'Time' is one of the most fascinating and extraordinary elusive elements in our universe. It passes right in front of our eyes every second of each day, yet we fail to see it's tremendous value. Most of us only recognize it when we look in the mirror or see our children are not children anymore but somewhere during the 'span' of time they grew into young adults. So, wouldn't you agree that time is worth a great deal on many levels. One level it has a significant impact on, which we always procrastinate the most with, is in investment - saving for your retirement. Many of us also fail to realize that great accomplishments do not necessarily require a huge initial investment. Just for simplicity, take out your building blocks. Now, do you realize if you just stacked 'one' block a day on your initial block foundation that by the time you retire say at age 65 you would have a tower of blocks in excess of 23,700? Let's move a little further [following from Patrick Kelly TAX-FREE RETIREMENT ..Chap. 4 - 'Landmine #2 Procrastination']..."in 1626 the Native Americans sold what is now called Manhattan to white settlers for various trinkets worth $24. Manhattan's real estate appraisal's current value is $23.4 billion. However, do you realize if the Native Americans had sold the property for $24 cash back in 1626 and set the money into a 6% compound-interest account that the value of that account today would be $27,600,000,000! Not only would the Native Americans be able to buy back Manhattan and pay cash, but would also realize a nice little reserve nest egg of over $4 billion. The great news for all us here is that great accomplishments require only two principalities from you. The only thing you must do is be able to muster up a little bit and then maintain it with persistence. Let's face it, "time has a huge effect on investment." Allow me to give you another example more 'close to home'. Let's take two individuals, one is 19 years old (Tina) and the other is 27 years old (Samuel). Both individuals realize the importance of 'paying yourself first' so that when they retire at age 65 their retirement accounts will have a nice accumulation. Tina decided to pay herself first and starts saving $2,000 per year (about $166/month) into an account with a compound interest rate of 10%. She is persistent with her savings routine for eight years, then she stops. Samuel realizes he needs to start saving also for retirement and at 27 (eight years after Jill started) puts the same amount of $2,000 into the same type of 10% compound interest rate account. However, Samuel is consistent with his contributions for the next 39 years. Now Tina and Samuel are 65 years old and ready for retirement. Tina has contributed a total of $16,000 into her account, whereas Samuel has contributed a total of $78,000 into the like account. Whose account do you think has the greater accumulation value? Guess what, Tina's has accumulated $1,035,160 in her account, while Samuel's accumulation value is worth $883,185! Your head's spinning, are they? Guess you're thinking, "what the ...?" It's simple, you have just witnessed the amazing power of time in the compound-interest equation. Now, I do not want anyone to get discouraged thinking it is too late for you to start saving. Look at it this way. Suppose you bought a house and wanted a nice cactus plant in the yard and you planted it the day you moved in. Ten years have now passed and your cactus has grown tremendously. However, if you didn't plant that cactus the day you moved in and you still wanted a cactus in your yard, when would be the best time to plant it? NOW! As Patrick Kelly states in his book Tax-Free Retirement, "It's never too late to begin. If you take advantage of the principles of this book and put yourself in a position to harvest tax-free dollars in retirement, you can supercharge your retirement years by avoiding tens of thousands - if not hundreds of thousands - of dollars of tax that can now be assimilated into your budget instead of going to line the eternally voracious bureaucratic coffers." I know, life is expensive with demands increasing a lot more than your income. Thus, 'saving' becomes a 'dream word' in most people's vocabulary. YOU have got to WAKE UP and bring the 'dream word' into your real world. The way you do this, is by 'paying yourself first'. I will leave you with this one last thought from the "Procrastination" chapter of Mr. Patrick Kelly's book. There is a program that Mr. Kelly recommends that allows you to begin at any age. You need to step off the steppingstone of 'procrastination' and harness the strategy of time. You are going to realize that through this vehicle, unlike most, if not all, other tax-advantaged vehicles in the marketplace today, because "there is no age at which you must stop investing or start withdrawing." [I remind you this is an overview of Chapter 4 - Landmine #2 - Procrastination from Patrick Kelly's book Tax-Free Retirement, a book I highly recommend reading. All quotes in this overview are from Patrick Kelly. NOW is the time to plant your cactus! Go to: www.tax-freeretirement.com
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