Retirement or Financial Freedom?
In the past most people never retired. They died. 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. As recently as the 1960's, if you did manage to save up enough money to retire, you'd be lucky to live another 5 or 6 years before you kicked the bucket. This made financial planning for retirement a little easier because you really only needed enough income for a few years.Nowadays, if you retire, chances are you can live forever.
Well, it can seem like forever?especially if you haven't saved up enough money. It is a daunting task, attempting to set aside enough money to supply an income for 25 or 30 years, in the 15, 10 or 5 years you have before you retire. We say this because most people don't get really serious about their retirement planning until they hit 50?and realize they had wanted to quit work at 55! This is the standard model that has been followed since we began living long enough to bother with retirement savings. You set aside enough cash to cover things off at some future distant time. You build the nest egg and then hope it lasts, and the financial planning community is right there to help you.
And yet this is not how the most successful people in our community do things at all!Still, most people are busily trading their time for their money. As an employee, you are limited by how much time you can actually devote to your job, and you are limited by how much time you want to devote to your job. Time you give to your workplace is time you don't get for yourself. It's similar for self-employed people such as our selves. The more successful we are as financial advisors, the more ?in demand' we become, and the less time we have.Retirement looks pretty good when you're an employee, or a self-employed person.
You'll have the money coming in, and the time for yourself. The problem is that it is an awful long way off. Is there another way?The first time Rick read ?Rich Dad, Poor Dad', he just got irritated. After all, this was the book that pointed out how he was locked in the self-employed cycle where success leads to less free time. And he likes his free time.
However, author Robert Kiyosaki also proposed ?an out'. It's called passive income. Passive income is income you have coming in to the household that you don't really work for anymore. The key is that it is designed to happen in the near future instead of the distant future.Since reading his books we have begun to change our financial plan. Instead of continuing to organize our finances around future income for a distant ?retirement', we are re-orienting things toward near-future passive income and ?financial freedom'.
We have been doing this by purchasing income-producing real estate and by looking to start internet businesses.The success of our new ?passive income' plan remains to be seen, but it is interesting to note how changing our end result from retirement to financial freedom has completely altered the path we're taking. These two goals are NOT the same. When you build a retirement nest egg you are looking to draw an income from it at some future time. When you are looking to attain financial freedom, you are looking to purchase or create assets which provide you with ?passive' income right away.Should everybody be changing their financial plan? Of course not. 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.
Retirement planning is still needed. RRSP's, mutual funds, and other longer term savings programs still have their place. There will always be employees and self-employed people who rather like what they do and are quite okay working until their retirement age.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. Either way, it will probably turn out better for you than it did in the past.In the past most people never retired. They died..
Rick Hoogendoorn has been in the financial services business since 1991. Cheri Crause is a certified financial planner in Victoria, BC. .www.chericrause.comrick.hoogendoorn@shaw.ca
Credit Card Debt - Do You Feel Frustrated
If you're one of those people who like to "charge it" to their plastic, chances are you've piled up a mountain of debt. And like most people who have spent their way into a financial corner, are probably don't have the money to pay off your debt.
Credit card debt is a serious problem - a problem that won't just simply go away on its own. Unfortunately, many people compound their financial problems by doing just that - ignoring it, because it's such a scary and humbling experience to face it head on.
This is unfortunately a bad thing considering that people who are in debt need to snap back to their senses and assess whatever it is that they've still going for them and be ready to face their debt no matter how overwhelming a problem it appears to be.
Ok, it's time to get real and face the cold, hard reality that you've stumbled a bit and now it's time to pick up the pieces. Not fun, but the sooner you start the sooner the oppressive weight...
Financial planning > Credit Card Debt - Do You Feel Frustrated
Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
If used properly, there may not be a more effective financial option a homeowner can exercise than to take a second mortgage on their property. More and more American consumers have become aware of revolving debt and the implications it can have on them and their loved one ? not just now but in the future.Second mortgages can be used for practically anything, but they are most typically pay for outstanding education expenses, repairs ob your home or property, to procure higher value real estate, and to pay off high interest rate credit cards as well as to consolidate or eliminate other debts.Naturally, it wouldn't be fiscally sound to take out a second mortgage if it would not be in your best interest as a homeowner. With so many refinancing, borrowing, and other transaction options available to the modern consumer, when is taking out a second mortgage the right way to go? A second mortgage is a good choice for the homeowner who has a need for a substantial amount of cash and also has...
Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
Financial planning > Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
Interest-Only Loans Can Buy More House and More Trouble
They're spreading like wildfire--interest-only mortgages appear to be the panacea for rising home prices and the incomes that can't quite catch up. You can buy "more house" and have a low mortgage payment and a big tax deduction. Who wouldn't want one, right?
Well, a large number of consumers are getting into these loans when they shouldn't. Interest-only mortgages work well for some individuals and are dangerous for most others, yet the number of interest-only loans is rising rapidly.
Take a look at San Diego. In 2004 almost half of the mortgages required interest-only payments in the first few years according to a study done by LoanPerformance, a San Francisco--based real estate information service.
Could this have something to do with the housing market? You bet it does. Are home prices rising faster than salaries and incomes? They sure are. So how is one supposed to afford a house in such an expensive housing market? You guessed it-...
Interest-Only Loans Can Buy More House and More Trouble
Financial planning > Interest-Only Loans Can Buy More House and More Trouble
Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
If used properly, there may not be a more effective financial option a homeowner can exercise than to take a second mortgage on their property. More and more American consumers have become aware of revolving debt and the implications it can have on them and their loved one ? not just now but in the future.Second mortgages can be used for practically anything, but they are most typically pay for outstanding education expenses, repairs ob your home or property, to procure higher value real estate, and to pay off high interest rate credit cards as well as to consolidate or eliminate other debts.Naturally, it wouldn't be fiscally sound to take out a second mortgage if it would not be in your best interest as a homeowner. With so many refinancing, borrowing, and other transaction options available to the modern consumer, when is taking out a second mortgage the right way to go? A second mortgage is a good choice for the homeowner who has a need for a substantial amount of cash and also has...
Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
Financial planning > Second Mortgage Can Offer Fast Cash, Piece of Mind
Check Cashing Services
Commercial banks offer a number of services to their customers, but in recent years, many people have chosen to use check cashing services instead of banks. Check cashing services are an alternative service sector to traditional banking service.
This service has proven to take over the role of traditional financial institutions such as banks and credit unions. The service is offers various options. Customers can bring any type of check to cash, including personal checks, payroll checks, government checks, insurance checks, tax Refund checks, settlement checks, and Social Security checks.
The success of these alternative financial services is due to many factors. Partly, it is due to its ability to compose products and operations to meet the needs of households with little or no month-to-month funds.
Moreover, this service is beneficial to customers as well as the financial institutions. It is a "win-win' situation for both the...
Financial planning > Check Cashing Services
Orlando Regional Healthcare Selects EPSi?s Enterprise Budget Manager for Their New Budgeting and Financial Reporting Solution
St. Louis, MO (ContentDesk) February 12, 2004--Enterprise Performance Systems, Inc. (EPSi), a leading provider of financial decision support systems, announced today that Orlando Regional Healthcare a private, not-for-profit healthcare network, has purchased EPSi's Enterprise Budget Manager. This web-based product includes flexible budgeting, productivity and enterprise-wide reporting. Clients choose EPSi's Enterprise Budget Manager because of its web based financial reporting capability, ability to flex the budget and model across multiple years and its ability to scale to accommodate hundreds of users across geographically dispersed hospitals, clinics and other related facilities.
With EPSi, all levels of management will have immediate access to the data needed to better manage the costs associated with providing state of the art care. Orlando Regional Healthcare, a 1,640-bed private, not-for-profit organization was established in 1918. The hospital system serves more than...
Orlando Regional Healthcare Selects EPSi?s Enterprise Budget Manager for Their New Budgeting and Financial Reporting Solution
Financial planning > Orlando Regional Healthcare Selects EPSi?s Enterprise Budget Manager for Their New Budgeting and Financial Reporting Solution
Choosing A Business That's Right For You
Q: I really want to start my own business, but I have no idea what business would be best suited for me. I'm also eager to get started, but I don't want to pick the wrong business just because I'm impatient. How should I go about deciding what business would be best for me?-- Samuel J.A: Before I answer your question, Samuel, I want you to reach around and pat yourself on the back for not letting your eagerness push you into making a wrong decision. All too often we entrepreneurs tend to let our...
pool table Retirement or Financial Freedom? Financial planning Choosing A Business That's Right For You
Financial planning > Choosing A Business That's Right For You
Retirement or Financial Freedom?
hoodia Retirement or Financial Freedom?
Retirement or Financial Freedom? Financial planning
Bad Credit Wedding Loans to Turn the Tide in Your Favor for the Perfect Wedding
Everyone deserves a wonderful wedding and nothing must come in the way for having the perfect wedding. Each of us dreams of walking down the aisle in grand style with the presence of all our near and dear ones. Wedding is one of the most important occasions in the life of an individual, and so couples make an all out effort to have the perfect wedding. On the other hand, this is also a reality that most weddings have the chance of hitting a roadblock called finance. Wedding loans is the answer...
Retirement or Financial Freedom? Financial planning insurance quotes
Financial planning > Bad Credit Wedding Loans to Turn the Tide in Your Favor for the Perfect Wedding