Posted on July 7, 2008 @ 11:59 pm - Written by BawldGuy
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau
Do you love what you do? Let’s be honest. Even for those who love the results of their labor, as do I, there are certain realities for which my anticipation isn’t amplified with a winning smile. Heck, even that was sugar coated. Let’s cut to the chase.
Part of life’s reality for million’s of Americans is what their retirement will look like — or more to the point, what it won’t look like. The older they are, the more likely desperation threatens to take hold.
I’m here to tell these folks there’s one immediate action they can take to begin to change their future positively.
They can stop pretending.
They pretend the qualified retirement plan at work is gonna be just fine. This, even though the average 50-something American male has less than $60,000 in their 401(k). If they’re 55, and retire at 65, (more pretending) what will that paltry sum have grown to? Let’s give them a huge benefit of the doubt and say they quadruple it in the decade before their retirement. The retiree having to retire based upon SS payments plus the income derived from less than $250,000 will have to turbo charge their talent for pretending.
Yer 30 or 40-something? Our clients average age range is 35-55. We have younger and older clients in decent numbers. You can correctly envy the younger, and say a prayer for the older. They have a steep hill to climb, and little time in which to plant their flag at the summit.
Back to pretending. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on July 3, 2008 @ 11:51 pm - Written by BawldGuy
This is a real simple one people. Flippers with at least 2-3 years experience will see themselves here, and nod their heads. They know exactly what’s what when it comes to what they do and what their real estate investor buddies do.
Ya see, even if the flipper does well, he’s paying ordinary income tax rates on his profits. And if not? He’ll get caught soon enough. Seen it too many times. Most flippers though, earn their profits fairly, pay their taxes, then move on to the next one.
‘Course they gotta take out money for themselves before the movin’ on part actually, you know, moves on. After ’bout the third or fourth one, it becomes fairly clear exactly what’s what.
Here’s the dirty little secret flippers won’t bring up while chowin’ down on the BBQ this weekend.
They very rarely retire well at all. They hit 50 or so, then realize the sun is setting quickly their chances for a stellar retirement. It’s not a good feeling. I’ve consulted with several 50-something flippers in the last couple years. It ain’t been pretty.
They’ve discovered all flippin’s got ‘em is a bigger paycheck, higher taxes, harder work, and more liabilities. And they can’t stop, or it’s back to whatever job they hated before they started flippin’ real estate. They’ve built themselves a prison with no doors. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on July 1, 2008 @ 9:07 pm - Written by BawldGuy
You and I are having a relaxed conversation. You’ve been thinkin’ of contacting me for quite awhile, and finally took the plunge. You’re now pondering the answer to my first question — What do you want your retirement to look like? As surprising as it may be, that question is a poser for lots of folks.
Try not to primarily think in terms of retirement income. Think lifestyle. How much of a traveler do ya wanna be? Wanna be a globe trotter, or are you more a see the grandkids type? What about how you’ll be traveling? Gonna be an ocean goer? Maybe you’ll be staying in the contiguous 48 and takin’ long trips in the cool RV — maybe a $400,000 RV? Hey, it’s your retirement, what do you want? You and I will make it happen. Our #1 weapons? Your vision and my Purposeful Plan.
See what I mean? It’s one thing to randomly think or even talk about your retirement, but try to answer the question concretely and it becomes a different tale altogether. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 17, 2008 @ 10:06 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Let’s take a peek at what a shiny new real estate investor faces when entering this market. We’ll use a composite Brown and Brown client made up of several clients who’ve come on board this year. They’re early 40’s with two kids. (She’s 39, sorry.) They make $150,000/year between them. They own a home with a loan at around 70% loan to value. The investment capital available to them is $125,000 not including their cash reserves. They credit is very good, with both scores in the mid-700’s.
First we need to hear them say they wanna be our clients. We don’t make a big deal about it, we just need to hear the words. Once spoken we shift into gear and our V-12 power plant begins its throaty hum. Ever heard a V-12 idling? It’s been described by some as a small airplane. Very cool.
Here’s the chronology
1. A frank discussion is had between the us and the client. How old are they? Salary? Savings? Other assets? Credit? Retirement goals? The list goes on for awhile. The agenda is to establish a Purposeful Plan based upon the answers to these questions. This Plan is the foundation for our first moves on our client’s behalf. It’s importance can’t be under valued. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 9, 2008 @ 11:35 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Throwing out the low and high ends of the scale, the typical Brown and Brown client is easily described as Regular Folk. Sure we get the low end newbie, able to begin minimally, and the ones with several hundred grand to start plus equities in umpty ump properties to trade. But 70-80% of our clients begin with $50-100,000 on up to around $300,000 give or take a few bucks. And they’re all regular folks just like you and me.
They’re usually married, but not always — a sizable minority are not. They make $45-150,000 a year, sometimes more, rarely less. They fall into the 42-55 age bracket, although those younger and older than that range are well represented. They’re all old enough to realize their future shouldn’t rely in any way, shape, or form on a toss of the dice. Duh.
Almost all own a home, and almost all with a mortgage. Though most have a retirement plan at work, usually a 401(k), rarely is there more than $30-90,000 in them. This fact alone is what gets so many to begin thinking more seriously about the retirement. Contemplating living post-retirement on the income generated by a couple hundred grand isn’t exactly the catalyst leading to a good night’s sleep, know what I mean, Verne? Read the rest of this entry »