A home based business is an answer to the retirement worries that everyone is facing when retirement funds are shrinking. Few Americans have saved enough money so that their retirement can last for more than 30 years. People are outliving their money. So what is the answer? Well, you have 3 choices; a delay in retirement by working longer, learn to live on less money, or start a home based business that will be able to give you a residual income to last the rest of your life.Let’s look at all the choices.First choice is a delay in retirement. In order to live at a lifestyle that you are comfortable with, you will have to work past your expected age of retirement. How much longer depends on the kind of lifestyle you want. It also depends on the economy and the cost of living at the time of retirement.Second choice is to learn to live on less money. Here are some steps you would have to consider:Downsize your home – less mortgage and lower maintenance costs
Give up one car – a couple will have to learn to live with one car which lowers cost of insurance and car maintenance
Must Spend Taxable Accounts First – you must use the funds that are taxed each year before you touch your 401K and IRA’s. This will reduce your tax burden.
Hidden Fees – Avoid banking fees, ATM charges or overdraft charges on your checking account. Check out any mutual fund fees or penalties for early withdrawals; make sure you have one of the lowest ones. Pay all your credit cards in full, so you can take advantage their offers (travel points). Don’t retire with debt!
Sign Up for Medicare on Time – you must sign up during the seven month period beginning three months before your 65th birthday. If you don’t, then there is a premium increase of 10% for each 12 month period of delayed enrollment after age 65. If you are still working past the age of 65 and receive health insurance benefits from your employment, then you must enroll within 8 months of leaving the job to avoid the penalty.
Find a Prescription Drug Plan – you must check out-of-pocket costs of the prescriptions you are receiving not just the cost of the plan. Compare all the plans. Seniors can only switch drug plans during open enrollment, which happens only once a year, so be careful.
Delay Signing Up For Social Security – benefits start at age 62, but benefit checks are reduced by 20-30% for workers who claim their checks at this time. Full retirement age is now 66 (if you are born from 1943-1954) and you can then claim full benefits. If you are born after 1954, full retirement age is now 67.
Leave Expensive Cities – now that you are no longer tied to your job, you should consider moving to a city where the cost of living is much lower, taxes are lower, and housing is cheaper.
Cut Expenses – Get rid of your land line phone, your cable TV, and some hobbies such as golf, bowling, theater tickets, and gym memberships.
Find free entertainment – either by volunteering at your local theater or your local botanical gardens. You will have to look for less expensive hobbies.
Resist Gift Giving – you will have to resist spending money on your children and grandchildren. This is the hardest, because emotionally you want to but financially you can’t.
Eat Out Less And Cook More – you will have to become part of that “early bird” crowd or share meals.Sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be because there is a third choice, start a home based business. This can be done either part-time or full-time.Your home based business can give you a residual income so that you don’t have to worry about any of the above. You can live the lifestyle you either are at now or have always dreamed of. The statistics for a home based business failing are high, but a home based business with a great marketing system can give you a great advantage. A marketing plan can bring your business to another level.
How a Home Based Business Could Be Your Solution to Avoid the Retirement Blues
Home Based Business – Rules to Follow to Make a Living From Home
For a moment consider being able to earn a great income all while staying at home with your family. Where you can decide when to work and when to sit on the floor to play with your little ones. If you’re looking to find a home business, it’s important to find one where you can really help people and shed the shackles of the day to day grind. This would put both moms and dads in a situation that would be a dream come true. Something that would save them from having to return back to work after maternity or parental leave, but still allow them to contribute to the home’s finances. As you might imagine, a lot of the people I help are new moms who hate the idea of having to return back to work and leave their babies in daycare.The biggest concern that most have is that the Internet is full of ‘Get rich quick ideas’, so how can you know which are real and which are scams? Not all home based internet opportunities are scams. I was where a lot of other people are and very skeptical of internet based business however I am now in the fortunate position of earning a good living from home, allowing myself and my wife to spend every day with our two young children. By following these two rules, I was able to avoid being “taken for a ride”, and I thank the lord. The two rules of searching for home based business’ are: Number one is to hear a testimonial from a close friend or family member, in this case let me be that friend. Number two, do the research that a lot of people choose not to do. I followed these two rules to help find a home based business that was right for me. It was referred to me by a close friend, and my life was changed in a matter of seven days. There is a business out there for you!Its important to know that most home business’ require no special skills or qualifications. In fact, the only things that assist you is to have a caring, honest personality and a desire to earn money from home. I am a very optimistic and positive person and always try to trust that most people are genuinely “good people”. So how can you help me, you’re asking?Remember the first paragraph of this page? Imagine being able to earn a great income while staying at home with your children. Choosing when you want to work and when you want to spend quality time with your family, all while doing work that really helps people. I want you to know that this can become a reality for you. Do your research! Or talk to a friend in the business, and they will show you how simple it is. By doing this you will be in the position I am in. I did my research and trusted a friend, and my life is completely different today than it was six months ago. If you do this you will receive my promise of success, and you may even have a lot of fun along the way!Here’s how my lifestyle has changed: Six months ago I was the operating manager for one of Canadas top retailers. I was commuting two hours per day. I would get up early and at days end travel home and spend the evening preparing for the next day. Fun and enjoyable right?? Not the life my wife or I wanted. I missed my family, and felt guilty that I wasn’t able to spend more time with them, but I had to work and earn income to take care of them.Today I do a mix of telephone calls, emails and meetings, but my family always comes first. I help to mentor people about the wonders of this thing we call the ” Internet “, and the opportunity we have all been handed, a solid life changing home based business. It is vital to go into any possible home based business opportunity with a clear mind and a trustworthy heart. Remember to do your homework and investigate the company that will make you rich and help you fire your boss, or talk to a trusted friend. Do not fall into the belief that everything is a scam, because it is not! I am living proof. So, does this sound like the lifestyle you would like? Don’t rule out a wonderful life of making money from home and giving your family what they need most ! YOU.
A Guide on Successful Product Creation and Internet Marketing
Product creation in Internet marketing is getting stiffer and stiffer nowadays owing to tough competition between Internet-based businesses. Putting up a new product requires plenty of brainpower and finances along with an ability to take risk. With that, even if you have the product well-set already, you have to position it strategically in the Internet landscape for others to notice. You should get the interest of Web users and turn them to actual customers. Aside from the usual physical products, many different products that thrive well on Internet marketing include E-books, membership sites, and video lectures.
The long and difficult process of product creation begins with ideas. They are easy to get – compared to the effort that comes with analyzing the market for that idea. Before the idea turns to a product, businesses often spend money, even amounting to millions of dollars, to ensure the success of the new product that emerges from an idea. Businesses undertake many types of market research and surveys before releasing their products to the public. Now, you may think that because your business is small, you can’t afford research or you don’t have to do research; you can and you should. The Internet allows you to disseminate materials needed for your market study to many people at once without your having to spend a cent.
It is a common maxim in business: Look at your destination first before mapping out your journey. So what are the goals you intend to accomplish with your product creation ventures? The everyday travails of your business may make you forget the end in sight. On the other hand, prepare to entertain new developments that come to your mind in your product creation. Your conception of a product may have started this way, but a few tweaks here and there along with some market research results and it ends up another way. Take it as the result of a creative process, not as a failure to reach your goal. After all, your product creation activities are intertwined with a long-term goal that you should strive to sustain at your utmost: profit generation. So if your less profitable initial idea evolves to a more profitable product, be thankful!
With your product made up already, start doing some aggressive Internet marketing. A product purchase typically comes after more than five times a customer is exposed to an informative call-to-buy message. Thus it is important to get the contact details, like the e-mail address, of potential customers who are on the brink of a sale. Use the results of your market research to determine the demographics to which you should concentrate your marketing efforts.
With consistent product creation, you can make an inventory of your products that you can market in due time. Just keep making products – the moment you succeed in making and marketing a product, customers are surely wanting more from you, so give it to them. Keep them on your side through constant product creation.