While you may be “planning” on retiring, are you really planning for retirement? As we live longer, we need to anticipate our lives extending 15, 25, even 35 years past our days at work. Has the current market meltdown got you so panicked you can’t contemplate any long-term horizons? With the roll out of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, now, more than ever, is the time for some clear thinking and strategic planning to help you work toward your retirement goals.
Where to Start:
If your goal, is say, retirement, I’d say retirement itself is not a goal but a stage of life. Goals to support your when-and-how include setting a specific retirement date along with desired investment income in balance with your tax liabilities and indexed for inflation.
Solid investing is not all about investing in what’s hot now—a hard lesson learned from the recent plummet of ‘sophisticated’ Wall Street financial products and instruments. Solid investing is mostly about not dragging your feet. This year is shaping up to be a soul-searching year and your investment strategies should come under additional scrutiny, too. Right now!
For starters, take a step back and you’ll realize that the economic sky is not falling. It may sound like it is with all the media coverage, but I disagree. Even if you’re near retirement age and have seen the value of your 401(k) or IRA tumble, in my opinion President Obama’s stimulus package will work—we already started to see the credit market loosen, banks will start to lend again, and real estate will stabilize. It will take some time for confidence levels to resurge, but I believe the economy will recover.
As a rule of thumb, your investments should generally be in a well balanced, portfolio designed personally to one’s risk tolerance and goals. Seek the advice of a Certified Financial Planner® to plot a more purposeful course together if you’re unsure about the financial road you’re leading. You’re in it for the long term, and while your goals may be pushed out by several years, doing nothing will probably make matters significantly worse.
You might also want to undertake a little behavior modification. Fewer, less expensive meals out or not so many Starbucks Venti Lattes
