Contrary to popular belief, early retirement is relatively common. According to a Transamerica survey, 56% of retirees said they retired earlier than planned. (Early retirement is defined as age 55 or younger.)
Take yourself back to March 6, 2009. Do you remember what you did that day? It was a Friday. Perhaps you followed a typical 9-to-5 routine: dropping the kids off at school, work, dinner at home, in bed by nine. Or, maybe on that particular night you went out for drinks to take some of the edge off. You’ve been watching the news and checking your 401(k). Things aren’t looking good. Just in the previous month, 650,000 jobs were eliminated. The S&P 500 lost more than 50% since its market high in October 2007.
In order to reach your financial goals, you don’t have to be an investing sesquipedalian. The term sesquipedalian can describe someone or something that excessively uses big words. A philosophy professor, for example. Or, much to our dismay, the financial news.
Not all financial goals are alike, so the way you save for each one should be different, too. Think about it. You don’t save for a vacation in an IRA and you don’t save for retirement in a low-interest savings account.
You know you want to retire at some point. What you may not know is if you’re doing all the right things to get there. Are you saving enough? Are you even saving in the appropriate retirement account?
Every dollar is a decision to be made. Should you spend it? Save it? How about invest it?
With a 30+-year history of helping AT&T employees, we consider ourselves experts on all things related to AT&T’s retirement benefits. We even wrote the book on it! Every week, people from across the country contact us with questions about retiring from the company.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting the best for your children and your grandchildren. Specifically, the best tools for them to succeed. Therefore, you might not bat an eye when a child or grandchild asks you for help to pay for college.
Advance Capital Management’s president and chief investment officer, Christopher Kostiz, provides his key economic and market insights from the most recent quarter and for the new year.
According to internal documents obtained by the online magazine Motherboard, AT&T is preparing for a significant round of layoffs in the coming months. I hope the company can retain as many jobs as possible and provide employees that are impacted with enough time and resources for an easy transition. Unfortunately, companies rarely give employees much advance notice. So, what should you do if you find yourself suddenly laid off?
