Planning for retirement can feel like a slog. Many savers start early in their journey and the path forward can begin to feel as if the fruits of this labor may never pan out. Others start closer to those retirement years and feel the squeeze to put in the hard work quickly. This is so they can set aside as much as possible in order to make the most of those restful years without having to worry about a paycheck.
No matter your situation, it’s never too late to begin saving for retirement or to recalibrate your approach in order to energize your retirement portfolio. Creating wealth takes research and a dedication to building a fundamentally sound savings strategy. Without this, you can expect to see modest returns year over year as a best-case scenario. Many investors actually see losses in certain years. With a strong plan in place, temporary losses are just a part of the game, but without one this can be devastating.
Start with investment research to build your knowledge base.
Every investor has to start somewhere. Big names in the business of wealth creation all began with research — it’s why Warren Buffett spends most of his day reading rather than strictly “investing.” Investing is a word with a unique depth of meaning. For Buffett, and other high grossing investors, it means investing in your own knowledge base so that you can always make smart decisions with your money.
The fact is, the sands that the stock market and other commodity prices are built upon are constantly shifting with the onslaught of daily news related to the environment, politics, and everything else under the sun. The world moves quickly, and only investors that can make sense of the network of connections that links pricing models together and have a chance of getting ahead of fast movers in order to capitalize on rapid upticks. This is where your knowledge base shines.
While Buffett might be able to practically spend 80% of his day reading, most of us are casual, individual investors that can’t generate wealth on our names alone. Reading, even just the local newspaper over a morning coffee before heading out to work will get your mind turning and help you to create and recognize these connections.
Seeking out investment-specific knowledge is also essential to developing a well-rounded strategy for wealth generation. Sources like Wealth Rocket can quickly put you on the right track toward success with lots of resources for doing your due diligence on investment opportunities (learn more about Wealth Rocket resources and savings advice at wealthrocket.com). This means learning about bank account options that will grow your savings with a good interest rate. A real estate investment trust (REIT) fund can teach you about the property market as you gear up to launch out of the stock market as a sole provider of retirement funding, and how to spot investment opportunities based on company fundamentals.
Think about your greatest asset.
Your home is your most expensive possession and therefore contributes most heavily to your overall net worth. This asset class is where the majority of your wealth probably lies, so as you gear up for retirement there are some considerations that you should be making about this cash cow. Many people choose to move into a more luxurious and smaller space once they reach this point in life. With children out of the house, there is no need to call a sprawling complex home any longer. Downsizing in order to move into the perfect space that suits your tastes and needs is a great way to extract extra capital out of the property and leverage it to continue generating wealth.
Hiring Fort Lauderdale movers, or wherever you’re based, that specialize in both large and small relocations to accomplish this task is a pain-free way to get this job done in a hurry and without breaking a sweat. For most, the hardest part of any move is the packing and transfer of all those accumulated belongings that litter your home. Many memories were made in the house and saying goodbye can be a challenge on occasion. But hiring professional movers to help you with these packing tasks can make the transition seamless.
Thinking of your home as valuable is the best way to visualize the property. The memories and the possessions you have collected stand on their own, without the four walls as a crutch. By moving, you can unlock the immense capital value of the real estate property and either buy a fantastic new home to live in for the rest of your life or, if you’ve found a bargain, funnel the additional capital directly into your next investment opportunity.
Alternatively, a home can be a powerful commodity when financing renovations. Rather than relocating, it might make sense to hold on to your property as a wealth-generating, and collateral granting commodity itself. Leveraging the equity in your home as collateral or to secure a second mortgage is a smart way to extract some of the capital value from this high dollar possession.
Upgrades to the kitchen, living room and bedrooms can really raise the future sale price of a property, especially if done right. Hiring a contractor with years of experience and industry know-how is the best way to inject value into your home. This lets you enjoy the luxury while you remain in the home and take advantage of the price spike when you finally do arrive at your next move.
Get serious about your investment planning.
The stock market is a great place to begin. Novice investors should place their trust in the index, with a Vanguard, Blackrock, or Yieldstreet fund that tracks changes in a specific market sector. There are hundreds of investment banking firms that have applied unique algorithms to index-tracking patterns in order to create a secure and high yielding return on investment for their fund buyers. The market always corrects itself, and for more than 200 years the market — and all markets for that matter — have arisen under the pressure of inflation and expanded business. While the stock market sees interim cliffs, it always recovers, and over the long term, most professional investors are unable to best its speedy ascent.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to create a mix of investment types in order to maximize your return on investment — and yes, attempt to beat the market yourself. With index funds comprising a foundation for you to expand upon, it’s worth exploring other investment vehicles with low correlation to stock market pricing swings.
Alternative investment ideas include collecting art or vintage wines, as well as real estate holdings that pay monthly rent or can be quickly flipped for a lump sum payout. These niche articles often yield a far greater return than the stock market. However, there is also greater uncertainty baked into these high earners (for more information on alternative investing ideas, read a Yieldstreet review to gain more insight). Mixing high-risk investment options with safer choices like the index funds make for a robust account that can weather temporary downturns and take advantage of fast movers at the same time.
Investing in your future starts right now. You don’t have to pump all your savings into a stock brokerage account. Even just a few dollars will get you started. Once you’ve engrossed yourself in the research and begin to see growing returns, you’ll be hooked. Building wealth is addicting, and it can truly improve the quality of life that you enjoy in both the short and long term. Start investing and get smart about your retirement savings today in order to magnify your opportunities tomorrow.
