There are several new realities that have been driven home by this latest recession to far too many people
. One of them is that so many investment shelters of the past that have always been viewed as secure are not. Take your home as a fine example. For decades it's just been accepted as fact that home values just go up other then in economic slow times when they can tend to stagnate.
Sure some housing values have declined in the past in areas that have become blighted. However; the past few years has seen premium housing in some of the most desirable areas drop in value by as much as half in many instances. What this means for many homeowners who are now approaching retirement, is that a home alone cannot be relied on as a financial parachute like it once could be.
Also stock prices have been predicted to decline somewhat as more baby boomers entered retirement and began to liquidate their 401K stock investment portfolios. No one could have predicted the nose dive that stocks took over these past two years that left so many retirees portfolios completely decimated just when they needed them most. So just what then is the secret to Financial Planning for a secure retirement?
The secret is to start early and to seek out qualified help. You see, the fact is that the entire planet has not gone to hell in a hand basket over the past couple of years and you don't need to be a multi-millionaire to take advantage of deals that are out there if you know where to look. You've heard of people who get rich in dire economic times. So just how do they do it?
You better believe that they don't do it on their own and they don't do it by plying guessing games with the stock market. They do it by listening to people who make it their full time job to scour the planet for viable investment opportunities. Sound unbelievable? Well did you know that while home values were plummeting in the US in 2007, down south along the Mexican Riviera in some areas home values were increasing by as much as 50% annually?
Of course you're not going to hear about these types of anomalies on your hometown nightly news but this is but one example of the investment opportunities that were out there as economies in the US Canada and Great Brittan tanked. This is but one example but it just goes to show that a person doesn't have to run around evicting people off of their family farms to build their retirement nest egg in difficult economic times.
Understand that if you are truly interested in financial planning for a secure retirement you're going to have to either think globally or procure the services of someone who can. You see global investment trends aren't on the way they are here now and if you have seen your net worth drop over the past few years, don't blame the bad economy. Rather blame your lack of knowledge because the entire planet hasn't been in decline, only the areas where you have been keeping your retirement savings.