Free Retirement Plan

If you are one of the many investors saving for retirement and wondering how you will maintain your standard of living as your investments are not performing and the Sate looks to provide less and less this article is for you.

Quite simply, most of the baby boomer generation (that’s about 70 million) people face a retirement where they wont maintain the standard of living their used to.

They need high growth and low risk but what are the best investments?

Getting low risk and high rewards

Saving for retirement means getting low risk and high reward but mutual funds and equity managers generally perform poorly and double digit gains are considered good but with inflation eating in. that’s not much!

Its time to look at other ways to save for retirement and there is one method that is becoming more attractive to Americans and other foreigners than ever.

Its investing in Costa Rican land and property.

If you have never considered this as part of your savings for retirement plan then you should consider this

1. Costa Rican land & property prices are booming

Over the last 5 years prime property prices are up by as much as 300% and year on year since 1997 when the boom began and downside has been almost non existent.

Does this sound a better return than your mutual fund with less risk?

2.The boom will continue

It is exactly the problems in the US with regard to getting better performance that will drive these prices higher.

Many Americans are not only thinking of buying land and property for investment purposes but they are moving to Costa Rica in ever increasing numbers

Why? Because they can get property at 70% cheaper, living costs are 70% cheaper and they can live in a stable country with all the comforts of home just 3 hours from the US!

3. Investing the easy way

The government makes buying land and property easy, you get the same rights as residents and its very tax efficient.

4. Risk / reward

Saving for retirement is all about risk / reward.

You want the high growth rates without huge downside swings, Costa Rican property and land investments provide you with this.

Keep in mind

If you buy a property as an investment you don’t have to wait to sell it to make money -rent it out in the booming rental market.

As more and more people move to Costa Rica from the US and more big companies such as Intel and proctor and Gamble re locate parts of their operation, the rental market will continue to be buoyant.

Finally, you may end up doing what many Americans already have..

Simply, don’t sell your investment property move to Costa Rica and live in it.

Many investors started saving for retirement by buying a second property in Costa Rica, then when they saw the standard of living they moved! Consider this:

You can live on $2,000 a month, there is no tax on social security checks, the country is safe, stable, has good infrastructure, all the comforts of home, a large American population (so you feel at home) and all this is just a 3 hour direct flight from the US.

Of course, when saving for retirement wouldn’t it be nice to own or live in a paradise? With everything from pristine beaches to rainforest and one of the best climates on earth Costa Rica has this and much more.

If you have never considered Costa Rica in your saving for retirement plans or re-locating, then you should it makes perfect sense.

Sacha Tarkovsky

http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/saving-for-retirement-taking-action-to-avoid-retirement-shortfall-56243.html

Imagine what you could do in your life if you had financial
freedom. In the first article in this series we looked at taking
control of your current situation. Controlling your spending,
controlling and eliminating your debt, and starting a savings
plan – all so you can have a firm foundation to take the leap to
financial freedom.

In this article we’re going to look at some simple strategies to
go from financial control to financial power.

Step Five – Save and Prosper

We touched on this in the first article, but for different
reasons. Now we’re moving on to building wealth. A major part of
your strategy has to be cash. Cash is the only true financial
wealth, so you need some. You need a lot. Now you have cleared
your debts and you have your spending under limits, you have
some spare cash to save. Find the highest interest account you
can and start depositing regular amounts. Each month put as much
into your account as possible. Set up an automatic payment to go
from your salary account. Set yourself a target, let’s say
$10,000 and go for it with all your effort.

Step Six – Split Hairs

When you’ve reached your savings target you need to start
getting creative with your money. Our example target is $10,000
so the way we’re going to get creative is by splitting it three
ways. First we’re going to find another highest interest
possible account and transfer about $4,000 into it. This is
going to be your emergency account. In reality an emergency
account should have the equivalent of about three months’ salary
in it; and you never touch it, unless it’s a genuine emergency.
Next, put $3000 aside for investing (see step three). And the
remaining $3,000 stays in the savings account, where you keep
adding to it.

Step Seven – Speculate to Accumulate

High interest bank accounts are fine and they’re a fairly safe
place to build your wealth – slowly. But if you want to build
wealth faster, you’re going to have to take some risks. There
are three ways I see of doing this: one is to start a business;
two is to invest in property; three is to invest in stocks and
bonds. In the example we’re working with we’ve set aside $3,000
to do this. On the one hand it’s not a lot of money – it won’t
go far in stocks or in property. On the other hand it’s a third
of our savings and that’s a big risk. But if you worked through
step one in the first of these two articles you’ll have a better
understanding of yourself. You’ll be able to work out for
yourself what kind of risk you are prepared to take. Because
believe me this step is risky. So you might decide to just
continue saving, that’s fine. You are now in control and hey -
that’s a lot of freedom in itself. Or you might decide that you
can stand the risk of losing that $3,000. If you do, then you’ll
probably have a clear idea of how you want to risk it. The only
advice I’m going to give here is to make sure you plan it. Have
a plan for your investment, do your research, don’t get lured by
‘get-rich-quick-for-no-work’ schemes, set a limit to what you
are prepared to lose – and stay disciplined and focused.

Step Eight – Plan to Enjoy

This isn’t so much of a final step, as something you should be
doing all the time in all areas of your life. People who plan
and set goals and have timescales for achieving things have more
failures and more setbacks than those who don’t make plans and
set goals. Yes, you read that right. But the reason they have
more setbacks is because they are doing more, they are always
moving forwards, they are never giving up. And the bottom line
is that they achieve more than those who don’t plan. So set
goals and put plans in place. And make sure you plan to enjoy
your financial freedom – whatever it means to you – because if
you turn the achievement of your dreams into a form of
unremitting slavery you will end up sabotaging yourself

Craig Brown

http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/the-steps-to-financial-freedom-part-two-3368.html

What Is A Budget Simply put, a budget is a spending plan. It details how much you earn, how much you spend, and how much is left over. If you have any money left over, then you have a budget surplus. If you don’t, you have a budget deficit. If you happen to fall into the budget deficit category, then you have to cut non-essential purchases completely out of your budget. Generally, living and leisure expenses can be modified slightly to fix the problem.

Why Start A Budget

Statistics show that the average American spends 10% more than they earn. This means that if you have an annual household income of $50,000, then on average you would be spending $5000 more than you earn. The only way to combat this cycle of overspending is by establishing a realistic household budget and stick to it.

What Are The Benefits of Budget

Maintaining a budget allows both individuals and families to become debt free, save money, track spending patterns, and achieve financial goals. Whether you are looking to pay for your next car in cash or funding your child’s college education, establishing a budget is a sure way of doing it.

Why Some People Fail at Budgeting

Many people fail to live within their budget when they feel that it is too restrictive or too difficult to manage. Therefore, it is a good idea to allow room for leisure entertainment and some discretionary spending. This way, you stick with your budget and it becomes a habit without feeling miserly.

How To Start A Budget

Follow these quick and easy steps and you are well on your way to becoming a master at budgeting.

1. Set your goals. Why do you need to budget? Saving for a new car, vacation, or nest egg?

2. Determine your cash flow. How much is coming in every week, month, year? Write it down, or enter your information into a budgeting software program, such as Budget Forecaster by Strativia.

3. Determine your expenses. Where is your money going? Again, write it down.

4. What the verdict? Do you have a budget surplus or budget deficit?

5. Maintain or modify your plan. Depending on your results, you should either stay the course, or change your course to achieve your financial goals.

There you have, Budgeting 101. It’s not hard. The difficult part of budgeting is actually starting and sticking to it. If you start today, you will be financially free tomorrow.

Kenneth Kelly

http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/establishing-a-budget-is-the-right-thing-to-do-136097.html