News Just In.....There is a Financial Tidal Wave Approaching!!

You’ve probably heard this before. We are on average living longer and the birth rate has declined substantially. Fewer and fewer workers are supporting more and more senior citizens. My guess is that you have not really thought through fully the consequences of this. I can understand that for many, this is something to be worried about in the future. But the consequences of this are so big that it makes sense to spend a few moments examining how this will affect your life in the future.

Firstly, let me give you a few statistics.

• In the US, 80% of people aged between 30 and 54 don’t believe that they will have enough money for retirement.*
• Average life expectancy in the US has risen from 68.9 years in 1950 to 78.2 years in 2009.**
• Average length of retirement in the US is 18 years.***

Now it is great to look back over recent history and see all our technological advances. The average person today has access to more luxuries, to a better diet than kings and queens did just a century ago. We are in the informaton revolution where anyone in the world with an internet connection has access to more information than we can ever find a use for. We are also living much longer due to medical breakthroughs and this will only accelerate as new treatments are found for previously untreatable diseases. All this is fantastic.

The only drawback is CAN WE AFFORD IT?????

Now this is not supposed to scare you into listening to me. Everything that I have written here is common knowledge. There are some people who when confronted with such dire warnings will choose to bury their head in the sand. They would rather not think about such uncomfortable realities. But what I am saying is that you need to look at your own personal situation. There is no magic wand that can turn around a bad situation overnight. You may have to make some sacrifices. For example, you may not be able to retire at the age that you hoped. You may have to work for longer.

…..But it is important that you find out where you stand.You need to know what actions you have to take – how much should be saved, how much should be invested and where should the money be invested….

That way through a combination of financial planning and carefully thought out investments, you can begin your journey on the correct path TODAY.

Contrary to what some of the larger financial services organisations would say,  it is not necessary to have a dedicated team of professionals watching every market move around the world for you to do this successfully.

You can read the information on the website. It will give you a good idea of what needs to be done. Should you choose, there is some more detailed information on how to do this that you can purchase.

So you are probably wondering, why should you listen to me?

Well I spent a decade working for financial services firms. I traded equities and I worked as an options trader for a hedge fund.  I became disenchanted as there was no system that consistently worked. The outcomes were more of a lottery because they were determined by future events which were not predictable.

So what is the first step?

You want to be confident and put together a financial strategy to that is sustainable in the long term. This is so important that I want to emphasise this again. You don’t want the ups and downs of the world out there to affect your confidence and your plans for the future. The best way to do this is to get educated.

Well enter your name and email in the boxes above and here is what you will learn:

• The Question most Investors Never Ask Themselves when Buying an Investment.
• Should We Look at Economic Forecasts?
• The Long Term Force that will Grow your Assets that You Need to Know

One final thought.

Don’t get Caught by the Nefarious, Egregious, Gangster, Racketeer-like Activity of People in Financial Services.

To quote Carl Sagan — Any extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. There is far too much mis-information and half-truths out there. There is no substitute for methodical research conducted with a sceptical attitude through a scientific method.

 

 

*Statistic from website www.statisticbrain.com Accessed 3 October 2012.

**Statistic from the Sloan Center of Ageing and Work at Boston College www.bc.edu/research/ageingandwork Accessed 3 October 2012.

***Statistic from website www.statisticbrain.com Accessed 3 October 2012.