November 2017 11

There’s an old saying that money can’t buy happiness, but it can often feel like more money would make everything better. With social media feeds flooded with exotic getaways, even a well-planned but cheap staycation can feel underwhelming. Fortunately, there are plenty of tips on how to be happy that don’t involve doling out large sums of money.

When it comes to preparing for retirement, 50 can be a pivotal age. At that age, most people are just 10 to 15 years away from leaving the workforce, and time is relatively limited to save for retirement.

But with a decade or more of work still remaining, you have enough time to make changes to your retirement savings strategy to ensure you reach your savings goals.

“Add up all of your life savings—your 401(k), your investments, the money under the mattress—and then divide that by 25. Could you live on that amount comfortably for one year?” asks David Rae, a certified financial planner and founder of DRM Wealth Management. “If the answer is yes, then you may be on track for retirement. If it’s no, it’s time to sit down with a fiduciary financial planner to figure out what else you can do to secure your financial future.”

Rae’s formula of dividing by 25 is based on the assumption that people will withdraw about 4% per year from their retirement funds to live on after leaving the workforce.

With that in mind, here’s a look at what retirement and personal finance experts say you should do at age 50 to maximize the likelihood of achieving your retirement savings goals.

From hurricanes to earthquakes to wildfires, several states have experienced the devastating impact of natural disasters — and taxpayers are now paying for it. In fact, extreme weather disasters cost American taxpayers more than $67 billion from 2000 to 2015, according to a 2016 report by the Center for American Progress.

Recent natural disasters — including Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and the wildfires in Northern California — left millions of residents in need of disaster assistance and cities in dire need of repair. Here’s a closer look at how much natural disasters cost American taxpayers.

Whether its college kids binge-watching “The Price Is Right,” or quiz show connoisseurs playing along with “Jeopardy!” many Americans dream of making a million — or at least winning a trip or two — on a television game show. While there are winners every episode, the odds of a game show minting a millionaire are slim. Still, they aren’t zero. Here are 10 game shows that have made their contestants their first $1 million.