Retirement Strategies 15 December 2010

37 CASE STUDIES OF PROFITABLE HOBBIES

You may be one of the many readers of this newsletter who are unable to tuck enough property investments aside to retire laughing and chose to make money doing something different.

To accommodate you, some time ago I commenced publishing case studies of “profitable hobbies”, and I have now compiled the 37 of my best case studies of profitable hobbies into one manual.

If you need extra money, invest just $19.75 and get started immediately!

You can buy the manual here: (you may need to copy and paste)

www.retirelaughing.com.au/blog/make-money-with-my-hobby/


72% PLAN TO WORK DURING RETIREMENT.

The Retirement Fitness Survey – by US Bank Wells Fargo - found that 72 percent of middle-class Americans between 25 and 69 expect to work through their retirement years.

The primary reasons are not enough savings and a trend in people wanting to continue working as a lifestyle choice, the survey concludes.

9 December 2010

TWO BOOKS FOR YOUR LIBRARY


"What's Next: Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job" (Chronicle Books, 2010).

Journalist Kerry Hannon specializes in careers, retirement and personal finance.

For "What's Next", she traveled America interviewing people who've made successful midlife career transitions, often into very colorful and happy new lives. This is an indispensable guide to anyone aiming to pull off a midlife reinvention.

Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life (Public Affairs, 2008).

Marc Freedman is one of America's leading thinkers on how to redefine the second half of life with a sense of social and individual renewal.

The non-profit group he leads, Civic Ventures, is in the forefront of the encore career movement -- the idea that older adults can blaze new career trails that can transform the country.

Freedman's book explains what it's all about by telling stories about people on the front lines of the movement.

Acknowledgements to Mark Miller – and his blog SecondAct Retirement Planning


WORK – THE NEW FACE OF RETIREMENT

The aging of the global population is changing the face of retirement.

The combination of increased longevity, inadequate and distressed retirement funds as well economic sluggishness is causing people to remain in the workforce longer than ever.

And governments are raising retirement ages around the world to minimise the impact of pension entitlements.

By 2050, nearly 33% of those living in developed countries will be age 60 or older, according to the United Nations, up sharply from less than 12% in 1950.

Yet these macro forces are being matched by an increasing willingness across the community to continue in work.

Many members of the baby boom generation want to work past the traditional retirement age of 65 for the personal fulfilment that employment brings.

The notion of retirement as extended leisure - that became popular in the last century, thanks to the advent of social security and private defined benefit pension plans – is now being seriously modified.

Source: knowledge@wharton 6 December 2010

TOWARDS A COMFORTABLE RETIREMENT

The best way to prepare for 20-25 years of comfortable retirement is to plan to enjoy it comfortably – within your financial resources.

No matter what your age, you can give some thought to the transition from a productive career to a retired life.

Then whole process becomes relatively very easy and under your own control – and you won’t be left stranded should retirement happen on any designated date.

The four pillars to consider are your health, your financial situation, family & friends and your zest for living.

I focus on helping you with financial planning – although along the way I have acquired quite a store of wisdom about the other three pillars as well.

And feel free to view my latest investment video – www.youtube.com/retirelaughing

My mantra “expect to reap an extra $449,999* when you’ll really be needing it”.


IDEAS FOR PROFITABLE HOBBIES

If you have even only the slightest notion of what your hobby is (or could be), go to PayPal Shops to see what others in your niche are selling.

The link is https://www.paypal.com/row/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_shop-ext#

As a simple example, if you have an interest in herbal remedies, go to PayPal Shops and look under “herbal remedies”.

There are hundreds of products there, each being made by a home based business and being sold for real dollars.

As you browse this online information resource, you will be able to create a list of what products will be most appealing to customers and clients.


WHY WE FAIL TO PLAN LONG-TERM

Diamond Management and Technology Consultants of Chicago recently released its findings of how its corporate clients should market to baby boomers as they approach retirement.

Diamond’s view is that “boomers need help preparing for retirement, because many lack a strong financial acumen and a rational, long-term approach to do the right thing for themselves."

Essentially, the consumer society has conditioned us to think Short Term, and (unlike Chinese or Japanese cultures) we are generally unable to think Long Term.

Different segments of the boomer population have specific needs based in unique attitudes and behaviours, according to the study, based on consumers' financial confidence and health consciousness.

At the core of the problem of under-funding for retirement is boomers’ excessive concerns for short term risk, with hardly any concern for long term risk. This imbalance persists as a legacy of the consumer society.

My strategy – as you know – to cover both the financial and health risks that we all face, is to continually invest in negatively geared investment properties, in established family suburbs where the rent is higher than normal, adjacent to a major cluster of solid jobs, in a growth corridor where the land tax is low.

Let me know if I can assist you explore your options. Phone me: Bernard Kelly anytime on mobile 0414 778 518 or cell 61 414 778 518

MORE “RENAISSANCE CAREER” JOBS

With 3,500,000 Australian baby boomers marching into retirement, there will be massive opportunities for active boomers to move into “renaissance careers” i.e. those jobs that they really want to do.

Australia has always relied on immigration to eliminate its lack of manpower and skills. Immigration is currently 50,000 per year, but according to a study by the Academy of Social Scientists, the intake needs to be increased to between 170,000 and 200,000 pa.

Adding to the problem is that the national fertility rate is in long term decline. Over the past twenty years, the rate of live births has dropped from 2 children per woman to 1.2.

The solution would eventually be to triple the level of immigration to fill the needs created by the retirements of 3.5 million baby boomers as well as on-going economic development. There is increasing demand for labour across the whole economy, including the military, services, education, health and industry.

The hardest policy objectives will be to fill low skilled jobs, however this issue will make it easier for boomers to find productive work.

acknowledgement s- ABC Radio News “Labour shortage looms”




About Bernard Kelly:

Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years’ experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.

19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518


“expect to reap an extra $449,999* when you’ll really be needing it”