Pursuit of Excellence

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/08/retire-millionaire-million-dollars.asp

Having a million-dollar portfolio is a retirement dream for many people. Making that dream come true requires some serious effort. While success is never a sure thing, the 10 steps outlined below will go a long way toward helping you achieve your objective. The steps are: set the goal, start saving, get aggressive, prepare for rainy days, save more, watch your spending, monitor your portfolio, max out your options, catch-up contributions, and have patience. Briefly I’ll highlight some points that author made. Savings can be started by taking advantage of your company’s 401k plan, or even something as simple as an Acorns account. Be sure to save if you want to build your way to being a millionaire. If you are constantly spending as much as you make, then you won’t have anything to set aside for when you stop working. It’s also important to have a strategy when it comes to asset-allocation. As time passes you want to set aside more to save. Take advantage of tax deferred savings plans to set aside income that won’t be taxed. An important thing to remember is to monitor and re-balance your portfolio. Finally, the power of compounding takes time so be patient and consistent. If you’re interested in having your own account that will build your wealth for you, then click on the following link:

https://acorns.com/invite/PE7WB6

Retirement might seem far away, but when it arrives nobody ever complains about having too much money. Some people even question whether a million dollars is enough. That said, with lots of planning and discipline, you can reach your retirement goals and live a comfortable life after work.

http://www.investopedia.com/advisor-network/articles/011317/rough-guide-your-future-retirement-needs/

Friends and family often ask me how much savings they need in order to retire. While I am more than happy to talk in generalities, I try to steer away from giving any specifics when I don’t have all the facts. Without a complete view of their financial picture, it would not only be impossible but also irresponsible of me to answer their questions. Unfortunately, more often than not, before I have a chance to respond, they hastily begin shouting out numbers. “Do I need half a million? One million?” Typically this leads to me awkwardly trying to explain that the solution isn’t that simple and ethically I really shouldn’t answer their question. This response is usually met with a bewildered look and the inevitable “So you’re saying that’s not enough?” (Heavy sigh) At this point, I coyly suggest that if they really want to know the answer they should become a client. (For related reading, see: 10 Habits of the Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.) In an effort to provide friends and family with some guidance (and to quell the family banter), I have devised a quick back of the envelope calculation to give a ballpark estimate of how much savings one needs to retire. The calculation is rather easy to complete but does require some preliminary information before you can get started. I have included a list of the necessary data as well as a simple worksheet that will walk you through this approach. Please bear in mind that this is a rudimentary calculation that won’t give you an exact figure, but it can be used as a reality check to see if you are on target to retire comfortably.

Here’s the information that the author recommends that you’ll need:

A pay statement, federal and state tax returns, social security statement, pension statement, and estimate of any other income you may receive in retirement. The author presents a scenario for analysis. In this scenario, the author examines ten line descriptions: net pay, number of pay periods, basic annual income needs, taxes, medical expenses, total annual income needed, retirement income (social security, pension, etc.), annual income needed from savings, multiplier, and savings required. Understand that this scenario is a static model, and doesn’t consider the fluctuations of life. Also, keep in mind that this model doesn’t replace income producing assets. If your passive income is greater than your expenses, then you are wealthy.

If you need are interested in creating a budget, then contact me for a financial checkup in the contact me section.

For this week, I’ve included Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness, But It Is… – Motivational Video from the Endless Motivation YouTube channel.

“If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure; real survivors learn wisdom from others.” Proverbs‬
‭28:26‬ MSG‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬