I just read an article by Jonathan Clements, who was writing for the
Wall Street Journal. The subtitle of his article is "How To Bolster
Your Prospects For A Secure Retirement."
I really liked his first seven words. "If you want to retire in style..."
Ask anybody on the street if they want to retire in style and of course
they'll say "Of course."
Ask that same group of people to tell you how they're planning to do it
and you'll get raised eyebrows and some head scratching. Most folks must
think retirement is an entitlement. It's something, as sure as the sun
rises in the morning, that will take care of itself.
According to Jonathan's article 41% of US households owned IRA's. That's
the good news. Now here's the stupid news. Just 17% contributed to those
IRA's in 2004.
Here's a plain and simple fact. For every $12,000 of annual retirement
income you would like to have to live in the style you prefer, will
require a nest egg of $240,000. So if you want your retirement income
to be $48,000 a year that would require a nest egg of $960,000 to fund it.
Back to the title of this letter. "The More You Give, The More You Get."
I have a theory about making money. It's not very difficult to understand.
Someone passed it on to me and I'd like to share it with you.
There are two parts to this theory. The first part is to save a minimum
of 10% of your gross income. If you spend it all now, retiring in style
will be next to impossible.
The second part of this theory was something I learned in church 28 years
ago. For the first time in my life I heard a priest talk about giving 10%
of your income away to charitable causes.
What I remember most was the simplicity of his logic. He said, "The more
you give, the more you'll get." At the time my first wife Louise was seriously
ill and battling cancer. I'm not sure I fully grasped the meaning of his message
back then.
Naturally, I was vulnerable back then so I started giving generously to
various charities. The more I gave away, the more I ended up having at the
end of the year in investments. My wife eventually lost her battle with cancer.
But I kept on giving. Still do!
Imagine what your retirement would be like if you actually planned for it
25-30 years before it began.
Imagine what the world would be like if everybody gave away generous amounts
of money to people and charities in need.
Here are three quick tips to think about if you want to retire in style:
1. Make a lot of money!
2. Donate a lot of money!
3. Establish goals for doing both!
The money you give away goes out one door. Somehow this attracts money to
you that comes through another door.
I don't know how it works - I just know it works. If it works for me, it's
guaranteed to work for you.
Oh, and one other thing, no matter how good you are, don't manage your own
money - in the long run it's a fool's decision.
The more you give, the more you get!
