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52 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2016 Financial Wisdom
When saving for retirement, don’t allow sales pitches to infl uence your fi nancial decisions. Instead, create and follow an eff ective savings plan. By Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF (Ret), CFP®
In my days as a financial advisor and now as an educator at MOAA, I have witnessed fi nancial behaviors that span the spectrum. Whether good or bad, the fi nancial experiences of others can help you on your fi nancial journey. A Government Accountability Offi ce
survey shows most Americans are not investing enough for their futures. The study indicates people between the ages of 55 and 64 have accumulated on aver- age $104,000 for retirement. In my experience, that fi gure is in the ballpark for retirement savings — and it is not suffi cient. Perhaps the people surveyed have other income sources; I certainly hope so. Failure to suffi ciently save for retirement is one reason there is discussion on Capitol Hill about whether the government should take over retire- ment savings programs. Too many of us allow news and sales pitches to infl uence our fi nancial deci- sions. For the most part, publications and news stories don’t help us become successful investors, even though that’s their assertion. Off ers for free reports about the coming economic collapse are sales pitches that you should ignore. Learn to distinguish a salesperson from a real fi nancial advisor. Successful investors follow an eff ec-
tive plan and are fi nancially disciplined. According to both Credit Suisse and Spectrem Group, the number of million- aires in America is growing — 10 million
households not counting home equity; 14 million if you count home equity. This is more than twice the number since 1996, even with the negative stock market per- formance between 1999 and 2009. Many millionaires might be people
you know but who you don’t realize are millionaires. As Thomas J. Stanley and
William D. Danko (authors of The Mil- lionaire Next Door) report, 80 percent of millionaires are ordinary people who have diligently accumulated wealth over their lifetime. Fear of the stock market and potential account value loss cause overly conser- vative money management. Add the fact that investors aren’t saving enough, and the combination is creating the inability to sustain a retirement that will last for 40 years. There are methods for dealing with risks in the stock market, and when properly implemented, you can create wealth with manageable market volatility and reduced concern for account values. Unfortunately, life events often dis-
tract us from planning our fi nancial futures, but a fi nancial plan provides an element of control and is essential for you to realize your future fi nancial goals. It doesn’t have to be complicated, so de- velop your plan now.
MO
— Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF (Ret), is a CFP® and benefi ts information expert at MOAA.
Visit
www.moaa.org/fi nancialcenter for other re- sources. Email specifi c benefi t and fi nance inqui- ries to
beninfo@moaa.org.
PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN
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