When thinking about retirement savings, most people’s nightmare scenario is to spend the last years of their lives as a burden to their family. Making smart decisions about retirement income is essential to achieve your retirement lifestyle goals and grow old with the best care and support around you.

Bonds are a topic of long-standing fiscal debate for Maine residents.

When people talk about Maine’s economy, they typically cite the preponderance of bond issues we have voted for as evidence that we have a spending problem. In early 2013, all three major credit rating agencies downgraded Maine’s credit rating, which means that Maine may need to offer higher interest rates on future bond issues in order to attract investors.

Comprehensive financial planning and wealth management must take into account how local events affect your investment strategy and retirement planning.

If you’re a Maine resident or plan to retire here, our “Focus On Maine” blog series helps you understand the trends and issues that are shaping the financial future of Maine’s taxpayers.

If you’re trying to figure out how to retire early, maintaining your preferred lifestyle depends to a large degree on choosing the right geographic location.

If you like the idea of a dream home on an ocean inlet or in a natural setting as well as a vibrant cultural scene and access to good hospitals, airports and other infrastructure, you might want to consider retiring early in Portland, Maine.

When people don’t have a sound strategy for retirement investing, they’re more likely to make investment decisions based on emotions, simplistic media reports and misguided advice from friends. While emotions and intuition are powerful in the right context, they often lead to poor decisions when it comes to retirement investing.