7 THINGS I WISH I COULD TELL MY 35 YEAR OLD SELF

Joyce Wayne  -Globe and Mail – January 29  2014

She writes “imagine the 7 things about creating a happy an secure retirement you wish the 30 year old you had known.  Well here is what I would have told the younger me.”  Briefly her points are:

1. Stay married to the same person.  Otherwise your financial position will get altered.

2. If you are going to have children do it before 35. Start an RESP when they are born.

3. Choose a career you can imagine doing for 35 years and stick with it.  Find your niche and become an expert.

4. Secure a job with a defined benefit pension. Ideally one with a union.

5. Find a financial advisor you can trust.  Four out of five of my financial advisors were disasters.

6. Buy the best house you can afford in a neighbourhood you adore.  Stay there.

7. Years before you retire, develop long standing  interests.  Kids move away.  Spouses pass away. Keep something special to yourself.

My points:  She has 7 good ones.

I would add the following

1.  Try to fall in love with a spouse that also has a stable and rising curve career. A pension should be part of this.

2.  Defined Benefit Pension?  Great but try to find one these days.

3.  Financial Advisor you can trust:  As she explains not an easy search. Think in terms of a very good broker who has access to many securities

4.  Get a very good life insurance agent. This is also not an easy search.
5. Finding a stable job is NOT EASY..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WIDOW’S TIME TO TRAVEL

For many years I have had a  married couple , who prior to her  being a widow, started their modest investment program with me.  They were at first reluctant, and started with small amounts. Over the years additions were made and now for more than a decade this widow has moved to a home away from a central area to a nearby town. 

She continued to work and travel for many years and then eventually she decided to stop all this nonsense of travel time and low wages.  Happily she has taken on some pleasurable part time work along with some volunteering.  She has moved from her suburban home into her own smaller home in to one with her own  retirement residence . She is very happy. 

She was never one to spend or travel.  But now she is.  For a long time I have suggested to her that she should do more travelling because  when she dies her large estate will be divided between her two children.  And what will be the outcome of that?   She agrees.  In any event she is travelling.

A few years ago she suffered a heart attack and this got her attention.  It was mild but she has now travelled to India, Florida and taken a 45 day cruise in the South Pacific.  She has plans for more travel. 

She has concluded, and I have known this from the experiences of my many clients, that when she is in Florida she is able to walk many times in comfortable weather.  As my clients have told me this is a life extender.  And many of them enjoy each other in a community away from their Canadian homes more than they do when they return.  

Nice to see this and as she says it is better to pay for the insurance coverage on travel and medical protection than it is to have to pay it out for medical  bills.  AGREED.