The new GOLD Rush - A Plan 'B' for anyone.
It's been some time since I wrote here. Time flies when you're having fun and various projects have kept me consistently busy for a few years. 2014 has been an interesting year, as kids get on their feet and start their own families, you find yourself thinking about slowing down a little and maybe taking some time for yourself. Increasingly the word 'Retirement' enters conversations, and I wonder what I would do if I were not making a good living from my businesses.
Many of my colleagues and friends are telling me that after so many years of working hard at their careers, they find that their pension funds are simply not enough to allow them to retire comfortably and they worry what the future will bring.
Personally I consider myself very fortunate that my own father started a second career in his fifties and as I like to tease him, set a really lousy example by working until be was eighty. This too got me to thinking. Why the rush to retire? If we all exit the workforce at age 65 or so, who is going to pay for the services we need? When I look at my children's circumstances, I see that they are potentially contributing to the wellbeing of four generations. We have to ask ourselves - is this sustainable or even fair? In less developed societies, a child will begin to be productive at an early age, and grandparents generally contribute up until the day they pass away. In the west, however, we are still gaining an education, often until we are past 25 years of age and expect to retire at age 55, only 30 years of productivity. Fortunately not everyone falls into this category but it is still an issue.
Now some might argue and I will agree that after a certain age, the brain isn't quite as sharp, or the bodies reflexes begin to slow, so some careers should allow, perhaps even demand an appropriate exit strategy. For some the retirement funds are insufficient, for others savings are tragically wiped out thru illness or fraud.
Two factors affect pensions or any savings for that matter:
1. Even a small amount of inflation will considerably reduce the purchasing power of your savings over time. This is before management or other fees have also been deducted.
2. Almost no one can actually save enough to cover the future cost of living. Banks are quite happy suggesting that to retire comfortably a 'mere' three to four million dollars is all you need. I'm not sure how to do that when taxes are astronomically high to pay for political boondoggles, questionable jet fighters and lawsuits fighting pipelines that no one seems to want.
So what can be done? Again two simple solutions:
1. Convert some of your paper money to something that is inflation proof
2. Find ways to save more.
My strategy has been to convert some of my paper money into Gold and to earn additional commissions for doing so. This approach addresses both requirements. I can set aside an affordable amount of my weekly cash and buy a small amount of gold.
Comment on this blog, or send me an email if you'd like to know more.
