It was a Sure Thing. (Yeahhhh right).
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Sure Thing? Shoo-In? All Sewn Up? Forgone Conclusion? Open and Shut? Surefire?
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It’s funny how we sometimes look at an opportunity on the surface and think to ourselves Wow! That looks like a sure thing! But in retrospect it turned out not to be so great?
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As you review your life and look forward to life over the next 10-20 years, what were the sure things in the past, and what are the sure things in your future?
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More importantly what made them sure things? Did you learn the difference between sure things and bogus sure things?
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For me, sure things in the past were I knew that, no matter what, I wanted to be the first of the three boys in our family to graduate from the university. I did!! I wanted to be the first to learn to drive and get my driver’s license before my twin brother. I did!! I knew I wanted to be married, have children, and be a successful businessman by age 30. I did!!!
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Now the sure things going forward are a tad bit fuzzy because we all know that nothing is for certain except death and taxes. I know I want to continue to do a bit of traveling after retirement, enjoy a few dinners out with the wife, and give some occasional financial assistance to family members without feeling the pinch. In general, just maintain my lifestyle to a certain degree of expectation.
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While there is rarely a sure thing, most of us have learned by this point in our life, that a little elbow grease or due diligence is always required when making a decision. More than once I can remember my mom telling us boys that the “devil is in the details” when making a serious decision about something. Do your homework!
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When making decisions about what to do with retirement funds, I get folks asking me all the time about this product or that product, or which fund is the best of the bunch, or is a bank or insurance product better than another?
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What most folks don’t realize is that you have to decide what you want your funds to do first!
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With thousands of retirement products on the market which one is best? There is no one answer. The correct answer is which product is most appropriate for what you need the fund to do for you in your portfolio!
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When building a retirement plan, it’s best to look at what you already have and see if you can keep it and use it for a purpose in retirement. Many financial products are for accumulation, not distribution. The minute you task a financial fund or product with paying you income in retirement instead of just accumulation, you have changed the entire expectation of that fund.
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Many of these accumulation products you had while working and adding to your retirement funds via a paycheck were great for long-term growth, but the minute you try to take income, and the market takes a downward turn after you have retired, what happens? You’ve now lost money and no longer have a paycheck coming in to replace the principal you lost! So you really can’t afford to gamble!
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Most folks will outlive their retirement funds because of one thing. They didn’t do their homework, and more importantly, they didn’t seek professional assistance with their retirement funds. Statistics currently state that over 70% of retirees will need long-term care at some point. Have you planned for this occurrence? Long-term care is the #1 cause of bankruptcy of retirees. Over 80% of Mutual funds will underperform and only the top 10% will perform better than expected. In layman’s terms this means most folks will outlive their retirement funds!
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Don’t be one of them!!! Don’t you want a sure thing? Get professional help with your retirement plan! There are multiple ways to address long-term care than just purchasing a policy! There are great products on the market that are just for creating guaranteed income for retirement! Want to know what your sure things are for retirement? Call us! We know a team of folks who can help!
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David S. Edge
Healthcare & Retirement
Planning Professional
Utilizing fact-based decision making to
protect your retirement lifestyle!
Follow this link for the full version of the August newsletter:
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https://americanretirementadvisors.com/monthly-newsletter/