It's not hard. Stop thinking about what your money can buy. Start thinking about what your money can earn. And then think about what the money it earns can earn. Once you begin to do this, you'll start to see that when you spend money, not only is that money gone forever, the money it might have earned is gone as well. And so on.

As individuals we only have one obligation to society: to ensure we, and our children, are not a burden to others. The rest is our personal choice. Make your own and make the world a far more interesting place.

You can withdraw up to 7% as long as you remain alert and flexible. That is, if the market takes a huge dive, cut back on your withdrawals and spending until it recovers.

Withdrawing 3% or less annually is as near a sure bet as anything in this life can be. Stray much further out than 7% and your future will include dining on dog food.

Before you start trying to pick individual stocks and/or fund managers ask yourself this simple question: “Am I Warren Buffett?” If the answer is “no”, keep your feet firmly on the ground with indexing.

The three tools: 1. Stocks: VTSAX ( Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund) - a wealth builder 2. Bonds: VBTLX (Vanguard Total Bonds Market Index Fund) - an inflation hedge 3. Cash: VMMXX (Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund) - a deflation hedge