Modern societies idea of “health” has become so twisted that we have started using “wellness” to describe a state of being without the presence of illness and actual physical well-being.

Prevention is not taking a pill to lower cholesterol to “prevent” heart disease; it is eating right and exercising regularly to prevent your cholesterol from being less than optimum to begin with.

You can think of health as an equation: H = (+)-(-). Health is what you do FOR your body minus what you do TO your body! Ask yourself next time you grab a donut or that second slice of cake “is this going to help my body or hurt it?”

What can you do to be healthy and have overall wellness?

1. Eat well: Natural fresh, healthy foods such as fresh organic fruits and mostly vegetables with small amounts of fresh grass-fed meats and fish. Steer clear from chemicals, preservatives and food with a long shelf life. If your food doesn’t die after a few days, then it isn’t good for you. (There are a few exceptions like nuts, seeds, etc.)
2. Move well: Movement is life. Research shows that if your body is not moving the way it should that it starts to deteriorate after 3 days. This is how arthritis begins, and the effects are often felt later in life.
3. Think well: A good attitude goes a long way. A positive mental outlook provides increased energy for your day. A negative attitude has been shown to decrease your immune system function and can lead to chronic pain syndromes.
4. Chiropractic: Your spine houses all the circuits in your body. If your spine isn’t moving properly it can cause sparks in those circuits, leading to muscle, joint and tissue dysfunction and causing you not to move to feel well. Chiropractic adjustments keep your body working optimally and provide a means for true health, not just merely the absence of dis-ease.

Many people maintain good oral hygiene, but what about spinal hygiene? If you think about, it we use our spines a lot more than we use our teeth.

Could you survive without your teeth? Could you survive without your nerves or spine? But when was the last time your “brushed your spine”?

Chiropractic adjustments are what we use to keep your spine and nervous system healthy. They are very safe, effective, inexpensive and pain free.

So there it is! Four simple things you need to stay happy and healthy. Who knew it could be so easy?

Antonio Marotta D.C. is a Clifton Park chiropractor.

For more information:

• Marotta Health and Wellness Chiropractic, 939 Route 146 Suite 230, Clifton Park, 357.3347
• Dr. Marotta’s Facebook page

In order for your brain to communicate effectively with your body, however, there must be a connection between the brain and your body. That connection is called the spinal cord — just part of your nervous system.

For those of you who are not very clinically oriented, think of the spinal cord as a telephone cable containing millions of tiny “wires” called nerves. They originate in your brain and travel along your spinal cord to different parts of your body. The body’s longest nerve is the sciatic nerve; it extends into your toes. It can be up to 7 feet long. That’s a lot of nerve.

The function of these nerves is to transmit information and messages between your brain and your body, so that you can execute your program and maintain normal function and health.

This message transmission is referred to as synaptic transmission. The nerve has to fire information across a tiny space — a synapse — located between the nerve and the end organ. This system relies on the release of neurotransmitter chemicals to affect message transmission. Synaptic transmission is the conventional thought when people envision a “pinched nerve.”

Very recent evidence, however, points to a system that utilizes nonsynaptic transmission to cause an effect on body function. This brand-new research deals with the idea of “wave propagation” and tone. It was discovered that messages sent by the nervous system could travel through wave-amplification centers and affect other neighboring centers through resonance. Sounds complicated? Not really.

Imagine holding a tuning fork that is vibrating in the proximity of one that is not. You’ll note that the vibration of one will start to affect the other. Thus information is transmitted throughout the body by nonsynaptic means — in waves.

To complicate matters even more, recent evidence points to a “chaotic construct” and individual cell neuronal synchronization — cell message centers. Now I am getting really complicated, so let’s leave that alone for the time being.

The bottom line is this: If the nervous system is allowed to function normally and transmit information from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain with nothing interfering in this process, then you should have the best health you’ve ever had. We simply call this normal.

Imagine, however, taking a knife and cutting the spinal cord in half between the neck and the shoulders. How many of you suspect that this would not be a good thing to do? You are right. We have just caused a serious breach in communication between the brain and the rest of you. It would mean instant death.

If on the other hand, we caused a small interference in the spinal cord — a tiny nick — making only part of your nervous system inoperative and leaving the rest transmitting information fairly normally, your body would then not function normally. In other words, your body would no longer be able to follow your program. It would malfunction.

Let’s look at this closer. Consider, for example, driving your brand new Lincoln. Instead of having it running on 8 cylinders, as it should, it is now only running on 5. The dashboard warning bells, whistles and lights are all on, there is smoke appearing in the back of the vehicle, and at every stoplight it stalls. But generally it is still drivable. That would be a good example of malfunction.

Your body is similar. It can still function to a degree, but you would not have good health. I call this survival or just simply getting by. It is not OK.

To many of us, though, this seems to be the normal operating state for a human being. We even expect this state of affairs when we “get older,” and over our lifetime we surround ourselves with things we are no longer able to do. It soon becomes a wall so high we are unable to see over it. That is not health.

What would be examples of malfunction in the body? Stiffness of movement (especially in the morning), numbness and tingling in the hands or feet, chronic cough, diarrhea, constipation, wheezing, dribbling in your underwear when you cough or sneeze (yes, the Depends people love you), ear infections, etc. There are thousands of examples of malfunction.

While I’m on this topic, allow me to say a word on the use of Depends or Attends. The simple problem of bladder incontinence affecting millions of people has been transformed into a “disease,” so that a diagnosis can now be made and a drug can now be prescribed.

This is now called “overactive bladder disease.” Have you heard of it? I’ll bet you have.

How bizarre is that concept? Your bladder decided to dribble all by itself? Without your permission? Who is in charge anyway?

I’ll cover how you develop disease, illness and symptoms in my next column — stay with me! I’ve received quite a bit of calls from you to learn more about these topics and your kids so feel free to call me (383.5595) or email me (forlifetimewellness@yahoo.com) with your health questions.

John Ferguson D.C. is a wellness chiropractor in Clifton Park and a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

For more information:

• Ferguson Family Chiropractic, 54 Crossing Blvd. Suite H (behind the clock tower), Clifton Park, 383.5595
• Ferguson Family Chiropractic Facebook page
• International Chiropractic Pediatric Association

Or at least a sweet business relationship.

Park 19 was chosen to provide cookies for gift bags given to Oscar dignitaries staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Each bag included gems and jewelry, gift certificates, clothing, skin-care products and more. One of the bag’s 42 items was a Park 19 cinnamon bun cookie. Among the recipients were Sunday night Oscar winners Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock and Mo’Nique along with celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Foxx, Susan Sarandon and James Cameron.

“Each gift bag is worth $7,000,” Park 19 owner Jenn Savino said. “It’s so cool.”

Even cooler would be if some if the gift bag recipients become regular customers.

Park 19’s trip to LA began with an ad Hollywood Baskets placed in a public-relations publication seeking contributors to its first swag bag for the Oscars. Somehow news of that ad reached one of Savino’s friends, who called her with information about the proposal.

Soon Park 19 cookie samples were on their way to California. There they quickly passed the high standards of Hollywood Baskets founder Lisa Gal and her staff.

“We see a lot of different products, but these cookies are amazing,” Gal said. “They taste amazing, they’re so unique, and they’re really inexpensive. There’s nothing like them out here.”

Gal — whose company creates thousands of gift baskets each year for celebrities such as Teri Hatcher, Oprah Winfrey and Ashley Judd along with Disney Studios and the casts of “The Lovely Bones” and “The Ugly Truth” — assembled her staff to pick the flavor for the swag bags.

“They all really liked the cinnamon bun cookie,” she said. “By a mile that was the flavor they chose.”

Gal was at a disadvantage during the selection process. Because of a serious nut allergy, she was unable to try all of the samples.

“I loved the smores cookie. It was my favorite. I love smores, so I loved it,” she said. “I also really liked the red velvet cookie.”

Gal loves the cookies so much that she is adding them to her regular offerings. She said in her business it’s important to pay attention to each item that goes into a basket because clients are counting on her to make a good impression for them.

“We want everything in our baskets to meet the highest quality standards,” said Gal, who plans to feature a special Park 19 homecoming gift on her company website.

That’s good news for Savino, who is in the process of moving Park 19 to a new facility with plans to increase production.

“The goal is to expand the business quite a bit,” she said.

Hollywood Baskets would be happy to be a part of that.

“We’re really glad we found Park 19,” Gal said, “and we’re really glad they found us.”

Swag bag recipients:

• Best actor winner Jeff Bridges
• Best actress winner Sandra Bullock
• Best supporting actress winner Mo’Nique
• Best actress nominees Gabourey Sidibe and Carey Hannah Mulligan
• Best actor nominees Colin Firth and Morgan Freeman
• Best supporting actor nominee Stanley Tucci
• Best supporting actress nominees Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick and Maggie Gylanhall
• Best director nominee James Cameron
• Best original song nominee Maury Yeston
• 2004 best actor winner Jamie Foxx
• 1996 best actress winner Susan Sarandon
• Avatar stars Zoë Saldaña and Stephen Lang
• Avatar producer Jon Landau
• The New Tenants producers Erika Hampson and Sam Bisbee
• Pixar CEO Simon Bax
• TV personalities Oprah Winfrey and Ryan Seacrest
• Entertainment Weekly editor Jess Dorman
• Four Seasons LA general manager Mendhi Eftakari
• Swag bag giveaway winner Terri Williams

For more information:

• Park 19 Cookies of Saratoga, 664.4300
• Hollywood Baskets, 2219 West Olive Avenue Suite 131, Burbank, Calif., 800.379.8219
• Four Seasons Hotel, 300 South Doheny Drive, Los Angeles, Calif., 310.273.2222
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Calif., 310.247.3000

The 7th-graders are learning how to sew in their family and consumer sciences (FACS) class by creating quilts for children who could use some extra comforting. The 10 community service quilts will be donated to the pediatric unit at Northwoods at Hilltop, a rehabilitation center for children who have suffered head trauma and to Hospice Wave Riders, a support group for children who have had someone close to them die.

Koda students Nicole Rizzo and Analise Kirby work on a quilt that will be donated to either Hospice Wave Riders or Northwoods at Hilltop.

The students started the quilts last quarter in art class by drawing squares to be included in the quilts. This quarter — during their FACS sewing unit — the 7th-graders are assembling the quilts. For most of them, it’s the first time they’ve ever used a sewing machine, though they did hand-stitching in their 6th-grade FACS classes.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to do this,” Marcus Romano said. “I haven’t really sewed before. I thought it was going to be hard.”

Every year, the middle-school FACS classes combine community service with their sewing units. Some years they’ve made stuffed animals for ambulances and fire departments to give children at emergency scenes.

“It’s always something about kids, a group or project that involves kids,” said teacher Jennifer Nicholls, who added community service is a state curriculum requirement. “A lot of times people come to us and say, ‘Hey, we have this, and can you help?’”

This year’s idea of quilts came from Ann Schwanda, who has been leading young people in making quilts for children in need since her sons were in elementary school.

“In 2000, one of the teachers asked me if we could do it with all of Karigon,” Schwanda said.

In the 2000-01 school year, the students she worked with made 24 quilts. This year that number has grown to 125.

“Most of the kids really get that they are doing this for kids who have had something happen in their lives,” Nicholls said. “We’re teaching them that art can be community service — that no matter what they do they are making a difference in this world.”

For more information:

• Koda Middle School, 970 Route 146, Clifton Park, 881.0470
• Karigon Elementary School, 970 Route 146, Clifton Park, 881.0530

On Tuesday, the mall announced that Alpin Haus had decided to open its store in Clifton Park — becoming the latest success in DCG Development’s renovation of the facility since purchasing it in 2006.

“We just showed them a number of benefits to Clifton Park,” said Rick Eaglestone, DCG’s marketing director.

The shopping center is on a hot streak. A Chipotle Mexican Grill just opened, and a Buffalo Wild Wings is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall. A freestanding Olive Garden will be built with plans to open next year. Not bad for what was once considering a struggling mall.

“It’s wonderful for the people of Southern Saratoga County,” Eaglestone said.

The more Alpin Haus thought about where to put its store, the more Southern Saratoga made sense.

“It’s right in the sweet spot of where we need to be,” Alpin Haus president Andy Heck said, citing Clifton Park’s location between Albany and Saratoga Springs.

The store — a swimming pool and ski shop — is due to open in May. Heck said his company likes that there isn’t much competition in the Northway corridor between the two cities.

“There’s nothing really in Latham and Clifton Park,” he said.

While Alpin Haus likes the promise of the area’s future growth with the coming of GlobalFoundries, the company is excited about the region’s current demographics.

“There are an awful lot of active people in that area,” Heck said.

Eaglestone said that more and more businesses are coming to appreciate Southern Saratoga’s demographics and potential. That means more of them are considering locating in the area and at Clifton Park Center.

“We’re working on a number of new stores. Some more nationals, but we’re not close enough to talk about them yet,” Eaglestone said. “I think it’s going to pick up even more.”

For more information:

• Alpin Haus, coming to Clifton Park Center in May
• Clifton Park Center, 22 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park, 371.7010

Maybe the first sign of a problem is that you lift a prescription bottle of your own or a family member and it seems a little light. You look inside and note that the supply is lower than you thought and make a note to get a refill soon.

Maybe the prescription is hydrocodone (Vicodin or Lortab) left over from some dental work or minor surgery, or maybe you have a bottle of over-the-counter cough medicine from a child’s illness last winter.

According to national surveys, more than 75% of teenage prescription drug abusers say they got their drugs from friends or family. It’s easy enough to slip into the bathroom and lift a few pills from someone’s bottle of OxyContin, Xanax or Valium.

And even if your children would never do this (or you don’t have children), visitors or workmen to your house or your aging mother’s house could check the medicine cabinet while using the bathroom or working on the house. Once someone has your medication (or perhaps the medication of a family member you are caring for) then it’s up for grabs.

About 9% of high school seniors admit to abusing a narcotic drug other than heroin — mostly prescription opiates and opioids like methadone, OxyContin, Percocet or Vicodin. Approximately 40% of these students say it is easy or very easy to get their hands on these drugs.

The answer is very simple: lock prescriptions away. It can be as easy as stopping by an office supply store and getting a small locking box. Place your medications in the box, keep it in a drawer and keep the keys well hidden — this will prevent casual theft. You can locate a locking medicine cabinet that are available online for $100 to $200 plus an installation charge if you have a handyman mount it in the bathroom.

If you have prescriptions that are no longer needed, don’t hold onto them. Rather than flushing them down the toilet, which adds them to the water supply, check with local pharmacies to see if they will dispose of them for you or contact your local waste service company and ask about hazardous waste disposal.

A very little bit of work on your part can help keep these drugs out of circulation in your community.

If you find yourself frequently using pain medications (including aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) you should consider consulting with a chiropractor. Pain is your body’s way of communicating to you that there is a problem. These medications silence that communication.

Think of it this way: You hear a loud, obnoxious noise in your house. You can’t stand the noise, so you call the a friend for help. They come to your house and say, “Here’s your problem: Your smoke detector is going off.” Instead of calling professionals such as the fire department, they take the battery out of the detector.

Problem solved, right? Eventually the problem would get worse — the house burns down — but you ignored it by stopping the signal. Many medications do the same thing.

The point is to get yourself checked.

Often times a problem that has been occurring that has been causing pain for more than 2 weeks is a physical problem. Physical problems require physical medicine (chiropractic care excels with this) not chemical medicine (the problem would return once you stopped the medication).

Chiropractic care is safe, natural and highly effective. Because of its non-invasive nature it should be considered first in any treatment of pain or “neuro-musculo-skeletal” disorders.

Antonio Marotta D.C. is a Clifton Park chiropractor.

For more information:

• Marotta Health and Wellness Chiropractic, 939 Route 146 Suite 230, Clifton Park, 357.3347
• Dr. Marotta’s Facebook page
• Testimony of Stephen J. Pasierf, Abuse of Prescription and Over the Counter Drug, March 1, 2008
• Monitoring the Future Study, 2009
• Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs, October 2009

The project will be funded with the NYSERDA grant as well as a $149,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The town will contribute $13,000 toward the total project cost of $198,000. Construction is expected to begin later this year and will be completed by the end of the year.

“The solar panels on the highway garage will reduce the town’s electrical energy consumption and also allow the highway department to consolidate significant energy-consuming operations,” town Supervisor Phil Barrett said. “Clifton Park is committed to energy and environmental improvements and is pleased to partner with NYSERDA and the Department of Energy on this project.”

The power produced by the solar energy system — and therefore not purchased from the grid — translates to more than 62,000 pounds of carbon dioxide saved from emission into the atmosphere over 25 years. This is roughly the equivalent of planting 17,164 trees or reducing the consumption of 3,224 gallons of gasoline a year.

The project involves the installation of 160 Evergreen 210-watt solar panels on the garage’s roof. The roof area is free from shading and has a clear view to the south, allowing maximum solar energy to be harvested by the installed panels.

“Clifton Park continues to play a leadership role across the state in promoting clean energy initiatives,” said Councilman Scott Hughes, the cochairman of the town’s G.R.E.E.N. Committee. “This project will allow us to decrease energy usage, save money and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

In other news from Monday night’s town board meeting:

• The board heard a presentation by CERT volunteer Paul Zohn, who recently used his Community Emergency Response Team training to save a family member who was choking.
• The board held a public hearing on a proposed project to replace the Clifton Gardens basketball and tennis courts.
• The board scheduled a public hearing to discuss a New York State Community Development Grant to renovate the town’s senior center.

For more information:

• Clifton Park Town Hall, 1 Town Hall Plaza, Clifton Park, 371.6651

Sullivan’s responsibilities include day-to-day financial and office management of the Chamber as well as serving as executive assistant to Chamber president and CEO Peter Aust.

Carrie Sullivan

Sullivan will also assist in the staff management of various programs, events and special projects. Chamber members will benefit by her previous involvement in a Chamber of Commerce through her strong member-centric belief and positive attitude.

“As a former small business owner, I benefited greatly from my membership in the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce. So I understand the important role that chambers play in the success of the business community,” Sullivan said. “I’m so excited to be a part of that again.”

Carrie’s experience in financial management and previous chamber of commerce involvement will further enhance her effectiveness at managing the chamber’s strategic initiatives.

“It is with excitement that we welcome Carrie to our team of professional chamber staff,” Aust said. “We look forward to having her contribute her knowledge and talents to enhance our programs and services.”

For more information:

• The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, 15 Park Ave. Suite 7, Clifton Park, 371.7748

A. Self-healing

Your body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism — it is designed to heal itself and regulate all its own functions.

That is amazing! You do not need to do anything! It does it all by itself!

Many patients are surprised when I mention that once a month, they get a brand new liver. Liver cells die, and you get new ones approximately every 24 days. What an amazing concept.

The next time you are at a party you can amaze your neighbors. Listen to this: Every 4 months all your red blood cells are replaced, like clockwork, for the rest of your life. What an awesome thought.

You get new taste buds every 11 days, and even your stomach lining is replaced every 5 days. And when you go home in the evening and slip on your PJs, you literally shed millions of skin cells in the process — they float onto your carpet. Did you know that 98 percent of all the dust in your house is made up of your dead skin cells? You actually vacuum up yourself when you clean the house.

The point I am making is that your body is in a constant state of change and repair. It is designed to repair and heal itself.

In order for it to do that, however, it must follow a very exact program that is set into motion almost from the time you are conceived. I always have fun with my patients when I am doing my consultations because I always ask them, “I want to know why you, Betty, are not following your program. Think about this for a moment –- why is your body not doing what it is designed and programmed to do?”

When you are not well, your body is not following your program. Sounds simple and logical, doesn’t it? And yet for most people this is a very foreign thought. Why?

You have been trained and carefully taught that drugs are the answer to your health quest, that your health problem is the result of having too little Advil in your system. That your heartburn is the result of a lack of Tums and your IBS the result of an absence of Prednisone. The alarming thought is that as adults, most still think this way. And the most damaging aspect of this is that most parents then pass these bizarre principles of health onto our children.

B. Computer control

The second principle is even more interesting. It is based on the fact that the nervous system is the body’s master controller. It is like a computer control center that runs you. It runs and executes your program.

As long as your nervous system is able to communicate effectively with every cell, tissue, every nook and cranny of you, you then should have the very best health you have ever had in your life. We simply call this normal. It’s what being healthy is all about!

C. Interference

Here is where this gets really cool. If something interferes with the function of your nervous system and it is not able to do this, your body will not be able to do what it is programmed and designed to do.

In other words, you will not be able to follow or execute your own program. Your body will start to do its own “thing.” And that is when people first notice that something is not right. We call this malfunction. Malfunction can take many different forms. (I’ll discuss this in detail next week.)

D. I am the new sheriff in town

My responsibility as a doctor of chiropractic is to simply restore law and order — to locate areas in your spine where there is a break in this communication.

Such a break interferes with your normal nervous system function — an area of your spine where the nerve signal is being interrupted or interfered with. Chiropractors call these areas of interference vertebral subluxations.

Our mission is simple: correct any vertebral subluxations, so that normal nerve function is restored and your body is able to function as it was designed and programmed. This will make the nervous system able to communicate and control body functions once again — amazing health is the result.
You see — I’m the new sheriff in town.

John Ferguson D.C. is a wellness chiropractor in Clifton Park and a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

For more information:

• Ferguson Family Chiropractic, 54 Crossing Blvd. Suite H (behind the clock tower), Clifton Park, 383.5595
• International Chiropractic Pediatric Association

Are you sitting down for this? Retirees who arrange their affairs to retire with modest lifestyles are the most secure. That sounds so obvious that it probably does not need to be stated. But because we also see and hear about many retirees who don’t position themselves this way, perhaps it is not so obvious to everyone.

“Modest lifestyles” are a relative concept –- what is modest for one might be extravagant to another. Dictionary.com defines “modest” as free from ostentation or showy extravagance … limited or moderate in amount, extent …” We might take the liberty of adding ”at a somewhat lower level than your current lifestyle.”

Certainly, we would not want to discourage anyone from trying to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement. It’s an admirable, as well as ambitious goal. But the main benefit of a “modest lifestyle” is that you will be able to reduce your long-term exposure to the stock market in retirement — thereby decreasing the amount of volatility (i.e., risk) in your portfolio — thereby, providing less stress and more restful sleep at night.

Ideally, you should plan to live on a withdrawal rate of 4% of your investments. Any earnings and growth above 4% should provide a cushion to keep up with future inflation. The less exposure to the stock market, the more consistent that 4% withdrawal rate will be. We are not suggesting that anyone abandon the stock market completely during retirement. Rather, we suggest maintaining the level of stock market exposure you need, but no more than that.

Studies have shown that having a 20% exposure to the stock market is actually less risky than having no stock market exposure. In fact, up to about 30% stock market exposure is just about as risky as no stock market exposure. This is consistent with the old adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The benefit of diversification gained by having a mix of stocks, fixed income and other assets in your portfolio is what actually lowers your risk.

The following is a list of some ways you too can achieve a more modest lifestyle. This list is by no means all inclusive. Feel free to share any ideas you may have for possible inclusion in future postings:

1. Have your mortgage paid off prior to retirement.
2. Have your vehicles paid off prior to retirement and when replacing them, consider quality used cars.
3. When traveling, look for ways to do so that might be less costly. Sometimes good deals on travel are available to people who are most flexible with their schedules and can make plans more quickly. Last minute deals abound on cruises; and you can sometimes get good airfare when you travel offseason and midweek. In this tough economy, many hotels and resorts are offering incentives as well. Do some homework ahead of time and save some money in the process.
4. Think twice before committing to large purchases or gifts. How will either affect your life and lifestyle in the event your portfolio was to lose money down the road?
5. Reduce the number of times you dine out each month by 1 or substitute a lower priced alternative once a month.
6. Rent movies or get them on demand at home rather than go to the theater. You’ll save money and can sneak in all the snacks and beverages you want.
7. If you’re considering relocating, look for where you can get the most bang for your buck. Consider the price of homes, the local amenities and services available, as well as the state and local tax structure. States with no income tax are nice, but be sure you understand their property tax structure and what you may be giving up in services. Also, if you retire from a government job, many states exempt your pension from taxation. So bear that in mind when evaluating the tax implications. Many people are looking outside the U.S. as their retirement destination. In many places, your dollar, though weakened, still goes a long way. Many places in Central America, for example, are becoming retirement hotspots for many Americans.
8. Be sure to provide for your long-term security before funding education expenses for your children and grandchildren. If you Google “students loans,” you’ll find lots of options. If you Google “retirement loans” not so much!
9. Reduce your energy costs by driving more efficiently — covering more errands in one trip; lower your thermostat a degree or2; turn off lights and televisions when not in use.
10. Exercise and stay healthy to keep your healthcare costs down.
11. Save water –- shower with a friend! (Just making sure you’re still paying attention!)

As you can see, there are a myriad of ways to reduce your expenses in retirement, you just might need to be a little creative.

The sad reality of this recent economic meltdown is that all of our visions of retirement might need to be revised. We could certainly opt to work longer to put less strain on our financial resources, delay Social Security benefits to receive a larger benefit down the road or adjust our lifestyles to deal with this new reality.

While none of these options are ideal, perhaps one or a combination of several will permit you to still create the retirement lifestyle that you always dreamed of, even if done on a slightly lower budget.

Robert R. Roback Sr. CPA, a certified fund specialist and a chartered financial analyst, is a partner with Roback, Kumlander & Pehl CPAs and Luther Forest Wealth Advisors in Malta.

For more information:

• Roback, Kumlander & Pehl CPAs, 2715 Route 9 Suite 101, Malta, 899.5544