Xigaware

Risks to Your Retirement Income

If you’re a member of the “Baby Boomers,” you’re probably thinking a lot about retiring – provided that you haven’t already retired.  Even if you have previously retired, chances are that you’re considering when you’re financially able to remain comfortably retired.

Recent recessionary economy compounds the situation even more by increasing the following retirement related economic variables:

1. Life Expectancy Is Longer

Today, life expectancies are longer than their parents’ generation. For example, in 1970, a 60-year old white male would have had a life expectancy of only 16.2 years; but, by 2008, his life expectancy had climbed to 20 years.

So how is the Boomer going to afford retirement during those extra 3.8 years? There are only a few likely solutions:

> Increase pre-retirement nest egg building

> Work beyond early retirement

> Move in with children or other family members

> Expect a reduced quality of life

2. Health Care Costs Keep Rising

Adequately funding one’s medical care costs are some of the most difficult financial activities, mostly because medical costs are so person-specific, with requirements varying substantially from one person to another. Long-term care needs are even harder to plan for and fund.

Medical expenses have grown at a rate greater than 5% (inflation adjusted) for the past 15 years – a rate that is higher than the growth in family income. Medicare costs are expected to rise similarly.

3. Legislative Changes May Limit Retirement Income & Supplemental Programs

It has been widely reported that the costs of major entitlement programs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) are growing more rapidly than other parts of the economy, and some economists challenge their long-term viability because of the cumulative effects of increased longevity, size of the Boomer population, and rising health care expenses in general.

Further, immediate questions concerning continued health insurance during retirement, and at what benefit levels, are wide-spread in today’s economy – and these questions are given even more fuel by the reorganizations occurring, especially among the auto industry.

There is currently much conversation concerning a national health care program – but such debates have been active for decades, with few benefits to show for those efforts. Although President Obama will be leading such efforts this year, many people expect Congress to present a lot of opposition.

Most people think that seniors past age 55 will be protected from reductions in these entitlement programs, but providing full coverage for them is a two-edged sword – doing so increases the likelihood of a new tax, which would likely add to retirement tax burdens.

4. Retirement Dates Are Frequently not a Free Choice

According to a 2004 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), 37% are forced to retire due to poor health or economic downturns, etc.

5. 401Ks Have Been Decimated

Were your savings (including your 401k) devastated with the stock market crash last year? Mine did. Many people saw their 401k and other stock market accounts take a 50% hit, which has led many comedians to rename them “201k”. For many people, their 401k was the bulk of their retirement savings, so this stock market crash seiously damaged their retirement plans.

Humpty Dumpty Was Not a Retirement Expert

But there is some good news. Luckily, you can repair a broken “Nest Egg”.

You can work longer, semi-retire and take a part-time job, work from home, start your own business, etc.

If you’d like to start an online business, but are hesitant because you’re not an internet expert, one very good starting point for gaining all the education about internet marketing that you’ll need to be successful is to sign up for the Online Success for Beginners course.

A report by Butrica, Smith and Steuerle (2006) noted that working just one (1) extra year can boost annual retirement income by 9%, while working just five (5) extra years results in an additional 56% annual retirement income.

If you’d like to learn how to generate a second income, so that you can have a rewarding, financially secure retirement, check out Darren Salkeld’s new MaxPro Marketing System and get his FREE Report and FREE Audio describing the age-old secrets of creating wealth.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Many people who are interested in starting a home-based business assume that because the country is in a major recession right now, this is not the time; however, I ask you to consider the facts:

1. As with most of the major life decisions, e.g., getting married, having a child, starting a business – there is never a “right” time; there is only today.

2. If you want to be wealthy, you need to own your own business – 93% of the wealthy do.

3. In 2006, Fortune magazine called direct selling, including network marketing, “the best kept secret in the business world” with a 91% growth over the previous 10 years. It has a market of $30 billion in the United States and $100 billion worldwide. That number is expected to grow to 6 billion by 2012.

4. Financial experts call network marketing a “recession proof” industry.

5. Warren Buffet called his purchase of a network marketing company the best investment he’d ever made.

6. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, called it the first truly revolutionary marketing shift in the past 50 years.

7. Online businesses aren’t as impacted by the high cost of gas, parking or daycare.

8. Owning an online business provides a number of tax advantages.

9. They’re generally easy to start – if you have a basic language skills and can point, click and follow directions, you have what you need to become successful in the world of online businesses.

10. The Web puts you in control of your financial future – no more depending upon your boss to give you a raise or promotion! If you’re willing to work, you can make a lot of money.

Affiliate marketing programmes are probably the simplest methods to launch an internet organization, and many of them also include coaching per the product that you’ll be selling for them.

The problem with many online opportunities is that their training is narrow, and typically targeted only on educating you on their product (s). Unfortunately, you will require more information than that.

A excellent place to start for gaining all the rest of the knowledge about internet marketing that you will need is to join the Online Success for Beginners course.

Don’t be discouraged if you want to start a new business – hundreds of thousands of new businesses will launch in the next 12 months; yours could be one of them. Isn’t it time that you joined them? Isn’t it really time to leave the 9-5 routine behind you along with all the related job stress?

Carpe Diem! Don’t waste any time, seize the day! Today is the day to start an online business .

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

When will this recession be over?

They talk about the green shoots of recovery; well I have not seen any, have you? I personally think that it is a form of increase confidence trick; an attempt to make people believe that the worst of this current recession is over.

They, and when I say they I am talking about the Government and business leaders, are no doubt hoping that this new confidence (false as it undoubtedly is) will spur people on to start spending money again; to start buying houses etc. Until these so called “leaders” realise that this crisis will only start to ease when the banks and building societies start to lend money again, the better. I am already started to read reports about the ways in which these bankers have returned to their greedy bonus culture? The bigger question is why are the Government allowing them to make the same mistakes again when we, the taxpayer, are the major shareholder? There is a real lack of leadership at the moment and it is about time somebody at the top started to crack the whip.

Now I am not some financial whizz kid who thinks he has all of the answers. I am in fact just an average working class guy from the UK who runs a web promotion company and who also has a partnership in a company that offers a professional DVD duplication service. I do however watch and listen in amazement at times when I see what some of the politicians and greedy bankers say – they really are not in the real world – they probably would have absolutely no idea as to the average cost of a pint of milk or loaf of broad – they are complete jokers and a waste of space.

I personally believe that this current credit crisis will last until the end of 2010, at least. I know that this seem rather negative but it is just my opinion on the situation. I may well revise my opinion if we were to change in Government or a new stronger, dynamic leader? Bring in Vince Cable I say as the new Labour leader!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Consumer behaviour is changing and it is looking to stay that way for the foreseeable future. During the boom years of the past decade, we saw a huge number of small startup businesses trying to compete with the big boys. Many of these websites have gone local to global in a very short space of time, thanks to their prices. People were willing to buy products and services from a company or website they’d never heard of, if the price was lower. But now that more and more businesses are going belly up, and consumer confidence is falling as a result. What this means is that people are going back to preferring known and recognisable brands, even if it means spending a little more.

Although in times such as these when people are worried for their jobs or loosing them, some start to consider their dream business online and of being their own boss. But even in the recession, web business is booming, Barclays showed that even in the credit crunch 98,000 new business popped up over only a three month period. Yet it’s a tough road to go down. When you take into account that around 80,000 new businesses failed during the same time period, kind of puts it into perspective doesn’t it!

I think that underestimating your companies branding is as detrimental as not having a website at all. When a customer hits your website, what does your logo say about your business. This is how you are judged by those who keep your business afloat, the people logging in everyday to buy your goods, that see you as a logo and that logo is critical to the process. But it’s so often the case that startup owners put off paying professional logo design in the initial stages. They think “wait till I get a few more customers, then I can afford it”.Then they design one themselves in photoshop and thinking that looks fine, load it up to the site. Many go for free clipart template business cards and stationery design from somewhere like vista print.

Brands shouldn’t underestimate the importance of their image. Businesses, big or small need to appear strong enough to survive this economic crisis.In times when people are worrying about each and every penny they spend, a brand needs to appear stable and constant. You also want to avoid looking like a very small business, even if you are one. As i have mentioned, consumers are now more then ever going to the big brands for what they need. And finally, a good image will make it more likely for customers you do have to refer you to their friends and family.

The fact of he matter is. Around half of all new businesses go bankrupt in the first few years. Badly planned marketing strategies are thought to be the main cause of most websites decline. A custom logo design helps you create the right image for this marketing to succeed. So do yourself a favour – start looking at some sample logos in your industry and see what the successful ones have in common.Finding yourself a talented graphic designer is key to your business, not only surviving but thriving in this current climate.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Normal 0

Despite the economic slowdown that was sweeping the globe, experts say that online retailing will survive this financial crisis .Based on the third instalment of “The State of Retailing Online 2008: Profitability, Economy & Multichannel Report” done by Forrester Research, 35 percent of online retailers surveyed said they expect their online businesses to perform better than expected in the next 12 months, while 33 percent expect their online businesses to perform as expected.

This positive thinking may be the result of a change within consumer behaviours, resulting from the recent economic drawback: people flock to the internet for their shopping needs.

PriceGrabber.com(R) studied the impact of a tough economy on holiday shopping in its latest Consumer Behaviour Report. Sixty one percent of consumers are going to make an effort in cutting back this holidays according to results. Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents expect to do some purchasing online this holiday season. Fifty five percent are going to buy their gifts online this year, increasing by ten percent from last year. Thirty-seven percent say that online shopping appeals to them because it is “easier to compare products and find the lowest price.” Twenty-four percent prefer the “convenience of shopping anytime and anywhere.”

Past results from Forrester Research shows that 81 percent of online retailers surveyed reported that their e-commerce businesses were profitable in 2007. Because of this, the internet marketing bug seems to be spreading to more businesses. The Office for national Statistics survey shows 70.3 percent of busineeses today have their own websites.

Malcolm Pinkerton, Verdict’s senior retail analyst states “As the cost of broadband falls, consumers become more accustomed to internet shopping and retailers continue to enhance their online propositions. This channel will find itself extremely well placed to capitalize on falling consumer confidence and lower levels of disposable income currently affecting the retail market.”

This means more people are now able to utilize the internet as a means of shopping.Shopping online provides numerous advantages for shoppers, the foremost of which is convenience. Internet gives shoppers the ability to browse and compare product prices at any given time of the day, as online retail stores are open all the time, without leaving the comforts of their homes.It also gives the shoppers a chance to buy as much as they could without worrying how to transport them, as online retail stores provides delivery services. Parking spaces, crowds and long lines are no longer an issue.

In UK, a study reveals that one of the reasons of the increase of online shopping rate came from users in their 40s and 50s, having more trouble accessing built shopping centres because transport is usually not as readily available to them, are beginning to use the Internet for their own online shopping.

Despite the ongoing financial crisis, online retail stores’ sales continue to rise In fact, according to Ed Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association, the  recession may actually contribute to e-commerce because cautious consumers are doing more research and comparison shopping via ecommerce websites before making a big purchase.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Many people who are interested in starting a home business assume that because the country is in a major recession right now, this is not the time; however, I ask you to consider the facts.

1. For most of the big decisions in life (e.g., getting married, having a child, starting a business), there is never the “right time,” there is only today, only now.

2. If you want to get rich, you need to own your own business, as 93% of the already wealthy do.

3. In 2006, Fortune magazine called direct selling, including network marketing, “the best kept secret in the business world” with a 91% growth over the previous 10 years and a market of $30 billion in the United States and $100 billion worldwide. By 2012, that number will likely reach $326 billion.

4. Network marketing has been called a “recession proof.

5. Warren Buffet called his purchase of a network marketing company the best investment he’d ever made.

6. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, called it the first truly revolutionary marketing shift in the past 50 years.

7. Internet marketing businesses aren’t as impacted by the usual commuter costs (gas and parking) and childcare expenses.

8. Owning a home business provides significant tax advantages.

9. You, too, can become successful with an online business as long as you have basic language skills, and the ability to point, click and follow directions.

10. The internet puts you in control; no more hoping your boss will give you a raise or promotion, no more hoping you won’t be included in the next round of job cuts – plus, the upside is incredible! There’s the potential to grow wealthy.

Thousands and thousands of new businesses will start in the next year, despite the recession. Is this the right time for you to join them? Isn’t it time to leave the pressures of the 9-5 job behind you?

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Now is the time to start an online business .

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!