Jobs That Will Help You Celebrate Your Accomplishments

(04703) Michael LeBoeuf says: 

1. Stay financially independent
There will always be a myriad of other forces, which will try to decide for you how you should live. Ignore them all. Instead, choose the life you want first and then select all the other components on the basis they will be compatible with your chosen lifestyle.

Surprisingly, some people who reach the goal of being financially independent don’t manage to maintain that status and fall back into the time/money trap. What’s needed is a financial strategy to make it last.

This isn’t difficult. All that’s required are the answers to two key questions:

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1. How should I allocate my investment portfolio?
One strategy is:
Have two money buckets — one for growth and one for safety.
In the safety bucket, put the amount of money you plan on drawing over the next seven years. Your income for the next year should go into a money-market fund and the other six years’ income intoa  short-term bond index fund.
Everything else goes into your growth bucket. These funds should be invested in stock index mutual funds.
Arrange to have all dividends and interest from your funds transfered into your money-market account.

This strategy means you won’t have to sell any stocks for seven years, allowing you to ride out any bear markets, which historically have lasted an average of 9 months each. By avoiding having to sell your stocks at depressed prices, you’ll do fine over the longer term.

2. How much money can I safely withdraw from my investment portfolio each year without diluting future earning power?
You should plan, at most, to withdraw no more than 5% of your portfolio’s value in any one year. That level of withdrawal, combined with the fact you have a seven-year cushion, will allow you to ride out the downturns.

At the end of every year, you can rebalance your investments:
If stocks are up and bonds are up, reduce the amount in bonds from seven years expenses to six and sell stocks to top up your money-market funds.
If stocks are up and bonds are down, sell stocks equal to the amount of profits you made in the past year, and then draw down from your bond fund.
If stocks are down and bonds are down, top up your money-market account from your bond fund on the understanding you will top up the bond fund once stocks go back into an up cycle.
If stocks are down and bonds are up, draw down from your bond fund to your money-market account.
2. Keep physically and mentally active
Most people don’t have enough time to do everything they want. When you become financially independent, this is no longer an issue, but don’t just sit there and vegetate. Find new and interesting things to do.

Actuaries have found that people who find something they like to do and who keep doing that have a greater life expectancy than those who retire and reach for their rocking chair. Accordingly, treat financial independence as an opportunity to learn more about all those sports, hobbies and activities, which attract you.

To fill your days with productive activities:
1. Keep working, perhaps on a part-time basis or as a consultant taking on whatever projects capture your interest.
2. Take a lesson from the ancient Greeks who believed we should all do four things each and every day:
Exercise vigorously to cleanse the body.
Learn something new to cleanse the mnind.
Listen to music to cleanse the soul.
Laugh to have fun.
3. Banishy the word “retirement” from your vocabulary and do things that you find interesting, productive and useful.
4. Learn from the centenarians and do all the things they do:
Have a positive and resilient attitude.
Celebrate life and remain an active participant.
Stay connected to other people.
Explore the spiritual side of your life.

3. Give something back to the community
Many people have found giving some of their time and money to make the world a better place is extremely rewarding. This may be your greatest source of personal satisfaction in the future.

The key to success in this area is not to give money blindly to every cause in the phonebook but to find a cause you care deeply about and focus on doing something meaningful for that specific cause. In other words, you have to do your homework.

For every cause you plan on helping in any way, ask:
1. Are the mission and values of this organization aligned with and similar to mine?
You only want to support an organization that is striving to make a difference in the world in a manner you feel comfortable with.

2. Is this organization established and fiscally responsible?
You don’t want to become involved in an organization that’s here today and gone tomorrow. Also, watch out for bogus charities.

3. Do the management of this organization have the know-how needed to fulfill the vision?
That is, are they well meaning but ineffective or do they know about all the logistics involved.

4. Are these people you would enjoy spending time with?
If not, working alongside them would be a pain rather than something you enjoy.

5. Is there financial transparency? Will you be able to see precisely where your money gets used?
To generate pleasure, you have to be able to see the tangible results of where your money goes and what it does.

Of course, if you can’t find an organization that meets these criteria, you can always consider starting your own foundation. It’s important that you plan ahead for how to handle your donation from a tax viewpoint. Talk with a tax attorney or CPA to get some advice on this.

Probably your best approach will be to attach some strings to your donation. Specify that you will donate a set amount if others make a matching donation and stipulate where the money should be used. Get it in writing from the organization, and follow up to see what actually happened. If it’s really something you’re passionate about, this will be fun.

4. Always remember the journey is the joy
Life is not a goal. It’s a process that’s meant to be savored and enjoyed while it occurs rather than at some arbitrary point in the distant future. Therefore, celbrate each day for what it is: a gift.[/private]

The Millionaire In You