How Do You Retire?

Retirement living

These days we need to be more educated about what to do for our retirement. It must be well planned so that the long-term results can be visible and profitable. Gone are those days when you could simply move to Florida or Arizona to live a good life. Why not start with learning what retirement wealth is supposed to look like. And avoid the pitfalls that can leave you high and dry.

There are plenty of get-rich-quick schemes out there and nearly all of them are bogus. Unless you have a good idea already, someone faster and smarter has found a way to do it better. Don’t make the mistake of trusting retirement advisors, your path to living a good life should cost a commission too. Unlike those who are the 1% born with the golden spoon, there are ways to forge a fruitful retired life. Let’s dive right in already!

Retirement wealth

Three categories are sure-fire in nature when you finally retire. You should know how they work so that understanding their premise is loud and clear. These terms have no association with trading in stocks or bonds or the stock market for that matter. These are described as retirement investing categories only.

Pre-investing

This is when you start years before your actual retirement and need to be planned-out with plenty of exit strategies. These are usually called a Plan B’ strategy, but can also be alternative plans if an investment goes sour. These investments should never be cash value since that can end up being lost through tricky bookkeeping. Use a tangible asset that includes property, equipment, inventory, or vehicles.

These items have your name written all over unless you sign them away; they belong to no one except you. Pre-investing with these kinds of tangible assets is a way to barter items that hold or gain value over time. Collectible cars, ideal property, and sought-after items are always worth their value over time. Using them for a pre-investment opportunity allows you to keep your name attached to them.

Active investing

This is the actual process of using chosen investments and managing their progress as long as the project will last. Any investment will have a start and stop date, so managing your end of an opportunity should always be monitored. If you are acting as the primary investor you must have first-in-first-out’ rights. As an active investor, you can also decide to have several ongoing projects or a steady course that just involves a couple of investments.

Active investing requires a contract that you should know like the back of your hand. Learn the legal terminology and make sure your agreement is written for you. Never sign someone else’s contract that isn’t in your favor. You should draw-up your own with a lawyer that you trust! Explain to them what kind of terms and conditions you must have to protect your assets. This is what protects you from unseen risks associated with an investment.

What they don’t tell you about investing is the very nature of associated risk that comes from all angles. Do your research in choosing the right kind of project that has the least amount of reasons for lost assets. Weather, trends, and overly hyped investments should be avoided. Qualities like solid performance, steady growth, and continual marketability should be on your yes’ list.

Passive investing

This applies to ongoing projects that are seasonal or on the back-burner -as they say. Your involvement is minimal yet you keep an eye on the project as you normally would with active investing. The point is to control more of what your role in that project is about without having to fuss over the details. The sooner the job is done, the sooner you can begin another passive investing project.

These are projects that can include seasonal interest that can have high yields with low risk. Farming duties such as harvesting season or raising animals for food are great options. Recreational or seasonal events are also good but should have a proven track record and favorable conditions in that location. Your role in the community will be easier to pick and choose a project based on who the organizers or business owners are.

Take an active role in the chamber of commerce and use it to your advantage. Go to meet your future moneymakers and pretty soon after a while they be coming back to you. As an investor, you don’t need to have a business since a contract is all that is required. The more you are seen as a helping hand, the more respect you will be given in return. This is how Ben Franklin earned much of his money after retiring. That and a good story to tell!

Investment strategies

Are you curious to see what are considered good investments after retirement? We’ve including the most common ones with advice on how they work.

Mutual funds

This is a group of investors that pool their money together and trust it to invest market professionals to invest. Bad idea! You can control where your money goes. Forget about it.

401(k)

This only works if you are working at a company for a long-term career run. A 401(k) is one of those tax-sheltered plans that have disastrous results if you make a payment that your employer matches. Sure it sounds great, except they can withdraw all their money if you are fired or let go. How do you retire from work with this kind of fluctuating retirement plan?

Stocks and bonds

Unless you were born with a crystal ball in your hand, these are the worst options to consider. Not only are they manipulated by people you will never know or see, even the career professionals know better.

ETF’s (Exchange-Traded Funds)

The new stock market aimed at the smartphone generation. Just like the smooth voice of Alec Baldwin telling you to invest online at the push of a button. Services like eTorro are bad news since you can lose money in seconds.

Real Estate

Do you remember the timeshare condominium hype in the early 80s? How about those weekend warrior property flippers? If they only had their show on the History channel next to Ancient Aliens and The Curse of Oak Island Real estate has to be the worst idea to be sucked into. Don’t try investing in this either.

Tax-sheltered retirement plans

There are three institutions that all have tax-exempt status, and these include schools, hospitals, and churches. You do not want them to manage your money! Sure the investment is tax-sheltered, how often do you see improvements happening to local schools, hospitals, and churches? Where is their money going?

Robo-advisors

Think of how long it has taken Google to translate to correctly change one language into another? All of this included without losing the meaning and intonation of the original language. Fat chance on trusting that! Now they offer Robo-advisors for picking the winning stock ticket. So should you buy the Brooklyn Bridge instead?

Annuities

Besides having to pay taxes on annuities that are tax-deferred business growth, you get penalties for early withdraw. Insurance companies rake in the cash from your investment and in the long-run, they are the only ones who make more money than you. Don’t bother with this at all.

Long-shots

Start-up businesses are always trendy and can be way too risky to invest your money. The downside to start-up investing is that the idea isn’t yours to start with. One person’s dream is not going to float even when all of the social media is raving about it. A reliable track record cant be counted even if all the owners are from respected fields.

The days when Steve Jobs and Mike Wozniak used to work for Atari and Hewlett Packard are nice success stories, but you’ll never see lightning strike twice like that ever again.

How to market yourself after retirement

Just ask yourself, what does it take to make a legend? You must have done something impressive enough to reach past the history book definition of a character. The real question is how do you retire from work and still make a great living? Take a look at Ray Kroc who saw the opportunity in turning a small hamburger joint into a multi-billion dollar industry. He marched into that concept of making a better mousetrap and it worked.

Had it not been for the two stubborn brothers that owned the original restaurant, he would have made more money a lot earlier in life. The trick to being a legend in your own right is being yourself. Take everything you know about yourself and put it into your retirement plan. Take all your strengths in hobbies and turn them into your marketing portfolio. It doesn’t have to be collectible cars it can be baseball cards too.

These items are often insured so anything you’ve collected that holds value is part of that collective of bankable items. Most people who like collecting unique items are creating their self-worth even if they are material items. The resale value of the item needs to be one that grows with time. So choosing these items is the key to success even when you are still working your day job.

Get involved in the chamber of commerce crowd. Any public functions where members of the community come together to meet are important to network their services are recommended. You can join these if you have a business license, however, you can ask your company if you can go on their behalf. It doesn’t take much to get into these get event either. You just need to watch and learn who will make a good investment choice.

Look for those who are established and have businesses that deal with a continual steady product that is selling. This is why approaching family-owned farms and businesses will be worth your time. They will accept your terms faster than a bank will loan them money. And often your return is higher than the bank. Since the contract is private, it can be legally binding at any public notary.

Taxes and declaration of returns

Of course, you will need to declare your earnings to the IRS. If you’re retired (but under the legal age for retirement), then you will need to select the correct tax bracket. The amount that is earned through that year will then be declared. Having a private bookkeeper will help with extras such as deductions and exemptions if you’ve declared that you are retired. Be sure to consult a lawyer for selected projects that may need further consultation.