Archive

Archive for the ‘Retirement’ Category

Disadvantages Of The ROTH IRA: Not All Is What It Seems

March 29th, 2012 139 comments

Passed Out Drunk Vomit Oozing From Mouth For over two years, I’ve been an opponent of the ROTH IRA after the government came out with its tricky dick way to let us all do a “one-time” conversion from our traditional IRA’s.  The title of the post written in January, 2010 is called, “Be A Sloth And Don’t ROTH“.

In these two years, I’ve become a more mellow, laissez faire blogger who realizes that there’s no point trying to force my views on others if they don’t want to change.  Instead, I’ve simply sought to lay out the reasons why I think the way I do, and let you readers decide.

If the choice is between NOT SAVING and saving via a ROTH IRA for your future, then the answer is that one should open up a ROTH IRA rather than piss their money away on stupid stuff that depreciates in value.  However, do know that you are still pissing money away by giving some of your money to the government.  And if the choice is between choosing a traditional IRA over a ROTH IRA, choosing the traditional IRA is hands down the way to go.

As you readers have demonstrated time and time again, you’re past the basics of personal finance and so am I.  Financial Samurai readers are not the target audience of whether one should save or not.  Of course we all must save, because eventually, we wil no longer want to work and the government might not be able to support us.  We’re probably not even the target audience for the ROTH IRA since many of us can’t even contribute thanks to egregiously low income limits.

Please read the reasons why a ROTH IRA is not a good idea for many of you.  If you’re still in favor, at least you know the other side of the story and Uncle Sam thanks you!

DISADVANTAGES OF A ROTH IRA – NOT ALL MILK AND COOKIES

Read more…

How To Retire Early And Never Have To Work Again

February 21st, 2012 161 comments

Beautiful Sunset In MexicoThere’s nothing better than being free to do whatever you want.  However, unless you’re born with a multi-million dollar trust fund, you’ll unfortunately have to work for your freedom.

You can follow my savings guide to increase your chances of a wonderful retirement by 50-65.  But, what if you want to retire earlier?  Say at the age of 40 or 45?  You’re in luck, because I have a very simple, yet effective plan for you.  This is something I’ve been following for the past 13 years to allow myself the option to retire as early as 35-45.  I think you’ll like the option as well!

What’s important is recognizing your inner frugality, your Herculean discipline, the government’s generosity, and your mortality.

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WHO’VE RETIRED EARLY
Read more…

Categories: Most Popular, Retirement Tags:

Should I Get Long-Term Care Insurance?

February 8th, 2012 34 comments

Old Man In SantoriniI spoke to my father yesterday and curiously asked him about his thoughts on assisted living facilities.  “Absolutely depressing!“, he said.  I couldn’t agree more that assisted living programs are depressing given it reminds us everyday about our mortality.

Who wouldn’t want to stay put in a home they’ve lived in for years instead?  I know I would.  Home is a special place that makes us feel comfortable and warm.  Ideally, you own your home outright in retirement and no longer have payments.  However, this is a topic for another post.

We can only hope that we remain healthy for the rest of our lives, but we’ll eventually need some help thanks to injuries or illnesses.  Some of us will have the financial strength to comfortably pay for our healthcare in retirement.  Others might have wealthy children to rely on.  But what if you do not want to burden anybody, and don’t have that much money to last?

Buying long-term care could be an ideal solution for your retirement years.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LONG-TERM CARE Read more…

Categories: Health & Fitness, Insurance, Retirement Tags:

Stay At Home Men Of The World, UNITE!

February 3rd, 2012 87 comments

Waffle and BaconAre you a man if you cannot take care of your family?  Are you noble, if you do not have a job and let your wife slave away at the office, so you can latch onto her healthcare insurance, and eat the bacon she brings home?  Hell yeah brothers!  Stay at home men of the world, unite!

The beauty of equality is that we men don’t have to work the majority of our lives away anymore.  We can be the homemakers, and be proud of it too!  With our big muscles, we can re-arrange the living room furniture with ease.  Being relatively taller, we can change fire alarm batteries every year without fear of breaking our necks.

When the general contractor comes over to remodel the bathroom, ladies can rest assured we men are less likely to get scammed by superfluous charges, such as a $1,000 wonder wall replacement.  And when the cable guy comes, you can also breathe easy knowing that we aren’t going to have a romantic encounter either!  I mean, how many times have you ever had a cable gal come over?  Never!

IS EARLY RETIREMENT CHEATING IF YOU HAVE A WORKING SPOUSE? Read more…

Categories: Relationships, Retirement Tags:

Don’t Confuse Revenue With Profits

January 30th, 2012 47 comments

Mexican FishermanI generated $100,000 from home in my underwear!” reads the headline. Immediately, you go ahead and click to see how, hopefully for free. But if not, maybe there’s some type of infoproduct you can buy for $99.

Revenue is sexy no doubt. Large headline numbers are used to suck you in. They trigger a “Me too wow!” emotion, and most of us fall for it. For growth companies, top line revenue is important to show the investor the company is heading in the right direction. However, for the consumer, revenue is a gimmick if you don’t highlight the net profit.

One of the greatest tricks in selling is to make something look so easy that any knucklehead can do it. Offer a 30 day money back guarantee, with processing fee of course, and a product that takes 100 days to complete to see results! By the time the consumer figures out what you’re selling is difficult to achieve or a piece of crap, you’ll have already taken their money and bought a nice trip to Maui thank you very much!

If your job is to sell the dream of making money online and following your glorious digital nomad lifestyle blogger, do us all a favor and be more transparent.

REVENUE DOESN’T COME CLOSE TO EQUALING PROFITS Read more…

Categories: Retirement Tags:

Things To Do And Think About Before Quitting Your Job High Roller

January 24th, 2012 131 comments

Entrepreneur Magazine On BeachThe wooden bar shimmers with beer stains as I stubbornly try to wipe them away.  Each jab of the napkin gets stuck, like a fly to Venus.  Eventually I give up as my friend returns from the Thomas Crapper smiling.

Sam, when I get my bonus this February, I will have hit my goal of saving $1,000,000 in the bank!” said my 38 year-old friend Paul over his Guinness.  He went on to explain, “I’ve been saving my bonus every year for the past 16 years so that I can one day quit my job and do something more relaxing and fun.

Well done Paul!” I respond as I pat him on the back.  “But what else are you going to do?  Not many jobs in the world pay your type of income.  Are you sure you’re willing to give it all up for a life of leisure?

Hmm, I don’t know Sam.  I guess all I have to do is work another year, and I’ll get another $100,000 or so in bonus after tax.  Maybe I should just continue to work?” questioned Paul.

I think a lot of people would give up their left nut to receive a $100,000+ after tax bonus every year.  Maybe you should think about taking a sabbatical instead to rejuvenate?” I replied.

A sabbatical would be great!  But, I think my company just demotes, underpays, or ultimately lays off people who take them,” explained Paul.

Well isn’t getting let go exactly what you want?  That way, you can get all your deferred compensation without a hitch!” I said.

Good point!  Time to kick back and get faded baby!” Paul cheered as we chugged our beers in unison.

MORE MONEY, MORE QUESTIONS Read more…

PRIVACY: We will never disclose or sell your e-mail address or any of your data from this site. We do highly welcome posts and community interaction, and registering is simply part of the posting system.

DISCLAIMER: Financial Samurai exists to thought provoke and learn from the community. Your decisions are yours alone and we are in no way responsible for your actions. Stay on the righteous path and think long and hard before making any financial transaction!