Archive for Retirement

16 Dec 2011
Retirement

Go Green – Save Money and Make A MASSIVE Difference

Everywhere you look these days it seems that the main message is, “go green and save money.” This is an appealing message for most people as we are constantly warned of the dire consequences of global warming out of control. People want to do their bit to help save the planet, and if they can save money at the same time, then it just obviously makes sense all round.

 

You can go green and save money just about anywhere. Your home is probably the most obvious place to start, but you can also do wonders with your car, in the office, out shopping, traveling on vacation, and much more. The opportunities are almost endless; going green doesn’t have to be more expensive, you can definitely go green and save money at the same time.

 

Your home probably leaks heat out during the winter and leaks heat in during the summer. For this reason most of us have winter heaters and summer air conditioning units. This should be the first place you investigate of how to go green and save money. Are all your windows tight? Are the door seals tight too? This is where heat can leak out and make your electricity bills soar.

 

If your house doesn’t have good loft insulation heat will pour out in winter and pour in during the summer. Insulation is one of the best ways to go green and save money. Your walls can have their cavities filled with insulating foam as well, all keeping the heat inside in winter and outside in summer for more comfortable living.

 

The water you use in the home is perhaps the easiest “go green and save money” source you have. Look for leaks first. Leaking faucets, even just the occasional drip, accounts for a lot of money wasted over time. You could waste as much as 140 gallons in a week!

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Are your hot water pipes insulated? They should be if you aim to go green and save money. Insulated pipes let the hot water reach the faucets faster, thereby saving water, while you go green and save money too. Low flow toilets are another way to save water. You don’t need to flush gallons of water away every time, just what you need.

 

Edison was a genius, but his light bulb invention has been superseded by the new compact fluorescent light bulbs. These are bulbs that use a mere 25% of the energy that a traditional light bulb uses. They also last 10 times longer. Replace all your traditional bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs and instantly go green and save money!

 

Just by making simple changes to your lifestyle, this is what can happen:

 

•           You can stop wasting water and still have more than enough.

 

•           You can stop wasting electricity and still have more than enough.

 

•           You can stop wasting gas in your car and still have more than enough.

 

•           You can stop wasting food and still have more than enough.

 

•           You can stop wasting just about everything you use and still have more than enough left over for all your needs!

 

Go Green – Save Green for:

 

•           Your kitchen

 

•           Your washing machine

 

•           Your dishwasher

 

•           Your garden

 

And MUCH more!

 

Need we go on? – There are a million places where you can make small changes and reap huge benefits.

 

Expected results – Think, not only of the positive impact you will be making on the environment, but also of the thousands of dollars that you can save every year.

 

You will have many choices – What do you plan to do with all that extra cash? Take a vacation? Make improvements to your home? Buy a new Eco-friendly car?

 

Making a Big Green Difference – The feeling of personal satisfaction and achievement is simply priceless. Yes, the money saved will be more than welcome too, and put together it all adds up to an effort well worth making.

 

What’s that worth to you? – Information like this could save you tens of thousands of dollars over time. The sheer satisfaction of doing something worthwhile to help save the planet, instead of sitting watching another doom-laden TV documentary on global warming and silently shaking your head in dismay.

 

 

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16 Dec 2011
Retirement

Can You Afford to Retire When You Reach Retirement Age?

Many people, after having invested much of their money into a safe 401k fund, are ready to begin their retire with no money problems. But how many of them have actually taken the time to take a pen and calculator and begin to compute exactly how much of their monthly expenses that their 401k will actually cover? Many haven’t, and many are shocked when they find out how much of a shortfall they have.

Most people never take the time to map out a long term retirement strategy. For some reason, doing so never seems to rise to that level of importance. Sure they’ll save a little here and there and some may even have a structured savings plan where a certain amount of money is taken out of their paycheck weekly and deposited in a fund. But very few people go through the hard process of putting down in writing such basic facts as what age they plan to retire, how much money they’ll need when they retire, and how much money their fund will provide for them when they retire.

And that’s a big mistake. It’s also why when the big day finally comes, many new retirees will belatedly discover that their 401K and Social Security payments will not even come close to covering their monthly dollar outlays. So, unfortunately, at the age of 65 or whatever age they retired they discover that they have to go back to work – sometimes part time but sometimes full time – in order to make ends meet.

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So, why does this scenario happen so often? And is it avoidable? To put it bluntly – it happens because they failed to make themselves a retirement plan. And yes, this situation is avoidable – if you don’t wait too late to start. So let’s start now.

Here’s a practical, easy way to at least begin to create a retirement plan. How much do you currently earn a month? Most experts figure that you’ll need at least 60 to 80% of your pre-retirement gross income to keep you at the same standard of living that you now enjoy. So let’s be conservative and figure that you’ll need 80% to be comfortable. So, if you make ,000 a month, your retirement fund plus Social Security payments would have to provide you with at least ,200 a month.

Now ask yourself. How much will your current 401k fund plus Social Security provide for you at retirement. Is it at least 80%? This part may take a bit of work on your part, but there are calculators all over the Internet that can help you to answer this question.

If you discover that your retirement fund as currently constituted will not provide you with this 80% of your pre-retirement gross income, you have one of two hard choices to make. You either make a conscious decision to lower your standard of living when you retire. Or, you make a conscious decision to increase the amount of money that will be in your fund when you retire. You can do this by either taking extra jobs and placing the excess money in your retirement account or by choosing more profitable investments. Whichever decision you choose, at least you won’t be going into your retirement years financially blind.

Now admittedly, this quick and dirty retirement plan analysis does not take into account many factors that a thorough analysis would. For example, we’ve left out factors such as whether your house has been paid off at retirement, whether you’ll still be supporting your children at retirement, and whether you have other substantial debt loads. And it’s more than worthwhile for you to map out a thorough retirement analysis plan as soon as possible. But even a quick and dirty plan such as this is more than most people do and is better than no plan at all which, unfortunately, is what most people have.

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14 Dec 2011
Retirement

Discover Why you Should Save Money

You should realise the importance of saving cash. It’s a good idea to have some money saved, as in life, we can’t say for sure what the future might bring, what emergencies are inevitable that require us to splash some cash. By putting money aside, you’re insuring yourself against any unexpected event. If you do start saving, and have a fair amount stashed away, even if just to cover a months worth of expenses, you’ll feel an awesome sense of accomplishment and a drive to save more. Gradually building this up as time passes, you’ll feel more comfy with your life, as you’ll recognize that if for reasons unknown you did happen to lose your job, you’d be prepared for a certain amount of time, instead of panicking, wondering how you were about to pay the next upcoming bill.

A key point in saving cash is identifying exactly why you’re saving money to begin with. Maybe, it’s as I suggested in the earlier paragraph, you’re saving as you want to cover yourself in desperate situations, or possibly it’s something entirely different, such as, saving as a way to go on holiday to a destination you’ve only dreamt about. Regardless of the key reason why, stating it, writing it down, and keeping it fresh in your head can assist you in staying on track. When starting to save, I’d highly recommend before saving for any particular item, that you save for you first, so saving for an emergency fund, which acts as your back-up. Many people feel, you want to aim for at least 6 months worth of bills, that ought to grant you ample time so that you can find another job. Once you’ve reached your safety net, I then personally recommend to begin saving for one’s retirement, and likewise anything else in which you wish to save for. I save for both at the same time. I’ve my emergency fund already sorted, so I’m now splitting my salary, and putting some of it aside into a retirement fun, and some of it towards my holiday to America.

Once again, it is also imperative that you set realistic expectations. There isn’t any reason for stating you will save 50% of one’s next wage, if you frequently end up broke a week before your next pay day. Doing this is setting yourself up for failure. Instead, set a goal that you know you can keep, yet which assists you on your way. Not too small a goal, however, not too big either. Each pay check I receive, I automatically take a 10% cut off and put into my retirement fund. I then take another 5% and put this into my holiday fund. A combined total of 15% on a monthly basis in savings. That is a low figure, and when you factor in that I’m saving money elsewhere, i.e. I will no longer buy a coffee on the way to work, after a matter of months you’ll notice a large improvement inside your financial situation.

My Final suggestion when wishing to save is to pay yourself first. Paying yourself first basically means that before you spend any money within your pay check, before you decide to pay any bill, or buy any item of food, the very first payment from your account ought to be going from your account, right into a savings account. The easiest way I’ve found of managing it is to setup an automated system with my bank. I carried this out by creating another account, and telling them that towards the end of the month, that’s the day where I am paid, I want a certain amount of money to go out of this account, and then to be transferred to my new account. This happens every 4 weeks automatically. Therefore, I’m saving my money on a monthly basis automatically.

I’m hoping you’ve found this informative article a fascinating read, and that it may help you on your road to financial freedom.

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14 Dec 2011
Retirement

Basic Retirement Calculator

You are middle aged, and retirement seems far away for the moment, but in this current economical crisis, will there be a future for your retirement?  This and other concerns are starting to settle in the minds of middle-aged Americans today.  With Social Security in the balance, banks being closed, and people losing their 401K accounts, it’s time to start looking much deeper ahead than we first realized.  Using a Basic Retirement Calculator can give an idea of what you need to do today for a comfortable retirement tomorrow.

Living on a budget is what many Americans have to endure these days.  Prices are going up on the staple of existence.  Food, mortgages, and gasoline have all hit high marks, with no indication that it will get better.  Businesses are closing down, and many people who thought they were secure are now losing their homes and pensions.  Frightening as this all sounds, there is a way to secure at least enough funds to get us through our retirement years.

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The next step is to use the basic retirement calculator for what is needed now for retirement later.  There is a simple method of calculating a goal and current income.  For example, if you would like to have at least a ,000 annual retirement income, and you project no house payments by that time, then you have to look at your present income, monthly contributions, payments and tax for the projected retirement age.  If you already have IRA or 401K accounts that are secure, then you will have even more monthly payments upon retirement.  Savings and brokerages are also put into the calculation under current retirement assets.  Any accounts that are tax-advantaged give much needed leverage when considering retirement income.

Consider any pensions and, of course, Social Security payments that will be given at retirement age.  Expected inflation during retirement is another issue to consider.  Projecting this number from historical rate increases gives an idea for the future, but not completely reliable.  Calculating your current retirement assets can give an idea of what you will have after retirement from your accounts.  A rate of return for any of your portfolios that are high risk/high return can be toned down once retirement is on the horizon.  That way you have them to draw on when needed without fear of loss.

Sale of real estate or any other one-time income should also be entered into the basic retirement calculator.  This will affect your monthly amount, but could also lend a hand as being a much-needed emergency nest egg.  An after retirement job may be necessary to supplement your income, and many retirees choose to work after retirement as a rewarding experience anyway.

Looking to the future is important if you need to be secure in your retirement.  What happens today will reflect on your quality of life tomorrow.  A Basic Retirement Calculator online can help you see immediately what you need to do to have a comfortable retirement.

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