History has shown us one of the most amazing financial shifts ever, as we've gone from being a nation of savers to a nation of investors. Even somewhat more amazing is that it has happened in less than a generations time.



Welcome to chronologically speaking, middle age or as I like to call it: The AARP Generation.

With retirement just around the corner and old age looming in the suddenly not-so-distant future for those of us in the baby boomer generation, financial concerns have become critically important. Just where do we find the extra income or the how to generate that extra income for those maybe not so golden years?

In the past we might have skipped the newspaper's financial pages to read the sports section or worked on the crossword puzzle. Now we find the earnings reports and mutual fund listings endlessly fascinating weather online or reading the paper.

The challenge facing many of us even if we aren't baby boomers is how to finance our busy lives while trying to save for our retirement years or maybe other unforeseen expenses. This challenge looms even larger day by day as we get closer to retirement. One of the best ways to meet the challenge is to start a small home based business.

For generations, security and safety were more important than high returns on investments. Having grown up during or in the aftermath of the Great Depression, they were very reluctant to put their money in anything that involved substantial risk. Investing hard-earned dollars in the stock market was only for gamblers and speculators, not for the average person. A mattress was a safer place for any of their extra money.

Their plan for building wealth was pretty straight-forward. Stay with the same company for a long time and forget about any other business opportunity. Rely on a great pension plan from that employer, and salt away any extra income in a federally insured personal savings account.

For our generation, however the blueprint has changed and earning extra income from home has become a business opportunity for many.

Traditional pension programs and savings accounts have all but disappeared. The number of workers covered by traditional pension plans has dropped 73% over the past 20 years. Nationwide, according to the latest federal data, personal savings have dropped from about 10% of disposable income in 1980 to -1% in 2006. In other words people today, weather a one or two income family, spend more money than they make. By the way, the credit card companies love it.

The primary source of retirement savings/pension income today is a 401(k) account. Again we have gone from savers - investors, safety - risk. Making a home based business one of the best ways to make extra income and take advantage of the many tax savings available to those working at home.

The main problem is that our generation came late to the 401(k) game. Whether through career changes, conversions from traditional pension plans or some unforeseen circumstance we really weren't prepared to manage our own retirement funds. Now many of us are trying to make up for lost time with an extra income from a network marketing company or some other small business opportunity.

The 401's always work best if you start saving a good percentage (10%) of your income very early in your working life. Future generations will be much better prepared to invest over their entire working lives and manage their own resources. The problem for those now nearing retirement age is how to invest those dollars to provide a decent return. Even the simplest calculation demonstrates the problem. If you'll need $3,000 a month in extra income and you plan on living for 20 years in retirement, you'll need to accumulate $720,000 in your 401(k) or by other means. Now that's a lot of extra income to make up for, if you got in the game late.

So, let me ask… How is your retirement savings plan doing?

To make up for lost time, some people will be tempted to choose very aggressive, and very risky, equity investment options. This may seem wise today, but tomorrow it could be one of the worst moves you could have made. Has anyone watched what the market has done in the last couple of weeks? Great America theme parks could model one of their rides after it. This also makes an online business opportunity or work at home business all the more palatable.

Ready or not, we're all capitalists today. The game of saving for retirement has changed the landscape of our future and betting our futures on what the Dow Jones will be on the day we retire is a high-risk and a high-stakes game that we can't afford to lose.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it very well: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Why risk everything on a roller coaster? The sooner you get in a small business opportunity, the sooner you can earn the extra income it looks like we'll all need.

Watch for more articles on this and other subjects…

As Always, God Bless and Always Remember To Make It A Great Day!!

Michael J Kohn