Within the past 2-3 years many individuals across the country were affected by the turmoil that took place within the financial industry but also are imbedded with debt due to the wants that is ingrained in our society.So I felt it would be a good idea to inform individuals like yourselves on ways they can avoid present and future financial dilemmas.
We hustle everyday to work, we think the gov’t and Social Security will help solve all our problems.
Some important questions to ask yourself:1) How much money will I need to retire-It is easy to throw a number out there but how do you get there?
Question 2- At what age do you want to retire? Many expect to retire at age 65 depending upon how many years they have put into an organization. But if you haven’t noticed there are people working well beyond their years, some because they have no choice. As I mentioned prior, many have depended only on social security, review the SS newsletter you get every qtr, there is a clause informing you about the extinction of Social Security.
Question 3) How will the money get there? We are more trained to spend than to save, we pay our bills and expect to sock away whatever is left, but the problem is there usually isn’t anything left over , regardless if someone makes $20,000 or even $100,000. We are a nation of spenders!
We see a nice pair of shoes costing over $500 we buy it, anything we want we get!
Only 46% of Americans know how much to save for retire-Source: 2010 Retirement Confidence, Employer Benefit Research Institute 2010
Inquire if crowd knows who this person is? It’s our favorite Uncle Sam.. Every month he makes sure he is the person to get paid from your income and he never forgets. What do you think would happen if Uncle Sam said pay your bills first, go shopping and buy that dress or those jeans you wanted all along, take that cruise while you’re at it then at the end of the month send whatever you have left. It would probably never happen! Ex: Tax season, most people wait till the last minute and for those that overextend, they end up paying extra or worse..jail time
It may seem impossible but think of the things that you buy based on impulse: How many people drink coffee or smoke cigarettes? As opposed to going to dunkin donuts or starbucks everyday this is money that could be invested. $1, 3 adds up
Jeannie- Age 19 started investing $2000 a year with a compound interest rate of 10%. At age 26 she stopped investing & left her $16,000 to grow until age 65
Alex- Age 27 began saving for his retirement he also contributed $2,000 per year but he contributed for 39 years and retire at 65. His contribution over the years was $78,000
Sometimes people put off saving due to demands in their lives but don’t wait too late and say I should’ve , would’ve could’ve. There is only one way to break the cycle. Please note: this is also depends on the vehicle you use to save.
Ex: Purchasing a car, the bank says you qualify for a loan. The price of the car is $43,000, you take out a 10 year loan at an interest rate of 7.75%. You think it’s great! But what you don’t realize is that Mr. Interest has already punched in his time clock. Your monthly payment is around $520 a month but once you add maintenance, fuel & insurance you are averaging $800 a month which you knew before. But when you take the $800 per month and include the 7.75% for the next ten years. You’re really paying $96,813.82. Please note: The moment acar gets off the lot it depreciates, so you lose value.
Idea: What if you took the same $800 and invest it into a vehicle that doesn’t get taxed for the next 10 years and if had an average of 12% return you would have a savings of $184, 030.95
We have home loans, car loans and most of all: credit card loans and then when we can’t pay those loans we take out a loan to pay them.
609.8 million credit cards held by U.S. consumers. (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)
Expression: Knowledge is power, actually applied knowledge is power. You can have all the knowledge in the world but what is the point if you don’t apply it.
Future is right around the corner-We think it is an eternity away, don’t fall into the trap thinking you have plently of time. Start acting now