My plan is to retire comfortably. Of course life can surely deter those plans. Now with me, I do not need, or in this period of my life desire a big home, or fancy things. I ranch, near water, with a few fun toys for my loved ones and I are what I hope for. How do I get there now in such a short period of time. Get out of debt, stay out of debt, save emergency cash, invest in gold & silver, take good care of my physical, mental, spiritual health, and aggressively max out good investment vehicles. For you younger folks from age 18 up, listen well, and plan well. Start now! Below is a post and an article I wrote from a source of experience, knowledge and wisdom.
Friends, & family, I am going to share something with you & I want you to pay attention & re-read this a few times if you can. I am going to first say, cash is king. That was also something Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase Bank said just before the real estate bubble, & banking crisis in which later JP Morgan also had to help bail out a few very large banks & financial institutions during the banking crisis.
The appreciation ratio of homes is substantial, yet the inventory of homes is minimal. It is a tough present period for real estate agents. My home has more than doubled in value since I purchased it 5 years ago. In which also makes my property taxes increase. Mortgage Rates back then were around 3%, Interest rates are on the rise, and are now triple that amount. Average interest rates on credit cards are over 20% & the marketing on them is immense promising all these “perks”, and “cash back” incentives. Please always read the fine print and how and when credit cards can immediately raise your rates too. Right now you are lucky if you can find a savings account interest rate about 3%. That doesn’t even make inflation. In other words, you are losing money, or at the very least breaking even on that basic type of savings. You would be better off dumping large amounts of cash in a very limited period high yielding CD or a high yielding Money Market. However, I recommend speaking to your Certified Financial Advisor on this and right away.
The cost of most goods have been on the rise. The average earnings is much less than 5, 10, to 20 years. For example, if you made around $50k in the late 90s, to make that same amount of money would be around $100k. So let’s say you get a new job, and your are thinking like you did in the late 90s that $50k is a fair income. Well, that would be wrong as it would be the equivalent of $25k. Another way to look at it is that you would need to make $100k to make the same $50k you were making in the late 90s. In addition, in relation, gas, and food is much higher than that period. A grocery bill for say a family of 3 is over $700 a month, average rent is $1200 for a 2 bedroom.
Are you following me yet? Am I making sense? You can also find all this information online with some good research through credible and reliable sources.
Now I am not trying to say the sky is falling, like Chicken Little, what I am saying is what I want to re-iterate in my opening of this post, cash is king. Get out of debt as quickly as possible, and start with any credit card debt. Stop using those credit cards unless for an urgent need to make sure you pay if off in 30 days. Pay off any vehicles next, and hopefully they still have fair value. Next is that home. Make additional payments to the principle, make double payments if you can, but work on getting that home paid off. If you have a 401(k), they are not as safe as you may think. However, if your company matches dollar for dollar for a certain amount, that is like free money. Unfortunately, 401(k) are typically all that corporations offer anymore in the form of a pension/retirement plan. If you are older, max it out. Invest in some gold and silver and lock it up in a very safe place. Have emergency cash on hand, and always have at least 6 months worth of earnings in a savings account or stable high earnings fund account that you can easily take out for cash. You never know if you may lose your present job, suffer an injury or illness and not be able to work for 6 months or more. Currently the unemployment rate is hovering around 4% since about Dec. 2021, and a spike to near 15% during the onset & duration of C19. Yet many employers aren’t able to seem to find reliable, committed, and stable employees.
Start watching financial trends, stock and bond trends, tune into Bloomberg TV Cast from time to time. Study and see where money is coming in and going out. It can be a good hobby to have.
In addition take a look at the social economical, and political environment of our present time. Review the level of division in our country in a plethora of areas. I have never in my lifetime seen so much division and confusion on these levels and scales.
Health is also wealth. Learn to cope and manage stress in a healthy manner. Exercise, eat healthy, get plenty of rest, and drink plenty of water.
I am highly recommending that you start doing all of this right now.
Why am I recommending this you may ask, and how do I know all of this, you may ask? Well, other than being a banker for several years, I am a tech geek, I am one that also likes research, and I am kind of good at watching and realizing financial numbers and trends. I have also been on this earth a few decades which included buying and selling several homes, living through some serious dips in markets, experiencing both inflation and recession, and being both a loan office and a VP of Business Banking for one of the largest banks in the world during the real estate bubble, and banking crisis.
Cash is king.
Liquidity
Be like water
Now read what I just wrote one more time, and if you are having trouble comprehending, understanding, or reading between the lines on what I am seeking to share, advise, and recommend, then simply ping me.
Purpose Principles Passion 
You must be logged in to post a comment.