Weekly Roundup

Looks familiar

History Lesson

Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr David Walker warned there were "striking similarities " between America's current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government ".

"Sound familiar? " Mr Walker said. "In my view, it's time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time. "

David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country's future in a report that became the more read FT story in 2007. Is it all doom and gloom? You decide.

Who Are You?
Seth Godin's advise on the first thing to do this year

Start Googling

"Google yourself.
- If you're a salesperson, your prospects already do.
- If you're looking for a job, your prospective employers already do.
- If you've got a job, your co-workers already do.
What do they see? Do you know?"

Motivation

A little jog

Marathon Monks by Financial Hacks is an amazing story of human potential. If you want to feel truly motivated - read this post.

"The first three years the monk will run approximately 18 miles a day along narrow paths in the mountains in nothing more than a pair if straw sandals and a robe. He must do this up and down trek along the mountains paths for 100 straight days during each of the three years. He starts at 1:30 in the morning each day and he needs to return by 9:00 AM because he is not excused from his regular daily chores which he also must complete each day."

Retirement Advice

"The assumptions about returns, inflation, longevity and expenses were highly simplistic," says the 74-year-old Hebeler about the advice he got from retirement planning software.

Waiting for you

So he took matters in his own hand and created AnalyzeNow.com, a compendium of advice and tools (mostly free) that can help you tackle topics ranging from how to create a retirement budget to whether to buy an annuity. What distinguishes Hebeler from the typical retirement "expert" is that he combines a strong quantitative background with real-life retirement experience - his own and that of fellow retirees.
Check out the full story at CNNMoney



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