Archive for December 8th, 2009

Retirement Planning | It’s Like your Junk Drawer…

December 8th, 2009 categories: Buying your Home, Charlotte Living, Market Trends

Retirement Planning | It’s Like your Junk Drawer….you know you think about it once in a while, even start to work on it then anything, anything comes up and you leave it for another day! Well as we approach 2010 which should be a reprieve financially compared to 2009 (Rhonda thinks stringing colored lights on our Christmas tree for the 1st time is a sign)…our friends Jeff & Jeff at Karp Financial Strategies have some thoughts and ideas on how to get your retirement planning on or back on track!

ps. much of the information applies equally well if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Charlotte next year – financial prudence is a powerful tool!

From Karp Financial.…”Are you “thinking” about retirement? As early as 1968, the co-authors of the book, Social Security: Perspectives for Reform, observed: “There is a widespread myopia with respect to retirement needs. Empirical evidence shows that most people fail to save enough to prevent catastrophic drops in post-retirement income. Not only do people fail to plan ahead carefully for retirement, even in the later years of their working life, many remain unaware of impending retirement needs.”

Twenty years later in 1988, author Venita Vancaspel discussed financial literacy in the United States in her book, Money Dynamics for the 1990s. She wrote: “There is an educational void in our nation, and unfortunately we are raising a generation of financial illiterates. Even many college graduates cannot figure simple percentages. They are not teaching the one subject that they will need to live well in our free enterprise system – how to manage money. This vacuum is so great that the average couple cannot begin to confront the financial uncertainties and the multitude of choices they face in our complex society.”

All stages of life require us to make financial decisions and plan for economic security. No other life stage, however, is likely to create “the financial uncertainties and multitude of choices” as does retirement. Read the rest of this entry »

Authored by Donna Johnston | Discussion: Your Comments Please »