We’re kind of hoping retirement happens even though we’re not planning or ready for it. Many Americans are neither financially nor emotionally ready for retirement. Not even half of Americans currently save for retirement.

Here’s the scary part:
Survey respondents estimate they will need just over $1.2 million to comfortably retire. But the ones who say they are saving have put away an average of $194,000. And despite this they feel good about their progress. 41% percent of Americans feel positively about their retirement preparedness. 22% percent feel indifferent (hope that they can keep working or dream of winning the lottery?).

With the market down people need to put away MORE not LESS.

Other stats
-  Fifty-one percent of 55-63 year olds surveyed have saved less than $500,000, though they most commonly believe they will need $2,000,000 to retire comfortably.
- To help bridge the gap of over a million dollars, 52% will put off retirement. 47% report they have not changed their thinking about retirement.
- Apathy. Respondents aged 18-34 years old – 35 percent feel “indifferent” when it comes to their retirement preparedness. Why? 20% percent cite “fear” and “anxiety.” (fear is not a good investment strategy)

We’re a nation of optimists or we’re really good at denial. America, especially young Americans: the recession should be a wake-up call that we need to plan for our future.

Schedule a free 1-hour consultation about retirement with a Utah Certified Finanical Planner.

Here are some quotes from the article, which can hopefully inspire Utahns to save or spend less than we earn.

I felt entitled to live as did my father (although he was 25 years older than I) and all those successful, happy people in ads and on TV…Like 70 percent of our fellow Americans, we were living off our VISA cards with no means of paying them off any time soon. As a result, we had $75,000 in credit-card debt and owed $245,000 on a $289,000 house. What had I been thinking?

Ninety percent of us buy something we don’t need every month, and Americans in all walks of life—except the very rich—carry $961 billion of credit-card debt at any given moment, paying $1.22 for every $1 they spend. For the first time ever, my family is going to do the unthinkable. We’re going to live within our means.

“I never would have thought, in my most extreme paranoid fantasies, that my software, and the others like it, would have enabled Wall Street to decimate the investments of everyone in my family.”

Michael Osinski’s piece in New York Magazine: “How I helped build the bomb that blew up Wall Street” is a chilling read. He wrote the software that turned mortgages into bonds – and he feels bad about doing it.

First, it’s rare to hear anyone take any responsibility for the mess we’re in. Second, it’s tough to really understand the long-term affects of decisions that seem entirely rational. His writing is so compelling and the small pieces of truth are astounding. You’ve got to read this article.

Our finances and the world we live in is more complex and demanding. As this quote points out it can lull us into not thinking ahead:

“The aim of software is, in a sense, to create an alternative reality. The power we all hold in our hands is shocking, yet it’s controlled by a few swipes of a finger. The drive to simplify the user’s contact with the machine has an inherent side effect of disguising the complexity of a given task. Over time, the users of any software are inured to the intricate nature of what they are doing. Also, as the software does more of the “thinking,” the user does less.”

He goes on to say:

“Nature does not give you explicit warning messages; her ways are more subtle and take a lifetime to penetrate. I forgot the day of the week but knew instinctively the tide and the phase of the moon.”

“It hurts when people say I caused this mess. I was and am quite proud of the work I did. My software was a delicate, intricate web of logic. They don’t understand, I tell myself. Perhaps it was too complicated. But we live in a world largely of our own device. How to adjust and control these complexities, without stifling innovation, is the problem.”

I read this and thought of how people doing simple jobs can cause incredible destruction. Hitler’s regime worked that way. Yet he could kill people and it’s easy to see the evil intent in his work. But what about the things we do unknowingly that hurt people, not suddenly, but over time? Even unintentionally. Can you imagine what a very smart person like Osinski could do to mess up the world if they were actually trying to? We may not be able to understand or discover,  much less stop it from happening.

The thought is chilling.

It’s easy to spend your tax refund on extra things you don’t really need. My tip is to resist that temptation and instead start a savings account. I really like ING Direct an online savings site. If your savings is a little out of your normal routine and you set it up so it comes out of your checking account automatically it discourages you from spending the money unless you absolutely must spend it.

If you already have a savings account, your tax refund may be extra money that you can invest. A Utah Financial Planner can help you with that. You don’t have to start big – but just starting is key.

Please remember that while he might be able to refer you to someone for tax help, your finanicial planner doesn’t support tax software or help you do your taxes. Thank you.

First Command Bank caught the problem quickly and we canceled the card. That was simple. The next part isn’t. Many people (like us) automate payments with a credit card. That means the mortgage, insurance, and other payments are charged to a credit card automatically. But now that credit card is canceled. And it will be about 10 days before we get a new card. That’s a problem.

Tip: Make a list of all of your credit card auto drafts with contact information. Put it in a secure place – like a safe.

Did you know that you’ll get charged service fees (about $25 a pop) if your card is declined? Even if it was canceled. Even if it wasn’t your fault. If you think of all of the various accounts that use this card, it could get very expensive. So you have to manually call each one and set up another way to pay those bills. Then when we get the new card we’ll have to call again. It will save you a lot of time if you have a list.

Getting a credit card stolen is stressful. Luckily it’s more hassle than cost in the end – but we learned some things going through this. Hopefully you can avoid having this happen to you.

(Brought to you by the Utah Financial Planner blog)

Meryl Comer was also on the show. She has aged significantly since I’ve seen her. She was on the show live as she read her own chances of getting the disease. It was over 30%. She also revealed that her mother now has the disease. She’s been caring for her own husband for 15 years! She is my hero. Somehow I don’t think she’ll die with the disease because she will probably die before she gets it. The disease takes the lives of caregivers and her life is a labor of love for her husband and now her mother.

Nightline makes it tough to link to individual shows (read: impossible) or I’d link to the exact story. Again, just like Meryl urged people in her speech to us, look into long term care insurance. This disease can bankrupt you (along with others that you’re more likely to get as you age). Talk to a Utah financial planner and see what your options are.

Today I heard NPR’s Talk of the Nation guests talk about a task force studying Alzheimer’s. You can listen by clicking on the link – and I highly recommend that you do listen to it.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor spoke about her husband who has the disease. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Surgeon General David Satcher are also on the interview.

They talk about the extremely high cost – that it would take a stimulus package every 6 months to fund the expense of caring for baby boomers with the disease. They spoke of the stats that if you hit 80 years old you’re chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease is about half!! One in two!

Caring for someone with the disease is 24/7. In other words as the disease progresses you can’t leave a person by themselves day or night. It takes an enormous toll on families and marriages no matter how strong. It’s also very expensive to hire help or respite care because the disease can go on for years.

Definition of Long-term care insurance.

Long term care insurance is a type of insurance designed to help pay for services that provide assistance with specific activities of daily living a person cannot perform by himself or herself. These services may be provided in an assisted living facility, nursing home, adult day care center or private home.

First Command Financial planners in Utah highly recommend looking at long term care insurance as a way to manage the high cost of long term care due to Alzheimer’s or other chronic diseases. Call 801-703-2150 to request a free consultation from Stephen or use our contact form and he’ll contact you.

She works for the Provo Daily Herald and her name is Amy. Here are some tips she gave:

• Coupons are the same as cash and combined with sales can be one of the best investments there are
• Look for coupons in the aisles of your store (black boxes that hold coupons with a blinking red light)
• Look for coupons that print off at checkout
• Look for coupons attached to products you want to buy
• Buy items in multiples in one shopping trip
• Call manufacturers and they often offer to send you coupons

She has a series of videos about Utah coupon shopping tips that are so helpful. Did you know you can get up to 5 copies of the Daily Herald at a big discount to get coupons.

Invest the money you save with a qualified Utah Financial Planner.