August 26th, 2006
Further to my entry called “Three Reasons Why I Might Be Poor When I Retire” .. I’ve had fun reading all of the lists that other bloggers had come up with. Some are obvious, some are not too obvious, some are hillarious and some are such common sense that you wonder why you didn’t think of that!
Well, I’ve been enjoying Liz Strauss’s version of a summary of all the lists .. (and a few around the ‘net surfing around the sites themselves) .. but Darren Rowse finally had them sorted out into nice and neat categories and finally made this into an “ORDERED LIST” (pun). Here are the categories:
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August 24th, 2006
Retirement Planning: Taking Advantage of Matching Contributions
By L. Sampson
Many companies offer matching contributions for your retirement plan. Are you taking full advantage of this opportunity to maximize your retirement account growth?
A matching contribution is one that your company matches and invests in your company retirement account. When managing you money in preparation for retirement, it is a good idea to take full advantage of the matching contribution if your workplace offers the option.
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August 24th, 2006
10 Effective Ways To Reduce Your Expenses & Increase Your Savings
By Edy Subiyanto
A lot of people outspend their income every month. What most people earn from their jobs is simply not enough to meet their needs; hence most people take on a second part-time job or start their own business to supplement their income from their main jobs.
In addition to finding ways to increase one’s earnings, there are several key ways through which you can reduce your expenses; manage your finances better and start saving some money.
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August 22nd, 2006
Will Women Face Financial Hardship in Retirement?
By Debra Lohrere
The looming hardship that will be faced by many of the baby boomers once they retire could well affect women a lot harder than men. The likelihood of the government being able to afford any sort of reasonable amount of pension is very slim, simply because of the magnitude of the number of people who will be retirees, compared to the working population. The Australian government has realised this, and that is why they introduced the compulsory employer paid superannuation scheme and are even now beginning to give financial incentives to Self-funded retirees. They are also now encouraging people to work well beyond the 65 year barrier.
Most people have never sat down and even considered the ramifications of why the compulsory super was introduced and for many of us it is a matter of too little too late. Even for the young women in our society – who have a full working life ahead of them, they still cannot rest assured of a comfortable retirement.
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August 21st, 2006
Retirement Then vs. Retirement Now
By Rick Ramos
Most of us dream of a retirement of travel, relaxation and nothing but free-time. But, if you’re in that majority are you in the minority of those actually saving for your golden years? Only about 30% of Americans are actively saving for life after 65 and only about 25% are confident of their ability to afford it. The scariest statistic of all? Almost half of the workforce have no retirement plan in place at all.
Some of the statements I have heard in my meetings with clients about their retirement: our budget is too tight, we are going to start next year, I am not worried about it right now. The list goes on and on but the thing I find when I probe a little deeper is fairly simple: People are afraid. They are afraid of what they are not doing, they are afraid of the costs but mostly they are afraid of the unknown. Americans simply don’t know how they are going to retire.
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August 17th, 2006
An Estate Planning Primer
By Bill Willard
An estate plan can be designed by clients and their professional advisors to achieve the client’s personal and financial objectives. Or, it can be an arrangement imposed upon survivors by state intestate succession laws if someone dies with¬out a valid, up-to-date will. Even though a will is the most basic estate plan¬ning tool, two out of three Americans die without one.
A comprehensive estate plan can arrange the ownership, management and distri¬bution of your assets in ways that meet your needs and objectives while mini¬mizing estate shrinkage. Without such a plan, whatever you may think is going to happen to your estate after you’re gone probably won’t.
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