How to Retire After Getting a Late Start on Saving

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Ideally, you would have started saving for retirement in your early 20s. In this case, by the time you were 50-years-old you would have had a decent amount put away with roughly 15 years left to add to this amount. Unfortunately, this is not reality for many people globally, but it is not the end of the world. The typical American household in the 55 to 64 age group has only accumulated enough in retirement assets to provide an additional $400 per month on top of social security, according to an article found in the USA Today, so you are definitely not alone.

Getting a late start does not have to mean the end of your retirement goals, as long as you make use of the time that you have left before the big day arrives. Despite what people may have told you, there is no right way to retire. It is a very individual thing, so come up with your own plan and stick to it.

Spend Less

Perhaps the greatest mistake that couples make once their children have finished university and their house is paid off is they start spending more money. This can include lavish vacations, new vehicles and remodeling the house. In fact, the USA Today reports that the average couple increases spending by 51% once the kids move out, which makes it very difficult to save.

Even spending $500 less per month until retirement and putting it into a 401K can give you an extra $600 per month after retirement, depending on your investments. That makes a huge difference when attempting to continue your current lifestyle when you are no longer working. 

Consider Your House an Asset

If you have purchased a house, this is probably your greatest asset. A large family house will bring you in a great deal of value and you can invest this money in your retirement savings. This will also reduce your monthly expenses since you will not have to pay for a large house.

Once the children move out, you do not have much use for a large house anyway, so it makes sense to get out and use the money for your eventual retirement goals. Unless you have made money saving renovations like adding solar panels or digging a well, your monthly bills will cost more than they are worth once you have an empty nest.

Plan to Keep Working

Those who do not have much money put into their retirement savings might want to consider working for a few additional years. Not only does this give you more money to put into your retirement savings, it also means a few less years of draining your retirement fund.

Many people choose to retire when they are feeling burnt out by their job. At this point, it might be a good idea to start a second career. This gives you the chance to work a new job for a few years, which will increase your retirement savings, while giving you the chance to experience something completely different.

When Will Gold Be a Buy?

Gold is a timeless asset that is often considered to be a store of value. We know this because it has held its value through time. For example the cost of a lunch for two at the Savoy has approximately followed the value of a sovereign over the twentieth century. However, that lunch would have included a mighty fine bottle or two of claret in 1980, whereas in 1999, you may have had had to drink tap water. That’s because whilst gold holds its value over the long-term, the intermediate periods can be highly volatile. If you returned to the Savoy with your sovereign again in 2011, the maître d’ would have been far more receptive.

That point about gold’s cyclicality is fundamental. Had you invested in gold at the beginning of the 1970s, gold would have returned 27 times your original stake. However, the price fell up until 1999, which meant you had to endure two decades of pain. Then from 1999, or more specifically 2001, gold rose from $255 to $1,900 up until 2011. So knowing when to focus on gold is powerful, but it’s also vital to understand what is happening elsewhere.

For example, inflation averaged 7% in the USA in the 1970s, when equities only returned 1.5% per annum; a negative return in real terms. Thereafter, from 1980 to 2000, equities returned 14% per annum, whilst gold lost 3.5%. That’s the difference between halving your money in gold or multiplying it 14 times in equities, and that’s not including dividends. More recently, from 2000 to gold’s peak in 2011, equities returned more or less nothing whilst gold multiplied seven fold.

So you can buy gold and hold it forever and that’s not a terrible idea if you want a long-term store of value. But if you want your wealth to work harder, you can make that occasional and gargantuan decision when to focus on gold or equities. Of course, you don’t have to see it in quite such a binary manner. When gold isn’t working a 5% to 10% position won’t cause much harm whilst the remainder of your portfolio is focused on more productive investments. When gold turns, it’s time to reduce equities and increase your position in gold.

Atlas Pulse recognises that gold has had a great run since 2001 and the bull market is over. We downgraded gold in January from ‘strong bull market’ to ‘bull market’, then to ‘neutral’ in February and to ‘bear market’ in April. Each downgrade is an indication that you should consider reducing exposure to gold.

So the bad news is that gold is in a bear market and that has some way to go. However, and given the experiments carried out by our over-confident central bankers, that won’t last forever and we believe the final low for gold is likely to occur sometime in 2014 at a materially lower price than we currently see.

We analyse everything. We look at long-term trends, relationships with other assets, investor behavior, central bank purchases and sales, the price of options, sentiment surveys, time projections, price projections, volatility and seasonality. All of these, in aggregate, help us to build a picture or the risks and rewards that lie ahead.

We cannot say exactly when or at what price gold will be at any given time in the future, because we are not charlatans, but we can make an informed decision about the state of the ground that lies ahead.

When gold makes it’s low, sometime later in 2014, no one will call you and say buy now. The papers will have forgotten about gold altogether and the perma bulls who have been shouting about gold going to the moon will, thankfully, fall silent. The end of this gold bear market will be a rare opportunity to buy gold cheaply. As the market improves, Atlas Pulse will upgrade to neutral and then bull market and so on. Each upgrade will be a good opportunity to buy more gold with confidence.

A subscription to Atlas Pulse is a modest outlay. It provides you with an informed round-up of the gold market. Timely updates are also provided when there is a change to the outlook, so you don’t have to wait until the month end when something important is happening. By reading Atlas Pulse, you will learn more about the asset you own.

Atlas Pulse is the voice of reason in the gold market, and by god, it needs one.

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Latest Trends in the Corporate Sector

The world is changing at a fast pace and so is changing the face of the corporate sector, or at least in the way we know it. In the recent times, professionals have developed a different kind of mind set, than they had few decades ago. With the emergence of more number of professionally managed big and small businesses, the competition has also become tougher. Businesses have incorporated many changes within themselves, to survive and excel in this competition. The current times has seen certain trends affecting the business world today. These trends are basically a result of the changes occurring in the world outside, and the businesses trying to adapt themselves to these changes. This article discusses the latest trends seen by business today.

Growth of women power: The women-owned businesses have increased by about 54% in the last 15 years. When the world was hit by recession in 2008, a more number of men lost their jobs as compared to women. The reason behind this is that women possess the positions based on knowledge and have been capable of adapting themselves. Many women went for getting new degrees to get placed in new industries. This pace needs to be sustained in the new economy for having holistic development.

Growth in number of entrepreneurs: More and more young people, especially MBAs, are going for starting their own business, rather than working for large companies. Entrepreneurship has the potential to create opportunities for employment for the millions of employable resources of our economy.

Blue Ocean Strategies: A large number of companies are using blue ocean strategies to figure out growing needs in the ever changing global market. This occurs in diverse industries like construction, financial services and hydration system manufacturing. This further helps in the branding of the business.

Extinction of the middleman: The role of distributors and middlemen is changing rapidly, irrespective of the industry. The reason behind this is the change in the supply chain and business model of companies. These changes can be attributed to the growing e-commerce and the transformation of the buying process of end-users, in both B2B and B2C companies.

Change of culture: There is a serious need for the change in the culture of professionally managed multi national organizations. This may mean improvement in quality or engagement of employees. Culture change is also needed in K-12 schools. This will impact the overall welfare and nursing development for the hospitalized.

The market of sustainability: The companies creating energy efficient and new methods of carrying out things would fit well to this group. In the recent times, if a roof is old, the momentum has shifted to addition of roofs, instead of roof replacement, as it reduces usage of energy. The sustainability directors need the help of efficient home builders in today’s market.

Outsourcing: Too much of the non core activities were being managed by firms earlier. Today, it has been recognized that the non-core business processes can be outsourced so that firms can focus on their core competencies.

In conclusion, these are the trends affecting business in the current year. The business today has certain positive as well as negative aspects. The business owners have to tactfully deal with the negative aspects, to promote overall economic development. The changing times and advancement in science and technology, has resulted in many changes in the world of business. The business today is ruled by certain trends.

How to Choose an Insurance Plan for Your Vehicle Repair Business or Garage

If you are running a garage and are in charge of dozens of vehicles that need servicing, repair, or fitting every single day, then chances are high that you know how important it is to have critical insurance coverage. 

The right insurance plan coverage can spell a big difference by helping you be prepared for any scenario, unpleasant (or disastrous) as it may be. You are, after all, responsible not only for your customer’s vehicles, but for your own premises and your own staff as well. 

Insurance Plan

Even if you are simply running a repair business or garage from your own home, you would still need an effective insurance plan. But how do you choose one that suits your needs and requirements? What particular features should you be looking for?

Having a discussion with your potential insurer can enlighten you on many aspects of the best trade insurance plan. But if you ask the right questions, you are more likely to get the right answers. 

If you are self employed, do you need motor trade insurance cover?

Some self employed professionals and repairers are not quite aware that they still need proper motor trade insurance cover. Even if you are operating from your own home garage, you need cover – in fact, you are required by law to have an insurance plan, even if it’s merely a very basic third party only insurance. 



If you are self employed and you have a specific policy in place, you need to remember that when making a claim, you should be able to provide proof of your trade with the use of invoices and other business lists and records. 

What if you have no purpose-built premises where you operate your business?

This goes back to the question of whether you operate from your own home or have your own building and premises for your enterprise. 

If you have no purpose-built premises, you can purchase trade plan insurance such as a road risk cover plan, which basically covers the vehicles you drive during your normal business’ daily activities. 

If you have an existing NCB or No Claims Bonus, can you use it on your new policy?

When you take out an insurance plan, you can use your existing NCB on the policy. You can get further discounts on your insurance premium amounting to 60% to 70% depending on the insurer if you have had no claims for the last four years or so. 

If you have a good driving record with no claims, then you can certainly benefit from your NCB when you get your new cover. 

Can you protect your NCB on your new policy?

Some of us are understandably concerned about protecting our existing NCB, as we know that it amounts to a great deal of saved expense. You can opt for a protected NCB option on your policy, provided that you are willing to pay an additional fee, depending on the insurer you choose.

Running a business certainly has its share of challenges. Anything can happen, and it is always best to be prepared. Getting good trade plan insurance can give you peace of mind and will ensure that when the unthinkable happens, you are more than ready to face it head on. 

Money Lending Options for Small Businesses

Finding finance for small business is a question of timing, skill and money. The timing needs to be right in order to attract the customers your business needs. You need to have the skills required not only to set up a business but to maintain it successfully. Unfortunately, in many cases, money is a vital part of turning your business idea into a reality. Here, we examine where to get small business loans, in order to help you determine what the best course of action is in terms of securing the finance for your business. 

Option One: Money Advances

Taking a money advance involves being lent money according to your business turnover. By analyzing your sales, a loan fee is calculated and added to the advance. Repayments are then deducted from each card sale transaction processed by your business.

Pros: Repayments are made in proportion to the sales your company makes. So taking a money advance makes paying back the loan extremely manageable, particularly for new businesses that may be unsure as to precisely how much of a monthly repayment they can afford. You will also avoid the temptation of borrowing beyond what you can afford to pay back.

Cons: Interest fees may be higher than with other types of loans, so do your research before committing. This may not always be the case, however.

Credit Card Borrowing

Credit card borrowing is the process of either paying for items using a credit card, or transferring money from a credit card to a bank account.

Pros: Credit card borrowing is a quick and straightforward way to borrow money. If a business owner already has a credit card, he will be able to borrow instantly. If not, many credit cards can be applied for online within a matter of minutes.

Cons: Credit cards are usually accompanied by high interest rates. As such, penalties can quickly be incurred for not paying the full amount outstanding within one month of the purchase. New business owners may soon find themselves faced with both a large credit card bill and a hefty indent in their bank balance – hardly conducive to establishing a positive cash flow.

Bank Loan

Business owners can sometimes apply for and receive a loan from a bank.

Pros: The loan is available for the entire period of the loan, as it is not repayable on demand. You may be able to negotiate a repayment break and the loan can be linked to the lifetime of the assets or other equipment you are borrowing to pay for. Interest rates are fixed, so there will be no nasty surprises when inflation rates go up or down.

Cons: You may have to give the bank manager information appertaining to your business on a quarterly basis, which can prove an administrative burden. Bank loans tend not to be flexible so you may end up paying interest on funds you are not using. In addition, if your customers are late with their payments, you may struggle to repay your loan on a monthly basis. Possibly the most serious disadvantage to having a bank loan is that loans may be secured against personal assets, for instance your home. You may also have to pay a fee if you wish to repay the loan sooner than the end of the term.

Using Other Lenders

In 2013 there are many other options available to those wishing to borrow money for setting up a business. A variety of reputable and legitimate lenders exist on the Internet high street, offering deals on lending certain amounts of money.

Pros: Using an independent money lender gives you more flexibility. Money lenders will be able to offer you a selection of options when borrowing money. For instance, you can choose between fixed monthly repayments, a money advance repaid as a proportion of your sales, or the option to pay interest-only on the loan for a fixed period of time. By using an independent lender, you can quickly solve your cash flow needs without having to go through any long drawn-out processes.

Cons: Although most lenders are legitimate, there will always be the odd one or two who are out to scam. Make sure the company is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and go through all the paperwork, contracts and lending agreements in detail. 

Bank Overdraft

Many business owners will have business accounts with an overdraft facility. If the bank balance goes below zero, the account is overdrawn and interest is charged at a pre-agreed rate. Having a bank overdraft means a person is able to spend more money than they actually have, in return for paying certain fees.

Pros: A pre-arranged bank overdraft is easy to access and can be reassuring to have ‘just in case’. Provided you stay within the agreed limits of the loan, your interest rates are stable, although they may change year to year. The interest charged may also be lower than in the case of credit card borrowing or a loan from elsewhere.

Cons: If the overdraft is not arranged in advance, a charge is likely to be incurred for using the overdraft facility without prior approval. In addition, if the negative balance is beyond the amount agreed, then the bank may charge additional fees. At the same time, higher interest rates may apply. It can be harder to keep track of borrowing using an overdraft, rather than borrowing a set amount and paying it back over a period of time.

Overall, the choice of money lending options is wide when we consider business loan finance. Out of all of those listed here, a money advance seems the most appropriate choice for a new business, as you can pay the money back gradually as your business becomes more and more profitable. Alternatively, finding an independent lender might give you more flexibility, compared to the rigid terms and conditions imposed by big banks or credit card companies. For instance, you can choose from a fixed repayment scheme, an interest-only scheme or a pay as you earn money advance borrowing plan – whatever suits your individual needs best.

Author Bio

Alisa is a finance blogger specializing in SMEs and new business start ups, she also works closely with Merchant Money - http://www.merchantmoney.co.uk/ who offer affordable business loans and flexible funding.

Finance for People Over 50: Using Payday Loans

If you are currently retired, you know that money can be scarce especially if an unexpected expense comes along. In this case, you may be tempted by the many payday loan ads around the place offering quick money straight to your bank account. Before you sign a contract though, you should be aware of a few qualities of these credit options and how they affect you as someone who’s over 50.

Know When Payday Loans Are Useful

In general, these types of loans are given for short periods of time at comparatively higher interest rates. Since you’re only borrowing money for a few weeks though, the added fees or charges may seem affordable and easy to pay back. This doesn’t mean that they should be used for any expense though, especially for senior citizens who have a limited income in the first place.

Instead, you should only get in touch with a payday lender if you have a one-off, absolutely critical situation that you really can’t cover using any other method. If you keep in mind that payday loans are only suitable for emergency situations, you’ll then have a better chance of reducing the risk while still covering your expenses. This is vitally important for retirees who may not have much spare cash to play with.

Determine Whether You Can Afford It

Payday loans work by your lender automatically withdrawing money from your bank account on a pre-specified date. This means you should always make sure you’ll have the necessary capital and thus avoid bounced checks or further financial difficulties. Before borrowing money, consider the following:

• How much of your next pension payment do you need to spend?
• How much do you thus have available to pay off your loan?
• Do the loan conditions fit in with this future financial situation?

Sit down and create a budget (or get your children to help) and you can then get a better grip on your monetary future. In this way, you can safely choose whether you can then afford that payday loan or not.

Compare Several Different Lenders

If you’ve decided the situation is an emergency and that this credit option is the only solution, you should then do your research on a number of firms prior to signing a contract. You can compare plenty of short term loans here on the internet, an easy option for those over 50 who may not want to leave the home. If you’re unsure of how to use this technology, get your son or daughter to help you. When browsing over the details, don’t forget to look at the following important factors:

• The APR of each payday loan
• The charges you have to pay
• The length of the credit term

Remember that you’ll still need to control your finances as tightly as possible despite the fact that you want to borrow money in this manner. Thus, always take things slowly and compare what’s on offer so you can make a smarter financial decision.

Make Sure You Understand the Contract

When poring over the conditions that the lender provides, never settle for them unless you’re completely sure about what you’re agreeing to. This means you should be fully aware of the loan terms including interest rates and repayment periods. If you have any doubts, always ask the lender to clarify their requests. You might even be able to negotiate the conditions if there’s anything that you don’t like. If you understand everything that’s written, you’ll have a better chance of adjusting the contract so you get a better deal. Remember that your lender will be legally obligated to ensure complete clarity. If they talk about their payday loans in obtuse terms and refuse to answer in simple English, it may be time to move to another financer who is more honest and reliable.

This advice should help anyone over 50 make a decision about payday loans and then seek out a lender who actually offers a great deal. If you experience financial difficulty and your pension doesn’t cover the costs, you now know exactly who to contact when it comes to taking out one of these short term, personal credit options without being lumped with excessively high rates, fees and charges.