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Practical Retirement Advice

Create Wealth One Step At A Time For Retirement

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Creating wealth is not a get rich quick scheme. It is about having a plan and working at it on a regular basis.It is about “slow and steady wins the race“. You are a tortoise and this can translate into wealth creation even if most of us will not end up instant millionaires. It is more about coming up with a wealth creation plan in an investment medium that you are comfortable with and committing to make it happen.

Many of us dream about winning the lottery. Imagine what fun it would be to have the money to spend. The odds of winning the lottery are very much stacked against you. In fact you have more chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery. Let’s forget the unlikely instant wealth and put our minds to work on saving and investing your way to a more likely wealth.

Did you know that apparently 70% of lottery winners end up broke within the first few years of the win? The theory behind this is that because you have not learnt how to make the money then an unexpected lump sum seems to beckon spending. You need to learn how to manage and invest money. Once spent it is almost impossible to re-create.

Instead the mantra should be creating wealth one step at a time. Stephen R Covey in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” Habit 2 says we should begin “with the end in mind”. He wants to emphasise beginning each day, task or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continuing to make those things happen. When we know where we want to end up then we can put plans in place to ensure that it happens. It becomes almost ridiculously simple. It isn’t but with a plan we know what needs to be done.

Lane Kawaoka is setting himself up to leave the rat race behind. He discovered that he could make a profit from renting out his house, and it spurred him on to purchase more investment properties. Lane is now a Real Estate Entrepreneur doing syndicated private equity group deals. From him you will learn how to set up simple positive cash flow with Real Estate. It is not a get quick rich scheme but this young man is setting himself up through a commitment and vision for a future which includes a dream retirement.

Real estate has worked for many people. However having a vision for your future, creating a plan and then working consistently towards achieving that goal increases the chances of reality in achieving that goal. For more on this listen to podcast episode #71 which is about how to leave the rat race by setting up simple cash flow through real estate.

 

Building For Your Future: How Easy is it to Trade Forex?

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Trade forex (image credit: Pixabay)

Forex trading means making money through the gains accumulated by pitting two currencies against each together. Today, it’s quite easy to trade Forex given the availability of online trading software. 

 

The global market of Forex boasts over AU$6.28 trillion in trading volume every day, making it the biggest financial platform in the world. It is bigger than all the stocks that are traded online on a daily basis. As it’s easy to trade Forex thanks to daily trading sessions, access to important trading leverages, and low premiums, Forex is seen as an attractive way to make money for people retiring soon.

While trading Forex is much more accessible to the general public now, it’s a different story when it comes to generating profits. Unlike any other venture that can be built on over time, Forex trading is an ever-changing landscape that gets affected by investor sentiment and economic factors.

For those who are considering trading Forex in order to generate some retirement funds, here are some things to consider before starting your trading journey.

Learn the Ropes

Potential Forex traders must learn everything about how the markets move and the major currencies involved with Forex. While most of the learning comes from experience, a trader must understand some of the theories on technical analysis, as well as a working knowledge on geopolitical and economic factors that affect the prices of currencies. For example, FXCM states that at one point China intentionally devalued their currency to draw more foreign business to the country. When that happened, traders had to decide whether it was a good time to buy or sell the Yuan. The answer depended on whether they thought that the Yuan would recover and strengthen in the future. If it did this meant that they could sell their investments at a higher rate. Monitoring the economic factors that affect currencies is an ongoing effort that traders need to do in order to be successful in Forex. 

Use a Demo Account

Most trading platforms come with a demo account. It allows traders to place inferences without using real money. While a demo account doesn’t award correct inferences with money, it does equip traders with the confidence to face real market decisions in the future.

It takes some time to become an expert trader so experiment with order entries and learn about making decisions based on charts. It’s not uncommon for traders to keep losing money by buying high-valued currencies instead of closing trades. Multiple errors in order entry will eventually make traders realise the importance of practice, and learn valuable lessons when it comes to losing unprotected trades. The Balance has a comprehensive article on how beginners can learn the basics of Forex charts. 

Find a Trustworthy Broker

Unlike stocks and commodities, Forex has no central exchange or “clearing house”. That being said, the lack of transparency makes the market vulnerable to certain instances of malpractice. In Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) acts as a watchtower to ensure that brokers are acting ethically. ASIC-regulated brokers must adhere to the organisation’s rules, one of which is keeping client funds separate from company funds.

If you’re unsure about a broker being referred to you, contact the ASIC to see if it’s compliant with the organisation’s rules.

The aforementioned subheadings are only the basics of the trade. Trading Forex is not as easy as people think as they need to constantly keep themselves in the loop with news that can affect currencies. In addition, they also need to be comfortable assessing price charts, through practicing with demo accounts, to make sound trading decisions. In short, while trading currencies through Forex is accessible, gaining profits is another story. However, once you get the hang of Forex trading, it can provide you with a steady stream of income that could make your retirement really comfortable.

How to avoid social isolation as you age?

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PDX group Co-HousingHow to avoid social isolation as you age? Isolation is one of the key issues that we face as we age. Women more than men will be in this predicament as women tend to outlive their male partners. Are you are rattling around in that big house on your own? Have you thought about where you will be able to live now that you have reached the third half of your life?

Our needs change over time. Just like our interests, our family engagement, our physical activities and our energy levels all change. Nothing ever stays the same. With this in mind, an assessment of our current living arrangements is advisable. It is always better to be prepared than to be forced to move into unfamiliar surroundings in our old age. My mum found it traumatic to move in her 80’s after Dad passed away.

Ending up on our own, loneliness and social isolation is something we all fear, especially in our senior years. Families are on the move and may end up interstate or overseas. If you do live in the same town as your family it does not guarantee that you will see them every day. As we age we become less active and need to be able to access services and community close to our home.

There is a trend to consider our living arrangements in advance. There are more choices out there now than the traditional retirement village models.  Some people are very adventurous and like to think outside the box, just as six friends decided to do as they were approaching retirement age. Eight years later they, The Shedders, as they are collectively called could not be happier with their choice to live together in retirement.

Living in an apartment or condominium complex is popular as seniors do not want the responsibility of maintaining the large house and garden. Another choice out there is living in co-housing. This concept originated in Denmark. Co-housing is about building an intentional community and establishing a collaborative colony of supportive friends. There are various models of co-housing. I spoke to Lew Bowers, the founding member of the PDX Commons Seniors Co-housing project in Portland, Oregon.

Lew and his wife were keen to avoid this problem of social isolation as they aged. Four years in the making listen to the episode and hear how Lew’s idea of creating a Senior Co-housing community in his hometown came to fruition. Learn how to avoid social isolation as you age by forming a collaborative community of supportive friends..

Until next time.

Ann

What Can You Do To Future Proof your Retirement Income?

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What can you do to Future Proof your Retirement Income? When my aunt turned 90 her guaranteed income from her annuity finished at 90. She had outlived her money and had to get used to living on the government pension.  Could you survive on just the government pension? What would you have to miss out on if your retirement income was suddendly reduced?

There are a few necessary questions that need to be asked when looking at Retirement planning. How long will your retirement savings last? What could you do to put more into your savings to make your nest egg  last longer? The sooner you do this exercise the more time you have to implement some strategies to Future Proof your Retirement Income.  Involve your significant other in this exercise and consult a Certified Financial Planner in your delibrations.

Why you could even retire sooner if you get your investing strategy right. It’s about having a look at things more creatively. David and Dana Hagstrom faced that situation, came up with a solution and are now helping others bridge the gap to retirement. You may be able to retire earlier than you thought.

grow your nest egg

You need to spend some time planning the type of lifestyle you want to enjoy in retirement. This will determine how much money your investments will need to earn to provide you with a suitable pay check each month. If you find you are coming up short of money then perhaps you could generate some extra funds for retirement to bridge that income gap.

 7 options to generate extra funds:-

  1. Keep working  past retirement age either full time or transition into retirement by working part time;
  2. Have investing strategies in place like investment properties;
  3. Supplement your retirement with a business. Either off-line or on-line. What could you do? For example become an agent and sell Herbalife or Avon, having a shop on eBay is becoming popular. If you can generate an extra $800 per month/$9600 per year can be the equivalent to having saved $240,000 towards retirement assuming a 4% return on your money. (The formula to work the equivalent savings out is divide the extra yearly income $9600 by 0.04 (assumed return))
  4. Releasing equity in your home. This can be achieved by either down- sizing and investing the excess funds for your future or taking out a reverse mortgage and spending the kids inheritance. A one level dwelling is most popular for retirees.
  5. Save more now. Cut your spending to increase your savings. What could you do to cut your spending?
  6. Take in a lodger to supplement your living expenses. If you are on your own this can make a lot of sense to rent out a room. You will get some company and some extra money.
  7. Join an investing club and learn how to trade shares on the stock market. In my town the local University of the Third Age (U3A) run a Successful Investor Course to teach how to buy and sell shares. Ask around and see what is available to learn in your town.

We need to recognize that the population and demographic changes will affect us all.  The qualifying age for the Aged pension is rising. Spend some time planning and educating yourself now will give you more choices later on. Ask yourself what can you do to Future Proof your Retirement Income?

Early Retirement: Would you like to travel the world at your leisure?

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Do you want to be able to pick your retirement date? If you want an early retirement then would you like to travel the world at your leisure?

The biggest difference between a comfortable and a modest lifestyle is the cost of our leisure activities. What type of lifestyle do you want in retirement, modest or comfortable?

I like the idea of more people having the choice to retire younger. The trick is to know what sort of lifestyle you want to enjoy in retirement. Once all the essential expenses are out of the way then our lifestyle budgets will get the balance of funds.

This could mean the difference of over $10,000 per annum or more for a couple. It goes back to planning and have you given much thought to what you want to be able to do in retirement? Do you want to travel and if so how often and to where? Are you happy to do a road trip within your country or do you want to travel overseas? Are you planning to go the movies, take in the latest show at the theatre and go to the game? How often will you eat out?

If you struggle to make ends meet then leisure pursuits will have a modest budget. You can still have an enjoyable life but you will have to put effort into planning your social activities on a budget.

To achieve early retirement we all need to have a strategy in place to save more than we spend. The earlier you want to retire than the more you need to save. How much is enough is the age old question? A guide is to put away at least 15% of your income.

In some countries it is compulsory for an employer to put a portion of wages into a retirement plan for employees. A good start for you then is to top up your retirement savings with the difference. In Australia compulsory superannuation for retirement is currently 9 1/2 per cent of gross wages. You need to be prepared to save at least 5 percent extra towards retirement on a regular basis?

If you want to get really serious then you could consider extreme savings. Mr Money Mustache states that ‘your middle-class life is an Exploding Volcano of Wastefulness’.  This website advocates that you will easily be able to cut your expenses in half so you can save half of your income. Even  saving two thirds or more is possible. Mr Money Mustache claims that by spending much less than you earn is the way to get rich. The ONLY way with surprising effects: if you can save 50% of your take-home pay starting at age 20, you will be wealthy enough to retire by age 37.

Norm Pyle and wife Deb from Kneedeepinit.com, decided to retire to a life on purpose. They had a radical shift and moved from cold Colorado to retire to the island of Vieques, PR. Norm & Deb were able to achieve their dream  when they decided they wanted to live our lives on purpose, not on autopilot. So that’s the mental shift they made, and that in turn made all the difference to their retirement savings.

Depending on which country you live it this may or may not be possible. It would be a good challenge to see what you could cut back on to save more of your take home pay packet. I read of a lady in the USA that after having a hard look at her expenses decided to sell her house, save the mortgage payments and chose to live in a trailer park. The mortgage payments went into her retirement savings instead and she is now well on the way to having an early retirement.

One family have given up their cars. They catch public transport, ride push bikes and walk. You can run a ruler across all of your expenses like buying the cup of coffee or more every day and see where money is being spent on non-essentials items.

 To make significant differences to your savings may require a complete re-think to how you currently live. Are you up for the challenge? Depends on how badly you want to be able to pick your retirement date?