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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Retirement: Surely You Jest by Gary North

The author of the article sets forth this sensible assessment of what it will cost upper middle class people to retire.

To maintain living standards into old age we need roughly 20 times our annual income in financial wealth. If you earn $100,000 at retirement, you need about $2 million beyond what you will receive from Social Security. If you have an income-producing partner and a paid-off house, you need less.

Got that? You need 20 times your annual income to survive in comfort. This assumes that you will leave no inheritance to your children. You and your spouse will consume all of your capital.

This number is startling in light of the stone-cold fact that most people aged 50 to 64 have nothing or next to nothing in retirement accounts and thus will rely solely on Social Security.

People have not sat down with their spouses and calculated exactly what they will need to live on, beginning the day after they both retire. Why not? Because they have a pretty good idea that what they will find will smash their dreams.

If we manage to accept that our investments will likely not be enough, we usually enter another fantasy world – that of working longer. After all, people hear that 70 is the new 50, and a recent report from Boston College says that if people work until age 70, they will most likely have enough to retire on.

If all you will have is Social Security when you retire, start now looking into communities abroad where you can live well. http://iperpetualtraveler.com

Posted via email from iPT Perpetual Traveler

Double Your Productivity in 48 Hours

Double Productivity Notes: 1. lack of production comes mainly from an inability to make decisions 2. most people delay obvious decisions, complicate the simple, and just procrastinate 3. easier to make a decision right than to make the right decision 4. speed first, effectiveness second

double your productivity - good advice for all internet marketers - http://iperpetualtraveler.com

Posted via email from iPT Perpetual Traveler

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Security and Self-Governance by Ron Paul

The senseless and horrific killings last week at a movie theater in Colorado reminded Americans that life is fragile and beautiful, and we should not take family, friends, and loved ones for granted. Our prayers go out to the injured victims and the families of those killed. As a nation we should use this terrible event to come together with the resolve to create a society that better values life.

We should also face the sober reality that government cannot protect us from all possible harm. No matter how many laws we pass, no matter how many police or federal agents we put on the streets, no matter how routinely we monitor internet communications, a determined individual or group can still cause great harm. We as individuals are responsible for our safety and the safety of our families.

Furthermore, it is the role of civil society rather than government to build a culture of responsible, peaceful, productive individuals. Government cannot mandate morality or instill hope in troubled individuals. External controls on our behavior imposed by government through laws, police, and jails usually apply only after a terrible crime has occurred.

Obvious, but let''s not forget. http://live-free-in-an-unfree-world.com

Posted via email from iPT Perpetual Traveler