A couple weeks ago, a client in Oakland emailed me an article from Money Magazine titled: 4 Disastrous Retirement Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.
The premise of this must read article for anyone getting close to retirement and wanting to rollover their IRA is to see past the hype being touting by many a financial salesperson masquerading as an advisor, but really only concerned with their commission payout and not your financial wellness and security.
When was the last time you reevaluated your personal financial goals? Did you set initial goals when you were in your 20’s and haven’t looked back since?
If you’re a boomer, perhaps you’ll remember Hasbro’s famous “The Game of LIFE”? The Game of Life challenges players to manage their money and get to retirement wealthy. Different spaces on the game board offer life challenges like babies, houses, night school, you name it. Spin to win!
Should you include international stocks in your investment portfolio? If yes, how much? If no, why not?
When you think about financial independence (FI), what comes to mind? What do you imagine your life would look like if working for money was purely optional?
This is a question that many of my clients have pondered deeply and thoughtfully and continue to evaluate and review. Not needing to work for money and wondering what to do with your life once you’re FI is, as they say, a ‘gold plated’ problem we should all be fortunate enough to have.
But with so many possibilities, so many shades of financial independence to explore and discover, such a new dynamic and reality to accept and embrace - the choice of how you design your life plan truly matters. And it matters just as much whether you reach FI in your 40’s, 50’s, 60’s or 70’s.
Whether you earned, saved, lived within or below your means and invested well on the road to financial independence OR you received a windfall from real estate appreciation like many of my Bay Area clients are experiencing, especially those living in Berkeley or Silicon Valley OR you inherited your FI, the road ahead remains full of exciting possibilities. So which path do you choose? What now becomes your life purpose, your dharma?
And now, with the recent volatility, memories of those scary days still haunt many an investor that rightfully so, remains traumatized from that roller coaster ride from hell back in 2009. The thought that runs through many a mind in times of high volatility and high anxiety like we’re currently experiencing; is this going to be a repeat of 2009?
