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Purely Dominica

Purely Dominica


There are lots of people who enjoy keeping busy and even holding down jobs all the way into their old age years. In a recent post I asked the question “When Last Have You Thought About Your Retirement Income?“, I discovered that a large number of people are considering skipping out on retirement altogether and prefer staying employed for a long as they are physically able. My boss is a perfect example – for the past sevens years she’s been planning on retiring.

Yet around Caribbean there also tons of people who just don’t have a choice but to keep on working beyond the age of 60 which is the average age for retirement, simply because they haven’t saved enough for their retirement or didn’t start saving early enough.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could retire on our own terms to pursue the things we’d like do. Taking on a job in our senior years is something that should be voluntary and not a requirement. And though the idea of retirement may be a big change for many people – many prefer to continue working instead of relaxing – retirement is still a goal that everyone one of us should aspire to attain, just so we get to control whatever time we’ve remaining in this world.

For all those who are not workaholics like me 🙂 and who would like to retire on time, here are some great tips I came across over at TheDigeratiLife.com – a blog which writes about money, personal finance, geeks and cyberspace in the silicon valley.

Start investing early.

This is by far the most important recommendation made to anyone who would like to retire on time. It’s one of the most ubiquitous tips I’ve read about investing, and for good reason: the earlier you start investing, the longer the magical power of compounding can work on your funds, thereby ensuring you a healthy retirement.

Invest with any amount you can afford.

A lot of people make the excuse that they don’t save and invest because they just CAN’T. I know someone who says he just cannot afford opening a retirement account because all of his income goes to supporting his family. Yet he’s a heavy smoker and drives a fairly expensive car that requires some maintenance. With some adjustments and heartfelt effort, he could very well be on his way to building a decent retirement nest egg. Freeing up even just a $100 a month to put in an investment account is really all that it takes to build a simple, diversified investment portfolio.

Avoid procrastination and letting life “take over”.

Let’s face it, thinking about retirement and more generally — financial management — may not be the most exciting thing in the world. We’re faced with distractions on a daily basis and we’re living busy, hectic lives. If you’re like me, you’re constantly wondering where all your time has gone, by the end of the day. So its way too easy and tempting to have our financial matters take a backseat to everything else; but by going along this path, we may eventually find ourselves in our middle age with meager savings. Being more proactive about our finances and taking a more serious look at our long term financial goals should help us avoid this plight.

——- Personal Note ——–
Forget how hard the economy is presently, the early you apply these tips together if whatever ideas you’ve – the better chance you’ll have not to work in your retirement years. Though I believe a lot of people will agree with me – that it will be fun to keep working all the way into grey years. Once you do it on your own terms.

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The best place to invest your money is in yourself. I know a few people might not agree with me; but rate of return from investing in your own knowledge and skills will be much higher that anything you’ll see from real estate, stocks or other investments.

In some instances you can even measure the rate of return. For example you buy a book. Even add-in the cost of your average hourly rate multiplied by the time it took to read it. Many books will be lousy. But every now and then you’ll get one good idea that gives you a huge rate of return on your initial investment. Like 5x the cost in a matter of weeks. This is especially true with business on a whole. But often it isn’t an original idea but rather the continuous exposure to the same ideas presented in different ways that produces a steady return on investment over time. If investing in your own knowledge finally gives you the idea you need to quit drinking, you can measure the lifetime financial savings in the cost of alcohol. The question is – what is the increased level of health worth to you? What is the idea that allows you to meet and connect with your future worth?

A trick I learned is to invest 3% of your income on your own personal development. So if you earn $2500 per month, you’d invest just $75 per month on your own personal development. That mean very month you can invest in a self-help or personal development book; in Dominica these books are usually around $60-70 each. Or can use that $75 towards an afternoon class or a one day seminar on topic that you’re interested in or need development in. Most afternoon classes I’m familiar with are around $40-50 per month.

You don’t have to like me and spend that exact percentage every month. It’s fine to under-spend one month and overspend another. But aim for about 3% for the year on average. If that amount makes you uncomfortable, start with 1% the first month and build up gradually. Or just start with a fixed amount like $35 until you get the hang of it.

You can use this budget to invest in improving yourself any way you like. So that includes not just knowledge, but also equipment and services — anything that helps you grow and improve. For example, I used this budget towards going back to the gym; and that helped me remember how good I felt about myself when I was going to the gym on a regular basis. Once you beginning feel good about yourself, at feeling shines on other aspects of your life.

It’s a pretty easy habit to develop too. Just write on your calendar on the 1st of each month: “Invest 3% in myself.” Then when that date comes up, figure out how much money you made the previous month, and then decide how you’ll spend it. If you can, spend it right away — easy when you order online. Remember that this is an investment; the money you spend here will be repaid in the long run based on how you invest it.

Give it a try – Happy spending! 😆

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After my post on Dominica being a Tax Haven and why it’s good to have a Second Passport or Second Citizenship, I received a few emails, one of which asked – What Is Asset Protection? I had no idea what asset protection is, maybe is because I don’t have any a valuable assets to protect. But it’s never too late to learn something new and you never know I might just own some assets.

It is a transfer of the ownership of your assets (investments, property, savings, etc) from an individual to a legal entity, an offshore company in this case. That way you are no longer the owner of your assets and it is much more difficult to be successful in suing you. But you are still in full control of that company.

If you are looking for information on how to protect your assets, Offshore Services, or getting a Tax shelter from excessive taxes, visit www.offshore-companies-in-dominica.com for more information about off shore services in Dominica.

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