So many books have been written about personal finance.  And I'm not just talking about those published in the U.S (like the oft quoted "Rich Dad Poor Dad").  A growing number of titles have been written here in the Philippines including those of Francisco Colayco, Efren Ll. Cruz, and Chinkee Tan.  There are also the various newspaper columns including that of Randell Tiongson which deals with the subject matter.

If you are not the reading type and simply want to listen, there are a host of personal finance seminars which you could attend.  Yet, while there is indeed a growing interest in the area of managing personal finances, I would like to go out on a limb here to state that one's knowledge in personal finance only constitutes 6.66667% in developing a retirement plan.

Hello.  My name is "blindsided".  By day, I am supposed to be a person who dabbles in media.  On sleepless nights when the caffeine is still rushing within my veins, I am a Retirement Strategist.

Q: What does a retirement strategist do anyway?
A: The retirement strategist provides a person with a 360 degree view of one's retirement.

If you've ever heard the saying, "Not everything is about the money", the same holds true with retirement planning.  Money is only one-fifteenth of all the issues one has to deal with when it comes to retiring. 

Q: Why does one need the help of a retirement strategist?
A: Firstly, to define what retirement means in this day and age.  Bear in mind, the concept of retirement today is a whole lot different from the concept of retirement held by our parents twenty years ago. Secondly, to point out the other aspects/facets of retirement which have nothing to do at all with money. Thirdly, to state that the retirement strategist has six other objectives to delineate after the first two already mentioned.

Q: How does a retirement strategist operate?
A: A retirement strategist operates much like a coffee-cup counsellor.  Discussion over coffee on a per hour basis.  Client pays for the coffee.  Retirement strategist signals client when that one hour begins and when it is over.  Client then has the option to discuss further or defer discussion to a later date.

Q: How much does a retirement strategist charge on a per hour basis?
A: Send blindsided a Personal Message