 Quit and Retire Three Years Earlier! |
|
Rick Hoogendoorn is a financial security advisor with Cheri Crause & Associates Inc. But long term goals are, by their very nature, NEVER URGENT! Now, perhaps THAT is something to worry about. You will tend to act on your retirement plan when it is most urgent. Of course, most of us 'act' when we have the 'urge' to act. Not likely to have a big impact on your retirement lifestyle.
|
| Retirement or Financial Freedom? |
|
There will always be employees and self-employed people who rather like what they do and are quite okay working until their retirement age. The average life expectancy was much less than it is these days, and there were no financial planners around to help people save up enough to quit work. For one thing, many people hate the idea of being landlords, and many others don't have the stomach for business, let alone the technology business. RRSP's, mutual funds, and other longer term savings programs still have their place. All the same, if you are wondering if there might be a better way to ensure your future financial wellbeing 'sooner', perhaps you should pick up a copy of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'? and get irritated.
|
| What My Horse Had For Breakfast |
|
It wasn't their fault you did not understand it. Wall Street brokerage companies want you to do all that research because if what you buy doesn't go up they can say you knew everything about it before you bought it. Anyone can look up all kinds of information, but when it comes down to it ask this question. Will knowing all that stuff make me any money? I always figure that if I can find it out it isn't worth knowing any more because that information is already reflected in the price of the stock or mutual fund. Al Thomas' book, If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!
has helped thousands of people make money
and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method.
|
| The Real Cost of a Bad Habit |
|
Those who aren't thrifty generally become unwealthy quite quickly. You will realize that the financial value of good habits can be quite high. But you'll find that most wealthy people are actually quite thrifty, which is how they became wealthy in the first place. All those sodas and packs of cigarettes, over time, add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars at retirement. Now, practicing good habits doesn't mean never spending.
|
| Boost Your Income With Financial Spread Betting |
|
About 6 years ago I started to notice that certain friends of
mine had quit their jobs but continued to live very luxurious
lifestyles - seemingly without doing very much. It is
highly leveraged and you can make huge profits with only a
limited amount of capital and risk. Financial spread betting has become so popular primarily
because of the relationship between risk and capital. The fact that there is
(unlike with most investments) no stamp duty or tax also
helps make it extremely attractive. So if you are of the right temperament, spread betting can
be a very lucrative way of making an amazing income in your
spare time.
|
| Trading For A Living - Part 2 |
|
This is quite simply false economy, you are unlikely to ever make real money with a substandard setup (and this applies equally to substandard software and data feeds. This way you know you have some money coming in, you get to trade for real, and if it all goes horribly wrong you are probably better placed to get back into full time employment than someone who quit the working world completely. Make sure from the start that everybody knows the ground rules and that you can separate your working time from your free time effectively. Consider also the social impact of leaving your full time employer. There are a few non-financial aspects to consider before going full time with your trading.
|
| Five Sure Fire Way to Secure Your Financial Future |
|
And while far from wealthy, I have every confidence that I will not have to live in a refrigerator box whenever I quit working and that my wife will be able to comfortably carry on in the event of my premature demise. I would expect there are two chances of them acting in a way consistent with what your wishes might have been-slim and none. Without a Will, the court/government will decide how your property and possessions will be divided. Making a Will doesn't mean the Grim Reaper is about to pay you a visit. It simply means that your affairs will be sorted out in the ways you want and, as a result, you can go about your life with a peaceful mind because your loved ones are protected.
|
| Going Against the Conventional Investment Wisdom |
|
However, if it goes down 20%, you incur a 40% loss. With individual stocks or ETFs, you need a margin account to do this. For example, if you buy a fund leveraged at 2 times a given stock index and that fund goes up 20%, you realize a 40% gain. What is leveraging? Leveraging, in this context, is the ability to buy shares of a stock or mutual fund and realize a multiple of its gain or loss during the time you hold it. Obviously, this could be very risky and costly.
|
|
