I came across a real gem in the web-o-sphere concerning retirement. The Ten Biggest Retirement Mistakes.

I found it at a site called Wallet Pop.  It has made a permanent impression on me and I have completely changed my ideas as far as retirement.  http://www.walletpop.com/retirement/biggest-retirement-mistakes

Overconfidence in Your Investing Skill

This is an important point.  I mean if you have trouble getting out of your high chair in the morning, it might be a good thing to speak to those who are 'in the know'. We must admit that there are things above the heavens and beneath the earth that we might not be able to fathom in our philosophy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3peAlsLRSU&feature=related

I mean you can watch Jim Cramer on CNBC. He would have been a lot of help prior to the meltdown.  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-12-2009/jim-cramer-extended-interview-pt--1

Of course during and after the meltdown; not so good.

You could pretend to read and understand the WSJ I suppose and review a number of business sites and then put together important spread sheets. But you might do better just putting a list of stocks from the WSJ  on your wall and throwing darts at it.  Hell even a monkey can do that. http://seekingalpha.com/article/110147-bobo-the-dart-throwing-monkey-s-five-hot-etfs

Or you could go see a professional, somebody who knows what they are doing. You could have gone to Bear Sterns to get your stock tips.  If you did by the way, get a good book on coupon clipping along with my new book entitled: How To Survive With Your Thermostat Set at 45 in the Winter.

The problem is this. If, after a long and careful search you find the best stock advisor and he gives you the heads up on some pending catastrophe that could hurt your portfolio; you could end up in jail for receiving inside information.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Stewart

Ben Stein is just a master at financial counseling:

Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor: Reaching for Yield in Today's Market ISBN 1-4019-0319-3 Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably: The Baby-Boom Retirement Crisis and how to Beat It ISBN 1-4019-0318-5 2006  Just one heck of a guy that Ben Stein. Here is what he had to say in August 2007:

On August 18, 2007, on Fox News Channel's Cavuto on Business, Stein appeared with other financial experts dismissing worries of a coming credit crunch[23]. The lone dissenter was Peter Schiff, who predicted that the mortgage sector would create a crisis leading to massive recession, a view that produced laughter from the other experts. Stein strongly recommended investing in then-troubled financial institutions[23].

Ben Stein: The credit crunch is way overblown. The [financial institutions] are being given away; they're so unbelievably cheap...The subprime problem is a problem, but it's a tiny problem in the context of this economy...It's a buying opportunity, especially for the financials, maybe like I've never seen before in my entire life.

Peter Schiff: This is just getting started. It's not just subprimes. This is a problem for the entire mortgage industry. It's not just people with bad credit that committed to mortgages they couldn't afford. It's not just people with bad credit who are going to see their home equity vanish... This is going to be an enormous credit crunch...Neil Cavuto: You must be a laugh-riot at parties.

Ben Stein: ...subprime is tiny. Subprime is a tiny, tiny blip.

Peter Schiff: It's not tiny. And again, it's not just subprime. It's the entire mortgage market.

Ben Stein: You're simply wrong about that... Defaults for the whole mortgage market are tiny.

Ben Stein: I think stocks will be a heck of a lot higher a year from now than they are now.

Well at least old Ben is a laugh-riot at parties even if he lacks even a modicum of prescience.. 

If you break down Mr. Steins' advice as far as retirement it kind of goes like this:

Get eight million dollars. That should be enough. Now take a couple million and hide it. Hide it off shore. Hide it in a jar. Hide it in your car. Does not matter. It will be there when every thing else goes south.

Then make sure that the investment of your hard earned six million dollars beats the cost of living raises over the year of investment though.

Oh. And if everything else goes south, get a job selling fraudulent products. http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/08/ben-stein-fired-by-new-york-times/

I mean you might pick up more than a couple of good bucks from selling drugs, but why do that when you  can take the opportunity to help some crooks steal millions of dollars from millions of people?

Using a Market-Beating Broker

I am not sure what the author is referring to but I really do not care and I think I covered this anyway.

Fleeing to Safety

Well what more can I say about this. Always have your visa updated and ready and when things really go south and the SEC is about to show up or even some sharp narcs, get on a plane to the Caribbean and get the hell out of here.

Believing All Bonds Are Safe.

Who cares?

Being Tempted by ETF's

Do not be overly tempted by ETF's.  That is what I always say.

Ignoring Immediate Annuities

I always put my faith in the Putting Off Annuities. I mean if the markets fail, you gotta give the annuity enough time to get their government bailouts and start stealing some good money again.

Retiring  Too Early

Do not retire too early. If you are 25 and have Ben Stein's eight million dollars in the bank, go ahead and retire.

If you are 75 and are not sure if you can afford your hemorrhoid medicine this month; DO NOT RETIRE.

Not Having a Current Will

I mean you are dead. Why should you care about your investments?

Remarrying Without a Prenup

An. A little advice here. Give her flowers and go out to eat once a week. BUT JESUS H. CHRIST, DO NOT MARRY HER. GEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!!!  And if that does not work you can always tell her that you are a Roman Catholic and the Church does not recognize the divorce proceedings that occurred in the early 1980's.

Taking Social Security Too Soon

That is right. If you are in my age group, do not take Social Security at age 62.  Just sleep in the park for three short years, pick up some food stamps and.....never, never, never, get sick.  One day you will wake up and you will be 65 and you can have all your Social Security Benefits.

Of course if you choose to die at age 67, you kinda lost out on some real pocket change.

http://www.walletpop.com/retirement/biggest-retirement-mistakes