Justify Social Security … Don’t Save for Retirement
It is a common question when investors review their retirement planshould we include social security benefits into our retirement income projections?
It seems the closer an investor is to retirement, the more likely he/she will include social security benefits into the analysis. Younger investors, however, may feel compelled to omit such benefits. They must then become mavericks on the retirement front. The choice is yours, but before you decide the influence of social security on your future, remember the following points:
When Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the social security act in 1935, he stated that social security gives some protection to American families. One reoccurring theme of his statement focused on assistance, not 100% protection. In the President’s words, “the law will flatten out the peaks and valleys of deflation and of inflation (source: http://www.ssa.gov)
For many, the Social Security Administration has raised the age of full retirement from 65 to adopt a more stringent schedule. This may be an addition of a couple of months or a couple of years. The administration justifies the increases due to longer life expectancies and general healthier life styles.
For example, those born after 1960, your full retirement age is 67. Going forward, we should ask ourselves “what other changes will be made to social security?” If you would like a complete schedule of retirement ages for full benefits, I recommend you visit Social Security’s website at http://www.ssa.gov
An opinion adopted by many is to consider social security in part the closer you are to retirement. For example, if you are sixty years of age and plan on full retirement in five years, you should consider an analysis based on your current projected benefits. Even with the proposed reform plans, preservation of benefits is a priority for eligible citizens age 50-55 and older.
If however you are thirty, it may be better for you to omit such projections. The result will be overfunded personal savings. Thus social security will be an added benefit and not the benefit.
Consider the troubling issues of the 2004 OASDI Trustees Report: future scheduled benefits for today’s young workers could be reduced by 27% or more if amendments to the current plan are not adopted.
Young workers should take note of this report. Do not rely on social security and concentrate on personal savings.
In conclusion, you have a risky optionthere is only one way to justify social security, don’t save for retirement. If this is your chosen route, be prepared for difficult times ahead.
About The Author
Wardlaw’s belief is that familiar life elements best illustrate practical investment strategies; not typical investment jargon. With that philosophy, the author assists financial planners / advisors, brokerage firms, periodicals, and other investment information syndicates create informative and entertaining articles. For comments and questions, please contact the author at mailto:tools2invest@yahoo.com.
A Clear Dream: Your First Step Towards A Better Future
What would your future look like? As the years run by, what changes would take place in your present situation to improve it? Do you know that your situation would remain the same as it is today in the next ten years, if you do nothing practical to improve it? That is one truth about life. If you want to get to somewhere, you would need to have a clear picture of where you want to get. Or else, you would get to nowhere. You would also need to believe in your dreams, or no one else would.
Your first step towards a better future is a clear picture of the future you want and believe in it! You can create any future you. If you want to become a University graduate or become independent financially (a Millionaire) in the next five years… you can. Yes, you really can. But you have to start somewhere, and that place is a clear dream of the future you want to create for yourself and a strong belief that you can create it. Don’t ever expect your situation to change suddenly with no effort on your side. It does not happen that way. You have to prepare your self to fit into a better situation. Your preparation would surely meet the opportunity, and your dream would come true. If the picture of your dream future is very clear in your mind, how can you overcome every obstacle that would come your way in the course of getting to that future? You can rise above the limitations that want to stop you from achieving your dream by constantly making efforts to reach your dream. How can you be consistent in your effort if the picture of the future you want is not clear or if your desire for it is not strong?
What is your dream? Do you dream about becoming very rich- a millionaire? It is very possible. Thousands of people become millionaire every year. You too can join them. You deserve to be rich. Wealth is not meant for only a few people. Therefore, expand your dream. You cannot become wealthier than you have ever dreamed to be. Becoming wealthy is a way of life. It is as easy to become wealthier as it is to remaining where you are now. Your greatest limitation is the one you have create in your own mind and believed. Expand your dream! A new dream would give you a new goal. A new goal would result a new life for you. That’s simple, but true. Picture your self being rich. Convince yourself that the picture is real and believe in it. This would change your attitude, your language and your actions positively.
How Your Dream Affects Your Future
1. A new dream gives you a new attitude.
2. A new attitude gives you a new goal.
3. A new goal gives you a new pursuit.
4. What you pursue everyday with commitment develops into a habit.
5. Your habit develops into a skill.
6. Your skills gives you the opportunity to serve.
7. Your service guarantees your reward.
8. Your rewards give you a better future.
So my friend, sit down and relax. Think about what you would want to become in the next five years. Write it down. Think about what it would take for you to become that. Write it down. Think about how to get what it would take. Write them down. Be true to yourself. Don’t look at the present situations. Don’t limit yourself.
You know what you’ve just done? You’ve just taken your first step towards a better future.
Onutochukwu Uche is an internet business coach. You can get more about him on http://www.2betterlife.com
How to Consistently Make $ in the Market
How to Consistently Make $ in the Market By William Cate
http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/williamcateventurec
apitalampequityfinanceconsultant/
The Stock Market is rigged. Less than two percent of the
speculators in the OTC, OTCBB and Nasdaq markets win each year.
Less than one percent consistently make money in speculative
stocks. The purpose of the Market is to redistribute wealth from
the many to the few. You can be among the one percent of
consistent winners, if you adopt a professional approach to
market speculation.
The brokers have the edge against the public investors. They
make money supplying their services, playing the Market against
their clients and knowing the real rules of the Stock Market
Game. The promoters manipulate the Market to dump their shares
on the unsuspecting public investors. The public buys on emotion
and nearly a complete lack of understanding on how to make money
playing risky stocks. The regulators have a poor understanding
of the Market and are very reluctant to enforce the laws that
are intended to protect the public investors. Anyone who buys
stock on a hot tip, a taut sheet recommendation, their broker’s
advice, a market guru’s suggestion, etc are almost certain
losers in the Stock Market Game.
The Popular Speculation Strategies Don’t Work
Fundamental Analysis: A public company that is making money and
has reasonable prospects of making more money isn’t necessarily
a good stock play. Solid fundamentals are vital for the survival
of the company. However, a public company’s share price is
determined by subjective emotional factors. Stocks are sold
appealing to the buyer’s expectation that the share price will
quickly rise. The speculators are buying motivated by greed. A
Fundamentalist speculating in a stock is betting that other
Fundamentalists will find and buy the stock after they have
taken their position in the company. This is usually a very bad
bet. The insiders are usually dumping their shares and
depressing the share price in the process. What appear to be
solid financial figures are often less than solid. Consider
Enron as a good example of cooking the books. Or consider Bre-X
as a good example of cooking the technical data. In fact, a
Fundamentalist is actually someone with an emotional attachment
to numbers. They are losers as Market Speculators.
Technical Analysis: It’s financial astrology. There are cycles
in the Market. Bears follow Bulls. Industries become popular
with investors and then fade into disinterest, etc. However, the
reasons for Market Cycles are subjective perceptions by Society.
These perceptions change rapidly and are potentially infinite in
numbers. You can’t devise a mathematical formula that can
account for an infinite number of subjective variations. It
would be easier to predict the next snowflake than the next move
of the Market. There are an infinite variety of potential
crystal forms for the next snowflake. No mathematician claims
they can predict the next one. If it weren’t for the fact that
investors are willing to pay for pseudo-science predictions,
nobody would serious claim they can predict the next market
cycle.
Two Professional Speculation Strategies that Consistently Work
Sell OTCBB Stocks Short: Only one OTCBB company in fifty
survives five years. Short sellers always have the odds in their
favor. Let’s assume you randomly sell short 100 OTCBB stocks at
a cost of $100.00. Within five years, you have made $98.00. Your
profit is tax-free. The two OTCBB stocks that are still trading
and likely to be trading well below the price at which you sold
them short. If they are trading above your one dollar average
short cost, your profit is less than $98.00. If you use all the
professional short selling rules, you usually see the OTCBB
companies you short fail within three years and you never have
to deal with an OTCBB survivor.
The 3/11 Strategy: There are several ways that professionals
play this speculative market game. It’s based upon the principle
that your group owns all the shares that can be sold into the
Market and you or the Company will promote the stock to ensure
demand for the shares that you own. This strategy requires that
you join a group of profit oriented professionals, but like
short selling, it always works.
If you’re an investor who wants to consistently profit in the
Market, I can help you develop a winning speculative strategy.
Contact me at Beowulfinvestments@Earthlink.net.