Why I want to stay young forever (1)

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When there's not much in the wallet I always try and remember what the old folks say: Count your blessings. Each time I still do weigh my fortunes and it only reminds me I've wasted much of it. But now I'm trying to plan ahead so I could make the most of what I earn because to this day I've nothing significant in my bank account despite working outside the Philippines for well over four years now.

I always begin with some crude research into what others have experienced and what the so-called experts have said on financial planning. So now I'm putting pen to paper to get a clearer picture of basic concepts that I will have to bear in mind in attempting to map out my route to financial freedom. Whew! Wish me luck. Below is the romanized version of my thoughts.

I'M THE salaried type and inflation is a cause for concern. Soaring prices of basic goods and services, a trend that doesn't seem to show a steady weakening over time, make it lousy to depend mainly on retirement benefits when it's time for me to hit the rocking chair. Okay, I've to plan. But to be honest, planning has yet to become a permanent addition to my vocabulary. I've got to come to grips with this alien, nonetheless.

Financial advisers talk about identifying first the lifestyle that a person wants upon retirement and this should help me arrive at a ballpark figure of how much I should be able to withdraw every year from my nest egg.

Here's the basic principle according to the gurus of personal finance: If what you want is to lead the same lifestyle (financially, that is) that you have now which costs you, for example, half a million pesos a year, add to that the projected inflation rate for the next two decades or longer, and you have your financial goal for each year of the entire stretch of your life after employment. I've tried crunching numbers and, believe me, it gives me reason to want to stay young forever.

Got to plan now if you still have a quarter of a century before your age makes employers consider you too old. It's a different story of course when you're already a few years before the retirement bell rings. It's pointless to seek advice from professional financial planners when you're about to collect the first tranche of your retirement fund.

Be realistic when you do take the time to plan. Come back to earth when you notice that you're floating in the skies as far as targeting how much money you want for your retirement. Acknowledge whatever amount you can save up every month for long-term investment. Don't be hard on yourself.

To be continued tomorrow. Napagod kapiranggot kong utak.

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::: THE PICTURE: This is not an advertisement. If I were to buy a brand-new car today, it'd have to be this -- affordable and kind of cool. But nah, the desire for wheels got to be kept in the attic for now. By the time I'm ready to give in to my droolings over wheels, I will have forgotten about this image.

::: First time to visit this site? I invite you to have a look at my library for a list of articles.

::: My site-hopping tracks yesterday: PenMan (as usual, a very engaging article); sun-eater (a writer in dumaguete); ofwjournalism (a very unimaginative name); and spanky