Is your Retire Fund in jeopardy of a Stock Market reversal?

You have recently retired, or will retire in the next few years, but you are still heavily invested in the stock markets because that is where the growth has come from for the past 10 or so years.

Maybe you took a beating in 2008, or maybe you didn't start saving/investing until late in your career, and you feel you need a bit more!

 Maybe it's time you considered "solidifying" the investments you still have.

Paper profits are great, until a sudden reversal in stock prices occurs.  If that happens this year,(and this writer believes it will), then you may be left trying to decide to "stay in" to try and recoup your losses, or cash out with 20-50% less profit. If such an event occurs, it maybe a decade before you recoup those losses.

To this date the Nasdaq has returned, year to date, over 19%  "THAT" my friends is a great return on investment! The SP500 has returned almost as much YTD!  I sincerely do not believe that retirees or those nearing retirement, "will ever see" returns like this again!!!

If you are over 50 or need the money in your portfolio for retirement, if you cannot afford a downturn in stock prices (or bond prices for that matter see: Bonds) then maybe you should consider the wise advice of the foremost investor in modern history, Mr. Warren Buffett, who famously said:

Remember, "Cash" is also a Position and, at this juncture, it may be the best position!

The web Domain Fund.com recently sold for 2.5 million dollars this year!

In recent years, these two Domains were sold for these prices:




RETIRE.COM  $2,000,000
FUND.COM    $2,500,000


NOW!  Your company can own

RETIREFUND.COM 

 for a lot less!

AND get the .net and org as a bonus!!!

RETIREFUND.com 

What are your clients doing?
                        "AFTER WORK"!

Go to RetireFund.com now to see the details of this auction:

Note: The sale and Escrow will be handled by reliable third party broker Epik.com
 

RETIRE FUND - The Internet Domain, is now on auction!

Web Domains (internet addresses) that employ direct, simple, easily understood English words, that describe the business being marketed, are highly sought after.

For instance:

The Domain Name

RETIRE.COM

Sold for 2 $Million Dollars





The Web Domain

FUND.COM

sold for 10 $Million Dollars





Our DomainName

RETIRE.FUND

Is a simple amalgam of those two domains.

RETIRE.FUND

OWN IT!





BID NOW AT

RETIRE.FUND

The Boeing Aircraft Company study showed that, early retirement could add 16 years to your life!

Image via Wikipedia

Early retirement may not be for everyone, but it certainly was for me, and after you read this, it may well be at the top of your "to do" list as well.

As I have mentioned before on this blog, I retired at age 55 (two years ago). Many people have a date or age in mind, usually between age 60 and 65. Some will work their entire lives. The only thing I regret about retiring at age 55, is that I did not retire at age 50. You see there is direct evidence that life expectancy greatly increases for those who chose to retire early.

Now, if you "want" to work beyond 55, or even 65, good for you! However, I want to share with you the results of this scientific study conducted several years ago, of approximately 4,000 retirees from several large companies including Boeing.

Without getting into all the details, (see the link at the end of this article for details) essentially, the study found that, people who stayed in the rat race (workforce) beyond the age of 55, lost 1.6 years of their lives for every year worked until 65. In other words, compared to the "Freedom 55" crowd, those retirees in the study, who chose to work until age 65, died, on average, 16 years earlier!

I know! I was blown away by that figure as well!

Now let's list some tidbits (besides the obvious health benefits) that may help you make the decision to retire early:

1. In 1999 dollars, the average child will take approx $100,000 to raise.(when will your nest be empty)

2. The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

3. The cost of smoking a pack a day, for 25 years: $100,375 (why not invest it)

4. If you live in Canada, you can receive the CPP at age 60 instead of 65.(Heres the strategy: take a small fund, turn it into a RIF and pay yourself the equivalent of your CPP until it actually kicks in at age 60 - One of your "multiple streams of income")

5. Couples: Instead of having "two" life insurance policies, you can now buy a "first to die" policy, thus reducing your overall cost.

6. Workers, on average, (who don't brown bag it) spend $75 to $100 on lunch and coffee, every week.($3650.oo per year)

7. In Canada, you can now split pension income with your spouse, thereby reducing your overall tax burden.

8. On average, people spend $6 per day on lottery tickets. ($2190 yr)

9. Grocery shopping on Wednesday (as opposed to Saturday) can save you as much as 20%, as well as the aggravation of lineups.

10. Only one car is often needed for a retired couple.

11. You won't be commuting, everyday, during rush hour.You avoid the stress and you save up to $10,000 per year usually spent on the commute vehicle.

12. People 55 and over get reduced rates on Cruise and other vacations . (I will show you in a later Blog how to get those vacations for as much as 50-70% off.)

If you feel you "have to have a place to go" when you retire, then volunteer. Volunteering gives you a sense of giving back, and adds to your overall sense of well being and good health.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking you will have to work forever. Retirement living is a lot less expensive than living in the rat race, and living 16 years longer certainly appeals to me. How about you?

Here is the link to the study about Early Retirement

And here is a link to another interesting article, Fewer People dying!

Is the Lottery your Retirefund?

Image by Renegade98 via Flickr

"I'm planning on winning the lottery"!

The plan is not the problem. The "execution" of the plan is. I am constantly surprised (and then again maybe not) at the number of people who have told me exactly these words ( in a joking manner of course) when asked about their retirement. Sadly, for many, it is not a joke.

Statistics for the Baby Boom Generation, and the top of Gen X indicate that over 50% of people surveyed have saved "nothing" for retirement. Let me repeat that, "nothing"! Many more have "some savings and investments, but not enough to retire and will most likely keep working beyond 65 (unless of course, they win a lottery).

You know, it is never too late to invest. There is a well known saying that, "The best time to invest in the market is 25 years ago. The next best time is Right now"! The stock market has been the driver of wealth for 100 years. It will be the driver of wealth for the next 100 years. At this time of uncertainty and worry, it may be a good time to jump back into the market. Summer rallies are not a common occurrence, but they do happen.

Get good advice, invest over time (not in one chunk) spread your investments around many stocks/funds. (The same strategy that spawned the mutual fund industry). Don't listen to the naysayers, for they will surely come and question your sanity. When the naysayers (friends, family, co-workers) begin to tell you how you are wasting your money, ask them if the lottery is their Retirefund! Then watch them squirm.

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Freedom 55 sure sounded good to me....

I first heard the term "Freedom 55" (a program belonging to the London Life co.) when I was in my 30's. Now I am not advocating for or against London Life, however I must admit that the slogan and the idea caught my attention.

My father, who ran a local electrical business employing 20 people, worked right up until 3 months before he succumbed to cancer at the age of 73. He grew up in an era when very few would have had an opportunity to retire so young. In fact, retirement was never in his vocabulary. He never spoke of it.

I guess that is why the slogan "Freedom 55" struck me so profoundly. I began to ask myself, why not? That became my target date for retirement and I never changed my mind about it until I did retire at 55 (Two years ago). For who truly knows how long life will last. I did not want to follow in my fathers retirement footsteps, even though my love and respect for him was and still is, immense. He was part of the "Greatest Generation" tempered by war, and grateful for peace.

What is freedom, in the context of "Freedom 55". After all we live in a free, democratic society where the pursuit of happiness is a right, as well as a privilege. Many brave people paid the ultimate price so that we could have that freedom. My fathers generation new that freedom isn't free.

The freedom as it is used in this context is financial freedom. The freedom to own a home, send your kids to college, drive a new car, buy a boat, travel where you want, belong to a golf club or whatever pursuits you fancy.

Maybe your freedom 55 (or whatever age you chose) is merely to own a small cottage near a great fishing lake. Maybe, like me, you would like to see the world from the deck of a cruise ship. So what, exactly, is holding you back?

Stay focused, get good advice, make a plan, stick to the plan, save your money and don't forget to "look after the pennies and the dollars will look after themselves"!

Also, remember the concept of "Multiple streams of income"! If your neighbor gets a check every month for $10,000 and you receive 11 checks of only $1,000, then who makes more money?