most federal employees, these mandatory taxes and contributions take 8.45% out of our paycheck. You will also not be contributing to the TSP out of your retirement income. Some employees (those hired on or after 01/01/2013 and special category employees) contribute more for their FERS pension and will, thereby save more after they retire.

The second assumption is that your mortgage will be paid off. Only you know if this will be true. A 2011 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said almost 1/3 of Americans 65 and over still had a mortgage and the average balance was $79,000. This report, though five years old, was cited in recent articles in the Los Angeles Times and on Bloomberg.com.

Third, your other expenses will be lower. Expenses that might go down are commuting, clothing, and food outside the home. Of course travel and recreation expenses might increase.

So, how do you get to the point where you will have 80% of your pre-retirement income? It requires significant and disciplined saving in the TSP and other retirement investments. Well look at a couple of examples and try to estimate how much we will need to save over and above our federal pension and Social Security. In these examples, we are looking at a federal employee who retires at age 62 after 32 years of service with a high-three salary of $100,000. Both of the examples are for regular employees.

If this employee were CSRS, her pension would be $60,250 and she would likely have no (or very limited) Social Security. She would be roughly $20,000 short of the 80% goal.

If this employee were FERS, her pension would be $35,200. Her Social Security would likely be in the vicinity of $20,000, giving her a total of $55,000. She would be roughly $25,000 short of the 80% goal.

This shortfall of 20% to 25% would have to be made up from sources such as the TSP or other retirement savings if these individuals were to have the same standard of living after retirement as they did before retirement. If we were to use another Rule put forth by financial planners, the 4% Rule, this would argue for a TSP balance in the vicinity of $500,000. The 4% Rule states that an individual has an excellent chance of not running out of money over a 30 year period (the age of 92 for the person in our example) if they begin withdrawing from a balanced portfolio at a 4% rate and then adjust that rate annually for inflation.

So, is it possible to have a half million dollar balance in your TSP at the time you retire? Well, it depends on how much money you have in your TSP today and how many more years you have to work. If youre in the early part of your career its not at all out of the realm of possibility that you could have more than $500,000 at retirement. The TSP website has several calculators available, including one called How Much Will My Savings Grow?, that can help you determine where you will be in the future. Of course, it asks you to make assumptions about your future salary and future investment growth, but it can give you an idea.

This article has looked at only your federal retirement benefits (CSRS or FERS pension, TSP and Social Security); we havent looked at other resources you might have such as IRAs, real estate, etc. Regardless of what were looking at, it is to your advantage to save early and save often.

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80 Percent Rule for Retirement - FEDweek

Don't give that fourth running back spot to Corey Clement just yet.

Wendell Smallwood isn't going to go down quietly.

Smallwood, the Eagles' second-year running back from West Virginia, is back practicing with no restrictions after missing nearly two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Smallwood has yet to play in a preseason game, and with undrafted rookieClement acquitting himself well both at practice and in the first couple preseason games, the pressure is on Smallwood to produce soon to secure a roster spot.

It was real frustrating," Smallwood said after practiceMonday. "Just missing those reps, missing two straight preseason games, not being able to get better. You get better with those game reps and those practice reps, so I think I need to start taking advantage of every one I have."

Smallwood got hurt two weeks agoMonday, and although he returned on a limited basis last week, Monday'spractice with the Dolphins was his first with no restrictions since he got hurt.

He looked good. He looked fast and physical. And he said he finally feels 100 percent.

I think so," he said. "I feel good. Today I forgot about it. Wasnt even thinking about the injury. Didnt think twice about cuts, running, bursting, anything like that. I think I got it back.

"Its a huge relief just because last week practicing I could sense that it was still there and I was still kind of thinking about it, and the coaches could sense it, so being this week, Im full go, its not bothering me. You could see I got some of my burst back. Im good."

Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich saidMondaythat Smallwood is more of an every-down back than he first realized.

"You know, I think Wendell is a truethree-down back," he said. "When we first drafted him, I kind of looked at him as more like a first- and second-down back. I thought he would be OK on third down, but really he's turned out to be better on third down than I thought.

"So really I think he is a very versatile back who knows protections very well, who runs good routes, who catches the ball well. And then I think he's a slashing runner on firstand seconddown, so we like that combination. He's done very well. He works very hard at it. Love him mentally, and really glad he's in the mix."

Smallwood played well early last year before he admittedly got out of shape, hurt his knee and wound up on injured reserve.

He ran for 79 yards against the Steelers and 70 against the Falcons the Eagles' two biggest wins of the year before fading later in the season.

He said learning how to work through an injury is an important lesson for a young NFL player.

"Im definitely more equipped in my second year getting hurt than my first year because I dealt with it differently," he said. "I let it get to me a lot and kind of shied away from the game, but this year I got more into the game.

It was frustrating, but I stayed into the game plan, stayed in my playbook,[and]I didnt let it get to me. I stayed dialed in. It was frustrating to me, but I know what I can do and I know what Im capable of. Im right back out here and Im ready to go, and Im full go."

Much has been made of the Eagles' struggles running the ball this preseason.

LeGarrette Blount is averaging 1.9 yards on nine carries, rookie fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey has two yards on seven carries, Clement and Byron Marshall are both averaging under 4.0 yards per carry, and Darren Sproles and Smallwood haven't gotten any carries.

As a group, the Eagles' running backs are averaging 2.4 yards per carry.

The Eagles finish the preseason against the Dolphins at the LincThursday the first offense is expected to play into the third quarter and at the Meadowlands against the Jets, when most starters won't paly.

Smallwood knows people are already questioning the Eagles' running game.

We sense it, we hear it, but like Doug (Pederson) said, were not going to overreact, were not going to underreact," he said. "Its preseason, were going to get better at it, we know what were capable of doing. Were not going to let it get to us that much.

This game is going to be the one where we dial up the run and show how we can run the ball."

And it needs to be the game that Smallwood does the same thing.

Im definitely very hungry," he said. "I missed a lot of reps and missed a lot of game reps that could have made me better. So this is my chance to take it and go full throttle.

Its the game, man. Its my welcome home party. Im back on the field, going to go out there, I'm going to get some plays, Im going to get some runs, going to get some passes. Its real important for me."

Smallwood finished last year with a 4.1 rushing average, becoming only the fourth Eagles rookie running back to rush for 300 yards with an average of 4.0 or more in the last 35 years (also Correll Buckhalter, LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown).

And he felt before the injury he had come a long way from his rookie year.

I definitely think I took that step," he said. "From last year to this year, I took that leap that I needed, and I think just my running, I was more dialed in, my shoulder pads were getting low, I was running through people instead of trying to run around. I wasnt thinking so much. I was just playing with confidence.

"Now Ive just got to do itThursdaynight and every day were out here at practice."

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NFL Notes: Bills' Anquan Boldin announces retirement - Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia