Wealth Builder University Blog

Ruin your retirement in just 9 moves

I loved the subject line of the email I received from Bank CD and Investing News -

"9 Dumbest Moves To Ruin Retirement"

These are the headings of the 9 'dumb moves' found in that article:

1.	Buy more home than you can afford
2.	Base your projections on today's costs
3.	Raid your 401(k) or cash it out
4.	Count on Social Security
5.	Believe your benefits will never change
6.	Allow your kids' needs to trump yours
7.	Count on your partner's income
8.	Plan to work forever
9.	Don't worry about health issues

I have a feeling most of us 'baby boomers' relate to some, if not most of them.

Discuss your plan with your significant other to make sure you are both on the same page.

Good luck

Alex Weiss
Co-Founder, www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

PS  Have you used the WealthDollars Detector at www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

How old are you really?

One of my business associates sent me a great calculator.

It calculates you Real Age (sometimes called Health Age) which is different from your current physical age.

Check it out.  http://www.peterrussell.dreamhosters.com/Odds/RealAge.php

It was an 'eye opener' for me.

Alex Weiss, co-founder
www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

Retire Early? Fugetaboutit!

If you were planning to rely on social security to help fund your early retirement (age 62), perhaps you should make other plans.

The  Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released a new Issue in Brief:

"Promoting Work: Implications of Raising Social Security's Early Retirement Age"

The bottom line is that the thinking at the ivory towers might be the sign of the direction our government in Washington is thinking about. 

Retiring at 62 may soon be a thing of the past - as if it's not already.

Check out the full report at http://clicks.581z.com/v/?u=b33cb9e91571e6c859599334b84ca154&g=417&c=711&p=0f9fe2a8a5ea9d2087ae3b42afa57aa2&t=1

Good luck to us all.

Alex Weiss, co-founder
www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

Is Retirement Still Possible?

I want to thank my friend and colleague, David Alemian for pointing out this posting at AOL Money & Finance.

"Is Retirement Still Possible?"

Great question.

The article says that, "1 in 5 Americans will work until death".

Before you get scared into inaction, I suggest that, in addition to time being a very important ingredient in building wealth, so is wealth knowledge.

When you don't have enough time, building your wealth knowledge becomes an even more important element of your plan.

If you don't think you have enough knowledge now - then you can start collecting the knowledge.

You can can a good overview in a 6 minute video at WealthBuilderUniversity.com called "Your Circle of Wealth".

Good luck

Alex Weiss, co-founder
www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

Is there an alternative to a traditional pension plan?

The Los Angeles Times in today's edition had the following lead to it's article:

"WASHINGTON — Nearly two-thirds of employers that offer traditional pensions have closed their plans to new hires or frozen them for all employees, or plan to do so in the next two years, according to a study released Tuesday."

We always have options, no one said they were good options.

The questions to ask are - 'how good are the options?' or unfortunately many time we have to ask, 'are the options any good at all?'

I like to view the available alternatives in the context of 'good', 'better' and 'best'.

'Good'  = Find the information and use it.
'Better' = Find a tool in addition to the information, and use it
'Best'   = Find someone who has the information and the tools to do it for you.

If you go to http://www.wealthbuilderuniversity.com/prepaid.html it will get you started.

Alex Weiss, co-founder
WealthBuilderUniversity.com

What me worry about retirement? Why?

By 2010, in less than 30 months, the US Census Bureau estimates that there will be up to 214,000 centenarians ( one who is 100 years old or older) living in the USA (U.S.Census)

So I guess if people worked 45 years, got a paycheck regularly and barely managed to make it to retirement at age 65, a substantial number of those individuals will have to figure out how to survive for at least the next 35 years (to age100), without getting any paycheck!

Perhaps it's time to look into some Prepaid Retirement.

Alex Weiss, co-founder
www.WealthBuilderUniversity.com

Why Are Widows So Poor

This email broke my heart and I only read the title.

I received it from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.  It's the title of their latest report: "Why Are Widows So Poor"

The first page of this report has a 2006 graph from the Social Security Administration which shows that nearly 30 percent of older non-married women are either poor or near poor.

At the WealthBuilderUniversity.com we hope to help scratch the surface of this seemingly insurmountable challenge.

For beginners at "Financial Literacy Empowerment" we are introducing "Transformational Financial Literacy".  We will deliver new perspectives on the day to day financial transactions we all have to deal with and combine them with the "baby steps" we all need to understand and use that information effectively to build wealth  and a Prepaid Retirement.

Does this resonate as much with you as it does with me?

Alex Weiss, Co-founder
Wealth Builder University