Let’s begin with the premise that you are a homeowner, have a mortgage and have at least a small amount of money left each month to invest. Where do you invest it? You’ll want a safe investment that pays more than those bond funds. It would be nice if your investment compounded monthly. How about accessibility? Yeah, that’s very important. No problem.

The baby boomer generation were taught that having savings is good and that it should be put safely in the bank. Even if the bank became insolvent our money is insured by the FDIC up to $100,000. So all we had to do, if we were lucky enough to have more money than that was to open account at another bank. Only problem is the interest that the banks pay on savings or even certificates of deposits is, at most 5.5% AND is taxable.

An alternative to Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds could be just putting the funds you may otherwise invest in these methods and pay down your mortgage. So in other words each month pay your mortgage payment plus some extra. Maybe a portion of the amount you invest each month or maybe the whole investment, the decision is yours.

A Little Extra – The Savings Math

Here’s an example of what would happen if you invested in the mortgage, you owe on your home. Let’s use a new fixed rate mortgage with a starting balance of $100,000 amortized over 30 years at 7%. By paying an extra $25 per month we would pay this mortgage off 39 months early. Check my math, but I calculate that would save us 39 (month) x $665.31 (monthly payment amount) = $25,947 minus 321 months that we made extra payments each of $25 or a total of $8,025 would leave us $17,992 in savings growth. $17,992 divided by 321 months is an average of $55.83 a month in tax free growth. Annualized that amount for a yearly average of $669.96. Divide that by our yearly investment of $300 ($25/month) and we get a whopping average return of 223%.

If you were to further invest a little time, go check out some great mortgage rates at www.propertysharesinternet.com, you could even shave another few thousand dollars. Go ahead and invest in all the fancy funds Wall Street has to offer, but at least consider investing in your own mortgage.

If your still thinking shares are the way to go www.propertysharesinternet.com may be able to guide you in the right direction also.

Happy Investing!

Anthony Simon

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Many predict that the world will soon experience an economic depression, brought on by a variety of factors, but most particularly Peak Oil – the lessening production of petroleum. (For full information on Peak Oil, see Dry Dipstick – www.drydipstick.com)

No matter what happens to the economy, you’ll probably still need income. Work continues even in hard times. Sadly, and ironically, at a time when so much more needs to be done, it gets harder and harder for people to actually find jobs.

We can guess what type of jobs might disappear first as a result of decreasing oil supplies and economic collapse–such as housing construction, highway construction, just about any kind of construction for that matter, credit cards, banking, stocks and bonds, overnight tourism (daytrip may do okay), airlines (but bus and maybe even railroads may do well), the automobile industry and all its related businesses, hotels and motels, drive-through fast-food, car washes, chain stores dependent on cheap goods from China, and so on–but it’s probably more useful to try and predict what type of jobs and skills will be most needed.

We assume they will involve basic needs–food, water, health, and the like. There will probably be much more focus on repairing items than replacing them, so cottage industries like small appliance repair and clothing repair could do well. Escapist entertainment and fads were thriving during the Great Depression of the 1930s and there’s no reason to believe similar, low-cost businesses might not do equally well now.

But you shouldn’t count on someone hiring you. Plan now to work for yourself, providing goods and services to people who need them.

We can’t make any guarantees, but the following ideas are good possibilities. And they should get you thinking in the right direction about other likely businesses.

Barter Network

When people don’t have money, they do barter. They’ve always got stuff–and skills–that they can exchange. Set up a barter network, help others do it, and take a small cut of the action.

Beer and Wine Making

No matter how hard times get, people will still want beer and wine. If you can turn the stuff out at home, you’ve got an endless supply of barter material.

Bicycle Sales / Repairs

The first thing you should do right now is run out and buy as many used bicycles as you can. Used bike sales and repairs should do very well. You could even add motorcycles and scooters, because of the good gas mileage they get.

Car Repair

While this is no time to be in the new car sales business, car repair should be fine as people try to keep their existing vehicles running as long as they can–and as long as they can afford the gas. Consider basic car repair/maintenance where you go to the customer’s home to do the service. You might even have luck with ongoing maintenance contracts. You could also give car repair classes.

Cheap Luxuries

Even in hard times–actually particularly in hard times–people will want to spoil themselves now and then. But the luxury has to be cheap. It might be a special chocolate chip cookie, or delicious homemade candy. Or maybe it’s very special handmade giftwrapping paper. Or fragrant handmade soap or a hand-carved wooden toy.

Computer Repair

Computer repair and maintenance should do exceptionally well. People will no longer be running out to buy the latest upgrade (computer, monitor, printer, etc.) but will be more interested in keeping what they have working properly.

Delivery Service

It makes much more sense to pay a slight fee to have a store deliver a purchase to you than to get in your car and make a round trip to do it yourself. Smart store owners will offer free delivery in order to attract customers. (On a larger scale, companies like UPS and FedEx should do well.)

Entertainment

People want to be entertained, particularly when times are tough. Consider bringing together talented people to offer live entertainment in neighborhood or community locations. You probably won’t get rich but you’ll have a good time, and you and the entertainers will end up with more money than when you started.

Errand Service

On a more personal level than a delivery service, errand services can combine your needs with similar needs of others, to provide services cheaper than you could do them yourself. This might be pickup and delivery, but could also include banking, taking children to after-school classes and sports or pets to the veterinarian, and a variety of other activities.

Fads

It would be nice to invent, and get rich off, the next fad. But you can also stay in touch with the culture, and offer low-cost ways for your community to enjoy those fads.

Farming

You don’t have to have a huge farm to have a healthy farming business. An acre of land and a lot of hard work will produce what you need for a small-scale business. Consider also specialty items such as mushrooms, herbs, or sprouts. Because of the many uses of hemp, that will be a great crop once it’s legal–or at least possible without enforcement–to grow.

Herbal Treatments

You can grow, or forage for, herbs and use them to make healing concoctions, syrups, salves, teas, and a variety of other healthy items. You could also use flowers for Aromatherapy.

Home Repair

People will have to do what they can to keep everything in their home in working order. If you have carpentry, plumbing, electrical and a wide variety of other relevant skills, you can be a big help to those people. You might even have success at teaching these skills to others.

Instruction

You name it, someone will be interested in it. Whether it’s using tools, playing music, sewing or storytelling. The lessons likely to do best will be those focused on basic essentials, saving money and protecting health, such as gardening, food canning, inexpensive home cooking, yoga and other health exercises, meditation and relaxation, herb foraging and use, and pet care.

Instructional Video Library

Considering setting up an instructional video library; videos and DVDs that teach people various skills, whether they’re home or car repair, sewing, musical, language or any of hundreds of other subjects.

Raising Chickens and Rabbits

Lots of people might start their own gardens, but very few will raise their own meat. You can take advantage of that by raising chickens and rabbits-and other critters if you’ve got room.

Rental Library

Libraries aren’t just for videos and books. Consider offering specialty kitchenware, car and woodworking tools, games, toys, household repair tools, gardening equipment and literally anything else you can think of.

Seamstress / Tailor / Clothing Alterations

In hard times, people can’t afford to simply buy new clothes to replace slightly worn clothing. Darning socks will be back again. Sewing and knitting skills are no longer common, nor are sewing machines. Anyone with these skills will be much in demand.

Small Appliance / Electronics Repair

Till now it’s been cheaper to throw away a broken radio, telephone, blender, microwave, coffee maker and similar appliances than to have it repaired. That time is over. With the end of cheap imports, and loss of income, people will no longer be able to afford new items. They will either have to do without, or find someone with the skills to fix them.

Soap Making

Everybody needs soap. While there might not be a time when you can’t find soap to buy, you’ll save money, have some fun, and end up with an excellent barter item by making your own soap. Here are some more recipes. While you’re at it, here are some skin care recipes.

Toys and Games

There was a time when toys were not mass-produced plastic things. They were carefully crafted from wood, cloth and other natural materials, were treasured by the children who received them, and were passed down from generation to generation. Create some yourself, and you’ll have customers.

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It is often tempting to risk it all for the promise of a high return on your investment but you must remember that with great reward comes great risk and most of the time your security is simply not worth that particular risk. There are several different types of long-term investments that you may find to be reasonable and even attractive investments.

Bonds are a popular long-term investment. These are very much like bank issued CDs with the minor exception that bonds are issued by the government. There are many kinds of bonds and you should research them all before committing to one over another. If you select the right bond you might find that given enough time your bond will double in value over time.

Mutual funds are another popular investment for long-term investors. These are pools of money that are combined in order to invest in stocks, bonds, and other short-term investment ventures including securities. These funds are handled by the fund manager who decides where and how the money will be invested. This leaves you to reap the rewards that his or her experience will bring in for you over time.

Stocks are another popular option for those interested in long-term investing. It should be noted that investing in stocks is much riskier than investing in mutual funds though the payouts when things go well are often much more substantial. If you decide to delve into the realm of stock market investment you should be aware that every transaction costs money, that you need to thoroughly research the ins and outs of this type of investing, and that you are taking a substantial risk with your retirement investment. You should also be absolutely certain that you thoroughly research the companies in which you plan to invest and only invest in companies that are well established and showing strong potential for future growth.

With any major financial decision you should consult your financial advisor for guidance and advice. His or her job is to help you turn your limited investments into as much money as possible in order to secure your future and your retirement. The guidance that a good financial advisor can provide when it comes to long term investing is invaluable and should not be discounted or taken for granted any more than the advice you would receive from a doctor or an attorney.

My favorite type of long-term investment is real estate. While there are those that will argue that the return on this investment is too minimal to save for retirement I would argue that the fact that properly maintained and rented units will pay for themselves over time making them pure profit when the time comes to sell or simply to maintain a monthly income throughout your retirement. The more rental properties you own the better your financial position and the more options you have when the time comes to sell those properties. Real estate is one field in which fortunes are made and lost on a regular basis. Rental property is the safest bet for most when it comes to long-term investment and the most significant return on investment. There are options that go well beyond buy and hold when it comes to real estate. If this doesn’t excite you perhaps rehabbing property or the even more speculative field of pre-construction investing will offer more appeal.

Long-term investments will be the primary fuel for your financial retirement funds and plans. You need to carefully consider the best possible option for your needs and work towards you financial goals.

PPPPP

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Yes retirement planning is important for all of us. This is not an easy subject for any of us to talk about, but, we must discuss it sooner rather later!

We want to be able to enjoy our golden years comfortably without having to worry about our finances. Planning your retirement is a crucial key to making this happen.

So, what do I need to do to plan for my retirement? You can start by asking and answering some or all of these questions: How long will it be before I retire? Do I have money already saved for retirement and if so, will it be enough for me to retire on? How much money should I put away for my retirement? How should I invest my money in order to achieve the amount of money I want to retire on? How much money will I need to live on to maintain my present and future lifestyle?

All of these retirement planning questions are important for you to think about in order to have solid retirement planning. Once you have answers to these questions, then proceed to start your retirement savings now!

What are some of the areas I can invest my money in for retirement? Stocks, bonds, certificate of deposits, mutual funds, 401K, IRA, Roth IRA, annuities and many other miscellaneous investment vehicles.

Where can I expect to withdraw money for my retirement? Social Security, savings, pension plans, and your investments from 401K plans, certificate of deposits and other investments.

How much money will I need for retirement? It is estimated that you will need approximately 60-80% of your current income at the time of your retirement. This will allow you to live the lifestyle you are accustomed to having by the time you retire.

When should I start saving for retirement? Now! It’s never too early or late to start saving for your retirement. The sooner you start the more money you will have for your golden years to live on.

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Whether they are 401(k)s from previous jobs or forgotten IRAs, these multiple accounts can burden investors with several statements and potentially more account fees. Most importantly, scattered accounts may make it more difficult to keep a diversified investing strategy on track.

“It’s natural to think that multiple accounts may automatically diversify a portfolio, but that’s not necessarily true,” says Cynthia Egan of Fidelity. “In fact, managing a mix of stocks, bonds and cash across numerous accounts can be confusing and may make it harder to detect risks to your portfolio.”

For example, some investors unknowingly hold the same security in several accounts, which could result in a big hit to the portfolio if that stock price falls. Identifying how much is “too much” is simple with one view of all your retirement money.

Merging multiple accounts into a single Rollover IRA can make it easier to manage your savings, allowing you to easily review your holdings and quickly make adjustments. Here are three more tips to help simplify your portfolio:

1. Find them all. Even if you have to spread your statements across the kitchen table, identify all of your accounts that can be consolidated, including forgotten IRAs and old 401(k)s.

2. Mix it up. We’ve all heard that while diversification doesn’t ensure a profit or guarantee against loss, an age-appropriate mix of stocks, bonds and cash is the key to potentially better long-term performance. Make it easy with a lifecycle fund that is automatically rebalanced by a professional as your target retirement date approaches.

3. Keep it moving. Just like your regular trip to the dentist for a preventive checkup, be sure to review your portfolio annually to make sure your overall retirement strategy stays on track.

Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you manage your retirement savings. At the end of the day, however, consolidating retirement accounts into a single IRA account can help you more easily evaluate your retirement assets, develop a more thoughtful retirement strategy and monitor your investments to build your portfolio – making it easier to keep your eye on the retirement ball.

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Investors enter retirement with more confidence if they have a thoughtful retirement strategy. Planning ahead helps those nearing retirement prepare for when company paychecks stop coming and the goal of accumulating assets gives way to generating income from those assets for retirement expenses.

While planning for and managing income in retirement may not sound like fun, it is the most effective way to be confident in your future. Consider the following.

* Calculate how long retirement will last. Since retirement doesn’t have a preset time limit, this first step can be particularly challenging. Many of our customers are surprised to learn that they are likely to live in retirement just as long as they worked. A 65-year-old couple retiring today, for example, should plan to have enough money to last at least 20 or 30 more years, according to a 2003 Fidelity study. When determining how long your money will need to last, realistically estimate the expenses that are likely in your own retirement and consider that you may live longer than you think – possibly into your 90s.

* Preserve and grow assets. Fear of a down market can cause some retirees to be too cautious, so they sell virtually all of their stock holdings. While they should protect their assets, retirees should recognize that they may also benefit from growth that can come from investing in the markets. In fact, long-term success may lie in a portfolio that includes an appropriate mix of stocks, bonds and cash. The key is to find an asset mix that is age-appropriate and generates enough income to help offset withdrawal requirements and the effects of inflation over time.

* Simplify to stay on track. Pre-retirees expect to manage an average of nine sources of income, including Social Security, multiple 401(k)s, annuities and personal savings, according to a 2004 Fidelity study. These assets are often held in multiple accounts at different financial institutions, making it difficult to develop and maintain a comprehensive investing strategy. For example, mutual funds from different firms may hold similar investments, potentially increasing risk to your portfolio through greater exposure to volatile markets or sectors.

To prevent this from happening, anyone five to seven years from retirement may want to consider consolidating various 401(k)s and other retirement accounts in one place, or finding a tool that easily provides a look at your entire financial picture in a single view.

Creating a thoughtful retirement strategy involves sharp focus and detailed calculations, and can force couples approaching retirement to face difficult considerations for the first time. Luckily, there are many resources available to help investors prepare their retirement strategy. Planning for the future is the key, however, and helps build financial confidence so that you can enjoy the retirement you have worked so hard to achieve.

Cynthia Egan is executive vice president, Fidelity Investments.

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Lets start by taking a look at the retirement plan offered by your company. Once upon a time, these plans were quite sound. However, after the Enron upset and all that followed, people arent as secure in their company retirement plans anymore. If you choose not to invest in your companys retirement plan, you do have other options.

First, you can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. You do not have to state to anybody that the returns on these investments are to be used for retirement. Just simply let your money grow overtime, and when certain investments reach their maturity, reinvest them and continue to let your money grow.

You can also open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). IRAs are quite popular because the money is not taxed until you withdraw the funds. You may also be able to deduct your IRA contributions from the taxes that you owe. An IRA can be opened at most banks. A ROTH IRA is a newer type of retirement account. With a Roth, you pay taxes on the money that you are investing in your account, but when you cash out, no federal taxes are owed. Roth IRAs can also be opened at a financial institution.

Another popular type of retirement account is the 401(k). 401(ks) are typically offered through employers, but you may be able to open a 401(k) on your own. You should speak with a financial planner or accountant to help you with this. The Keogh plan is another type of IRA that is suitable for self employed people. Self-employed small business owners may also be interested in Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP). This is another type of Keogh plan that people typically find easier to administer than a regular Keogh plan.

Whichever retirement investment you choose, just make sure you choose one! Again, do not depend on social security, company retirement plans, or even an inheritance that may or may not come through! Take care of your financial future by investing in it today.

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