Is 2018 A Lost Year Financially?
2018. Are we looking at a Lost Year?
2018 was indeed a roller coaster year, and it appears that after all of the ups and downs, we will have ‘given back’ all of the gains from the start of the year and throughout the year. If you are near or already in retirement, 2018 could be devastating to you. You have little or no time now to ‘catch back up’ even if that were possible. Remember if you lose 20% in one year, (or one month), not only do you lose the ability to have compound gains, but it means you have to gain 25% next year (or month) just to get back to even. And remember, you are paying a broker fees such as commissions AND “assets under management” fees whether you have gains OR losses!
That certainly makes having that 25% gain even that much more difficult. And guess what? All this and no guarantees at all except that you will have the risk. A risk to gain or lose, but either way, you have no control over the outcome, and your broker wins whether you do or not.
So, why do people gamble with money they can’t afford to lose? One would think that when it comes to retirement money-money that must replace a paycheck that no longer happens because of retirement- that would be the LAST money with which someone would gamble! So why? Greed? Fear of “missing out” when “everyone else” is getting rich in the market?
“Playing” the market is fine.” Playing” is using money that is just for ‘play’-entertainment — not money that is critical to one’s future. None of us know how long we’ll need our money. None of us want to ‘live off’ our children and be an unnecessary burden on them.
NEVER GAMBLE WITH MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE.
The problem is that people only think about how much they are going to win. When you gamble in the market, that is an irrational, emotional decision. It is a rational, logical decision to ‘play,’ but not risk, the money you can’t afford to lose.
Retirement is the time when you distribute or spend what you have saved for that rainy day called ‘retirement.’ We don’t know how long we’ll need our money to last, or what might affect how long it lasts such as rising costs, our health, or family variables. What we DON’T need is another set of variables we can’t control like the stock market, Russian collusion, Brexit, wars, rumors of wars, etc., affecting how long our money lasts!
Why push water uphill? Why not use a financial tool that has been around for CENTURIES, was created for the express purpose of providing GUARANTEED income no matter how long you live, was created expressly FOR retirement, and is ‘chock full’ of guarantees? What is that product? Well, it’s a pension. You remember those? Your dad and grandfather probably had one. Works a lot like your Social Security.
It comes in the form of a Guaranteed, Fixed Annuity. It was good enough for Julius Caesar’s Legions when they retired, Winston Churchill, Babe Ruth, Shaquille O’Neal, and countless others who have been fortunate enough to receive expert Retirement Financial Advice. It is the only financial product that was designed for retirement, to provide the guarantees so necessary for a time fraught with uncertainty.
