A Dream Retirement Or A Rude-Awakening To Financial Reality?Written by Noel Peebles
It would be fair to say that most people will find their incomes at least halved instance they retire from workforce. The bombshell is dropped when suddenly discovering they lack cash flow to do things they had always dreamed of doing in retirement. Sadly, what looked like being a dream retirement becomes a rude awaking to financial reality. Will you be any different? Well, there is a quick-fix solution for when you first retire. Live like there’s no tomorrow and eat-away at your capital until it’s all gone. It’s fun while it lasts, but then reality hits home yet again. In many cases, this capital is what provides earning capacity over and above your government pension (if you are lucky enough to live in a country that offers one). Take away capital and you rely 100% on your retirement pension. What an awful situation to be in. These are "golden years"... time of life when you should be enjoying yourself. Yet truth is; government benefits and pensions are not designed to pay your mortgages, car installments, or credit card bills. Nor are they designed to keep you in lifestyle to which you may have become accustomed. Pensions and benefits are designed to provide only bare essentials. Needless to say, retirement can be a rude-awakening as you learn to adapt in survival mode. The message is clear: =====> These days you can't rely on others to provide you with ongoing employment. =====> Understand that a government benefit or pension, at most,
| | Scream First, Ask Questions LaterWritten by Charles Payne
NEW YORK, NY - Back in March, I asked whether investors were prepared to get to bottom of Wall Street's Pandora's box. The response that I received from most readers in US was that of outrage. They were appalled that I would suggest that problems were so bad that in end we'd wished that lid had been kept on. I think their response was part patriotism (or in this case maybe nationalism) and part confidence that our system was just about beyond reproach. The European readers on other hand, all agreed that I was on to something. Maybe they were being cynical in suggesting that US market wasn't perfect and that Americans, used to winning and being on top, wouldn't be able to handle truth. Well folks, truth has been harder to handle than anyone thought it would be, and that patriotic fervor has become rebellious anger. Last week felt as if every investor climbed on their window ledges and screamed (all facing east to project their collective voices to Wall Street) I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!!!! (By way, that wasn't confetti flowing in air, those were worthless stock certificates.) The big question over weekend is: when does it stop? This question can be applied to several areas of our lives, including stock market. In fact, I think it must be answered from point of view of corporate scandals and wrong doings. At this point of stock market meltdown, there is no doubt that driving force is continuing stream of scandals. However, one has to wonder what constitutes a scandal. These days it just looks like any misstep by corporate America is/was a deliberate attempt to cover something up. Here is definition according to dictionary.com: scan·dal (sk n dl) n. 1. A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends moral sensibilities of society: a drug scandal that forced mayor's resignation. 2. A person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage: a politician whose dishonesty is a scandal; considered housing shortage a scandal. 3. Damage to reputation or character caused by public disclosure of immoralor grossly improper behavior; disgrace. 4. Talk that is damaging to one's character; malicious gossip.
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