Here we go again! There’s just no peace for the retired

May 1st, 2010

It’s back to Cash Advance Loans for me
I used to have a comfortable retirement life with a regular monthly income. It wasn’t like living with millions stashed away, but it was okay. We managed. No eating out 5 times a week at fancy restaurants, I drove a modest car, no servants, but we took it easy and neither of us worked. And that was fair. I was 72 and Lisa 69. One day a thunderbolt crashed down and wrecked our lives – the recession.

From worse to terrible
Things changed dramatically and very, very quickly. Halfway through the month we were out of money. I rushed over to my last employer and asked if there was free- lance work available. He was pleased to see me and 2 days later it was as though I had never retired. I stayed and worked, but without any social benefits. My pension continued to come in but it was linked to some index and it soon dropped to a trickle. I knew this was all a temporary arrangement and I didn’t mind working.

Cash Advance Loans
The economy improved, the recession waned and I opted for retirement again. I had also discovered Cash Advance Loans and wherever we were short, I never hesitated and I took a loan, not too much, just enough.

Manageable to okay
Things climbed back to where they had left off before the recession – modest comfort zone. We lounged at the pool. We ate our sandwiches and read our library books, took a slow walk home and maybe went to see a movie on the pensioners’ half price ticket.

Here come the Greeks
Now the turmoil in Greece, coming just when I have settled down in my soft armchair, looks as though it may have us retirees scurrying to the safety of fixed income or running back to our jobs, if they are still available.

Advice for the retired
At retirement, investors have typically been taught to become more risk averse by reducing their exposure to equities and other growth assets in favor of fixed-income securities such as bonds. Indeed, a well-worn rule of thumb is to allocate your age in bonds. In other words, at 70 years of age, an investor should hold 70% bonds, and 30% equities. “Retirees should keep a significant portion of their wealth allocated to risky assets, like stocks, in order to provide enough growth over the long run and avoid prematurely depleting their wealth,” Kurt E. Reiman, a strategist at UBS AG said in a note to clients.

Retirement pressure
Faced with growing pressures to meet their spending needs, wants and wishes, retirees are also dealing with increasing levels of uncertainty and complexity related to financial risks, such as market volatility and inflation. To combat these challenges more portfolio growth is needed. Reiman recommends a portfolio that includes stocks, commodities or real estate, highlighting two strategies that offer growth, but also provide a degree of safety for investors.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 3:26 am and is filed under Finance, Loans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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