Do you know how much you will retire on?

If you are like most Americans, the chances are that you have virtually no idea how much you will be able to retire on …

In fact, only 1 in 3 do. And, everybody else in the world is pretty clueless, too … at least according to this AXA survey:

Do you know how much you will retire on?

It gets worse, of those who do know (or think they know) how much they will retire on almost half don’t think it will be enough:

Retirement Shortfall

… and, I bet that 90% of the other half are simply settling for a LOT LESS than their dream retirement.

Don’t let that be you … start by working out your Number, and let’s go from there …

When is investing gambling?

I was browsing a new finance forum the other day and came across a great question from a self-confessed ‘beginner investor’.

He asked:

“Where can I learn how to trade with a few thou for the short term (<3mo) with greater than 20% return. I’ve never invested anything. I know that long term investing seems much easier from what i’ve read ie. value investing with stock screens, but what is another good strategy? I am looking for a strategy, teacher, website, anything to start learning, but with a goal of putting money in the market. I’m not interested in funds or managers.”

That, my friends, is called ‘gambling’ not ‘investing’!

You see, when evaluating ANY so-called ‘investment strategy’ you have to consider the return that you can make against ‘market norms’ …

… which is a very simple way of saying “if I can do it … and I don’t have any SPECIAL INSIDER KNOWLEDGE that makes me SPECIAL … then why isn’t EVERYBODY doing it?”

The answer is, of course, is: it’s simply NOT possible … otherwise EVERYBODY would be doing it, already!

… unless you get extremely lucky (which is why what you want to achieve is called ‘speculating = gambling’).

A friend and I had a similar conversation the other day …

He is becoming a professional speaker and consultant; he has already made a great start by writing and self-publishing a book and already has some paid speaking engagements.

BUT, his target is to earn $200k next year … just from speaking/consulting, as a near-beginner!

So I asked him: “How many corporate executives, with expertise in your specific area [customer service] earn anything close to your $200k target right now?”

He said: “Not many … that’s a BIG corporate salary …”

Next, I asked him: “How many of them could write and speak about customer service?”

He answered: “Probably a lot more than you’d expect, especially if they knew that was $200k on the line …”

“Exactly!” I said, almost jumping out of my chair: “So, why would any of them work for somebody else, if they could simply write a book then earn $200k … with the added benefit of lots of travel, flexible hours, and no boss?”

“Hmmmm” he said, his brain obviously (finally) ticking over: “They wouldn’t!”

Which was exactly the point that I was trying to get across:

It simply CAN’T be DONE, by the average person … otherwise, they would all be doing it!

Of course, there are PLENTY of speakers and consultants earning $200k or way more – as there are plenty of people in all areas of ‘investment’ (stocks, options, currencies, futures, real-estate, business, etc, etc) earning outstanding returns even in a crappy market – but …

… they generally have SPECIAL INSIDER KNOWLEDGE that makes them SPECIAL … or, they work MUCH harder than anybody else and/or they get extremely LUCKY …

So, what would you tell our ‘Beginner Investor’?

I would say, when evaluating any opportunity or even your own investing goals and strategy consider:

1. Are you investing – in which case, you should expect ‘normal’ rates of return over the long haul, or

2. Are you really gambling – in which case, the sky is the limit … but, the ground could equally rush up to meet you …

depending upon how lucky you get.

BOTH have a place in your journey towards $7million in 7 years (or whatever target you set for yourself)  … it’s how I did it …

 

But, always be very clear on when and why you are investing and when and why you are gambling.

 

I’d like to hear your views …

Why does real-estate investing crush your 401k mutual funds?

You know that you can’t just save your way to a fortune … right?!

So, what to do with that ‘extra’ cash that you manage to scrounge from time to time?

In a previous post , I pointed out that we are at a UNIQUE point in history.

For the FIRST TIME that I can recall BOTH money AND real-estate are cheap!!

If you save up a deposit (AFTER paying of any pesky credit card debt) and plonk it down on a rental property (or even your own house, if you ain’t got one yet) and LOCK IT IN for 30 years, how can you EVER go wrong?

If you do buy to live in it, eventually you will move on – just keep it as a rental FOR EVER.

I don’t know what will happen over the next year or so, but over 30 years it’s a no-brainer …

… your mortgage payments remain flat (you fixed them, remember?) …

… the value of the house doubles every 7 years or so (and, you will take advantage of this ‘spare’ equity, won’t you?) …

… and – here’s the kicker – your rents rise roughly in line with inflation … see how that compounds over 10, 20 or even 30 years to spin off income that will help you stop working!

And when you eventually do retire, the real-estate strategy STILL kicks your 401k’s butt …

This built-in inflation-protection makes real-estate a great adjunct or alternative to so-called safe retirement strategies such as the Grangaard Strategy and Worry-Free Investing (two of the best that I have come across).

Try doing any of that with your 401K or mutual fund!

The Optimistic Millionaire

When people look at charts like these, I wonder what they see?

Sure, I see a drop in confidence … Blind Freddy can see the panic in the market right now.

But, I see something FAR more important:

Do you see how the Millionaire line (> $1,000,000 Investable Assets) is ALWAYS higher than the Affluent line (>$500,000 Investable Assets)?

One of characteristics of rich people is that they are Optimistic … the richer they are, in general, the more optimistic they are.

As the chart shows, they have their ups and downs … overall, though, they are always more optimistic than others and their highs are higher!

You see, Rich people are used to buying low and selling high … right now, optimism across the board has dipped …

BUT, I guarantee you this:

The Rich are now thinking about buying whilst the rest are still thinking about selling ... I’m out there looking for bargains right now!

What are you doing?