Building Retirement Savings After 50

Financial advisors recommend saving money for retirement during every phase of life, but it's not uncommon for couples and individuals to reach their 50s without enough money saved for their eventual retirement. 

The average citizen spends the majority of his or her income on food, shelter, and transportation, as well as small amounts on healthcare, education, recreation, and general household purchases. 

Regularly saving money for retirement isn't always part of the monthly budget. Families, couples, and individuals can begin saving money for retirement in any decade of life but doing so after the age of fifty does require a different strategy than doing so as a twenty-something or thirty-something worker.

Maximize Contributions to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan

Contributions to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) reduces taxable income each year, and investment income made from the bonds, shares, Guaranteed Investment Certificates, and other investment types within the RRSP isn't taxed either. 

Speaking with an investment professional can help individuals and couples who haven't yet begun saving for retirement choose the best investment path. However, it's not necessary to create an official investment account to begin saving. Putting some money aside in a run-of-the-mill savings account is an excellent first step for anyone who hasn't started saving. 




Other investment options include Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans (VRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA), but it's important to note that contributions should only reach a point where borrowing from the accounts doesn't become necessary unless an emergency occurs. 

While it's possible to borrow money from retirement accounts, those loans are taxed as income at the end of the year.

Modify the Monthly Budget to Accommodate Retirement Savings

Living life to the fullest at every age can help couples maintain their health throughout the decades before retirement, but it's important to consider building some savings over time. 

Those living on tight budgets may need to rearrange certain facets of their monthly budget to establish a savings account. Future retirees do have some radical options for building retirement savings if they own their own home or other valuable items. 

Moving from a large house to a small residence where there is no mortgage payment can allow the family to send the money that would otherwise pay the mortgage into a retirement account. 

Less drastic options also exist where couples can rearrange facets of the monthly budget to ensure some money exists each month for savings accounts, retirement accounts, and other investments. 

Researching better prices on necessary goods and services can also help. For example, it's beneficial to shop around to compare life insurance quotes, car insurance, as well as examine monthly bills for cell phones, gym memberships, and cable television services. 

Modifying habits like eating out at restaurants and buying unnecessary clothing or furnishings can also help increase the amount of money available for placement in retirement accounts.

Retirement Planning is Possible at Any Age

The cost of living will only increase as time passes, and actively saving money for retirement is a beneficial and necessary step in every person's life. Future retirees have many options for building retirement savings and may wish to explore all available options to determine the best path toward a comfortable retirement.

How to Invest in Cryptocurrency & What to Know Before You Do

Investing in cryptocurrency is a hot new trend that has already made some investors a considerable amount of money. If you want to invest in cryptocurrencies successfully, though, you’ll need to go about it in the right way. Here are four things you need to know about investing in cryptocurrencies.

Understand That Cryptocurrencies Carry Risks

Although many people have made money by investing in cryptocurrencies, these assets aren’t without their own unique risks. As with any other form of investment, you should only put money you don’t absolutely need into your cryptocurrency portfolio. 

You also need to carefully evaluate the price movements and overall qualities of different cryptocurrencies before you invest, as jumping in prematurely can increase your chances of losing money.

Some Cryptocurrencies Can’t Be Bought Easily

Though major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether can be traded directly for traditional money, not all cryptocurrencies work in the same way. If you want to invest in altcoins that are less prominent, you may have to resort to exchanging Bitcoin for them. 




Luckily, you can do this buy Bitcoin with Visa or another credit card, then use an online exchange to trade the Bitcoin for the currency you want. Be sure to research the coins you plan to invest in extensively and figure out what cryptocurrency exchanges support them so that you can buy without any difficulties.

Know the Laws of Your Country

Though many people still think of the cryptocurrency market as being an unregulated open market, the truth is a little different. At the moment, there are only 96 countries where Bitcoin usage isn’t restricted in some way. Make sure that you know and follow the laws of your country when it comes to cryptocurrency investing.

Build a Diversified Portfolio

One mistake that many new cryptocurrency investors make is to invest in only one currency, usually Bitcoin. While it can be appealing to keep things simple in the beginning, relying on a singly cryptocurrency makes your portfolio more risky. 

Try to find at least two or three good cryptocurrencies that you believe will make good investments in order to create a more strongly diversified portfolio.

By keeping these things in mind, you’ll be better prepared to get started with cryptocurrency investing. Before you actually put money into the markets, make sure that you track the prices of your chosen currencies for a few weeks to see whether or not you can accurately predict their price fluctuations. If you can, it’s a good sign that you’re ready to invest.

7 Home Improvement Projects to Leave to the Pros

When we’re trying to live on a fixed income, and cut back on expenses, most of us opt to handle things around the house ourselves. After all, what’s so hard about fixing a cupboard door? However, some of the time it really doesn’t pay to do it yourself. 

If we’re out of our depth, it could create more damage that will be more expensive to fix down the road. In fact, sometimes it can be downright dangerous. Here are a few projects that are usually best when left to the pros!

Electrical problems

Unless you’re an electrician, electrical problems are something that should be left to a licensed electrician! This is because of a few different reasons. Not only is messing with electricity dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, but it also means that all of your electrical work won’t be covered by insurance if something goes wrong. 

If you accidentally burn your entire house down because of an electrical project you did yourself, insurance won’t cover any of it.

Some more major plumbing

Can you unclog a toilet by yourself? Yeah, probably. But what if you need to replace a bunch of complicated piping or your toddler flushed a bath toy down the toilet drain and it’s far enough back that you’ll need a snake or other plumbing tool to get it out? 

In these situations, and similar situations, you may want to call a plumber! Your consequences if something goes wrong isn’t quite as dire as an electrical situation, so it really depends on how confident you feel about the situation. 

If you feel out of your depth and hopeless, then a professional may be valuable to you, even if just for the relief and sense of peace of mind.

Asbestos

Didn’t know that asbestos still existed? It does, and it can be horrific. If there is asbestos in your ceiling, call a professional to clean it up. When it becomes airborne, it can get stuck in your lungs, and lead to both lung cancer and major scarring in your lungs. Not worth the risk, honestly.

Waterproofing the foundation of your home

If you’re hoping to waterproof the foundation of your house, it’s going to be a much more difficult job than just digging around your house and installing a membrane. It’s a relatively big undertaking. 

There will need to be weeping tile at the bottom, and a sump pump is usually necessary for proper drainage. This project won’t be cheap, but it should come with at least a 15 year warranty. 

Often, this is a project that you should try to get accomplished before you move in, and you can coordinate it simultaneously while coordinating the move with your movers, since you won’t want to have to deal with it once you’ve already moved in.

Roofing

Way too many people fall from their roof while trying to make repairs up there. It’s easy to lose your balance, or make a simple misstep, and then cause such serious injuries that it can result in death. And that’s just not worth the risk. Call a professional, who will not only be experienced and get the job done quickly, but will be insured. 

Digging out a basement

If you think digging yourself a basement will be an easy job done over the course of a few days with a few handy friends and some shovels, you are sorely mistaken. Digging a basement requires a lot of foundational work, to make sure that your existing home stays safe and structurally sound, as well as taking a lot longer than a few days. 

Calling a professional to dig out your basement will cost you over $30,000 probably, but it’s worth it to not do yourself and risk the foundational integrity of your home.

Installing a skylight

Maybe you’re confident with installing windows or doors. But that doesn’t mean that you’re qualified to install a skylight. In fact, skylights are the most common cause of leaks in homes. This is because of poor installation and improper sealing. Hiring a professional will eliminate the risk for these issues, as well as often come with some sort of warranty.

Isn't There Career Development in Trading as Well

Every career should have a form career development, there is no single career that doesn't involve career development. For example, assume that you are an article writer. You should not think about being an article writer until you die rather think about career development. 

Find the things that you can improve. Find the paths that you can follow instead of article writing alone. So, likewise, you should focus on career development in the trading career as well. 

There are traders in the United Kingdom who run trading as their career. But only a few traders focus on career development. Anyway, being naïve traders you should focus from the basement of trading career. 

He should know a few important factors when you are looking to become a trader by profession. There are countless things that you should consider at the beginning of your trading journey and then, slowly you should learn a few more things when trading as for the career. 

However, you already know that Forex market is decentralized. So, this is not controlled by any of the traders. Although the international banks could be the major market players, they cannot control the market! 




So, basically, this is a market that offers equal freedom to every trader. You may have to know a few factors before you trade the market as a career.

Can You Really Learn to Trade

Do you know many rich people in the world chose to trade as their full-time profession? This is only because they know the huge profit factors in this industry. 

But sadly the majority of traders are losing money since they don’t know how to deal with the complex price movement of the financial instrument. But this doesn’t mean you can’t learn them. If you work hard it won’t take more than six months to develop the basic skills. 

And within a year you can start having your dream life by securing your financial stability. So definitely there is a very good career in the retail trading industry.

Before you step into the market, calculate the costs

No matter what you do, you should focus on the costs before anything. Not only in Forex trading career but in all the other careers you would have to think about the costs. The costs are important because it helps you to understand the amount that you would have to give up. 

Without costs, you wouldn't get to enjoy the trading opportunities. There are no trading opportunities that don't involve trading costs. If you want to generate money you would have to lose money. There are countless methods to make money. 

You can use the Forex trading tips. Forex trading techniques and all the other. But what matters is does it help to improve your trading career? If yes, you should continue to use it. So you must think about the costs and the ways to develop your career. 

In Forex trading, you would usually come across costs like losses, commissions, hardware costs, software costs, and other equipment costs. Compared to the costs involved in other markets, this is much better!

You should know to profit

None of the traders enter the market with the previous knowledge but it is important to be educated about the trading journey. The trader should take time to increase the market knowledge. 

Likewise, you should know to profit from the market using the suitable strategy. When you trade the winning trades should be more than the losing trades. So, even if you don't know to profits from the market, you should learn it.

You should understand the career

How can you run the career if you don't understand it? You should find the differences in traditional trading vs. present trading. You should think about the drawbacks and advantage in trading the market. 

Likewise, it is important to dig more and more information related to trading in the market. You should know the trading career completely before you begin to trade.

Running a Profitable Side Hustle As You Are Aging

The side hustle has become much more popular as many people in all demographics understand the chance to make money online. Those with specific skills can start earning nearly immediately in the cases of virtual assistants, content writers, and web designers. 

A side hustle can be extremely stressful for a person who is starting to feel their age more and more daily. The side hustle is not a main source of income which can help reduce the stress with many older people just wanting something to do with their free time. 

The following are tips to help run a profitable side hustle while keeping your age in mind.

Decide How Much You Are Willing To Work

A side hustle will help you fill the time but you have to decide how much you are willing to work. Those who are a bit older might be technically retired or partially retired. An important detail to look up is how much money can be made before it impacts social security benefits. 

Once you have reached this cap then working could take away your monthly check until you are under the required income. Once you have set a cap on how much you can earn and want to work then a game plan can be written out. 




Hiring other freelancers to complete work is also an option while taking a little bit off of the top. Managing people is different work than writing an article but it can be just as profitable. 

While you might not be able to write 100 articles in a week, you can edit these then submit all of them. Your profit per article is not going to be as high but the number of articles should take care of that.

Expand Client Base Consistently

Freelancers need to constantly expand their client base as clients disappear or simply do not need work completed during certain times of the year. The expansion of the client base will also give a freelancer the ability to choose the easiest and best paying clients they want to work with. 

Freelancer platforms like that of Upwork do take a percentage for bringing the client and freelancer together but it protects both parties in the case of low quality, incomplete work, and failure to pay/refund. 

Taking less money than you think your work is worth might have to be done to establish a high rating on these platforms. Once your profile is established prices for services and work can be increased incrementally. 

Clients are also willing to pay freelancers they work with consistently a bit more as they know their quality of work.

Keep Your Overhead Low

The best thing about working online to supplement income is that internet is reasonably priced. A computer or even tablet with a keyboard attached can help you start earning quickly. 

One mistake that people make is thinking they need a large office so they can concentrate on their work. A virtual office is a much better option as it is more affordable but it also comes with the perks of an office. 

A live receptionist as well as business address comes with the virtual office package. The ability to rent out offices and meeting spaces can allow a side hustler to bring clients to pitch or simply meet with.

Take the time to write out expenses and the ROI each of these expenses bring back in terms of revenue. This will allow you to truly see where the money it going and where the money turns into more profit. 

Keep in mind that business expenses can be written off come tax time so this will provide a little financial relief when it comes to overhead.

Constantly Find Ways To Optimize Work Flow

Working for yourself can allow the freedom to tweak processes to see what works best. Increasing productivity even by 10 percent can lead to that percentage resulting in complete profits. 

A great productivity tip that many professionals in general can benefit from is limiting the checking of email. While client emails are important, they can be answered at the rate of once an hour without issue. This gives a freelancer the ability to keep their train of thought without being derailed by a pushy or angry client. 

Check email once an hour and do the appropriate replying then jump back into your work. This gives clients the ability to email back and forth numerous times in a day without impacting productivity to a very large extent.

Building a decent side hustle as you age can allow for more financial freedom than you have had in the past. In even better cases this extra income can allow you to retire early. Side hustles are here to stay, find one you can profit from today!

Knowing When It’s Time to Move

As we get older, many of us start to notice that our living situation just isn’t what we need anymore. Sometimes we move in order to become part of a senior community, and live close to others in our stage of life. Other times, we want to be closer to family, or downgrade in order to get rid of all those extra projects that come with living in a big house.

Then again, a move can be a huge disruption to your life, and it’s a major hassle from start to finish. So how can you determine whether a move is actually worth all the effort and bother? Well, whether you’re living out your golden years, or moving into your first home with a spouse, here are some helpful tips.

Can You Upgrade Your Existing Home?

Sometimes, there are things that we really want for our home, and so we start looking longingly at shiny new housing listings. If our health is getting difficult, it might not even be a matter of want, but need. 

Perhaps you’re not able to handle the stairs as well as before, or you need a different kind of shower. However, the truth is that most of the time, it’s much more cost-effective for an individual to update their existing home rather than get a new one. 





It’s true that looking at a quote for something like installing solar panels, or putting a granite countertop in your kitchen, can be intimidating. However, when you consider it an investment in your home that increases its value, it puts things in perspective.

Even if you’re planning to move, it might be worth looking into the costs of certain upgrades in order to increase the price point that you’ll be able to get for the house.

Location is the Primary Concern

If the truth is that all the upgrades, expansion, and remodeling won’t answer your needs, then yes… it’s probably time to move. That means that it’s a problem with the location; not the actual house. 

There are so many things that determine whether your location is good or bad. Often, it seems as though location and price are directly correlative, and it’s just a matter of finding as ideal a location as possible inside of your price range, but the truth is that location is highly relative. A prime location for one person won’t be ideal for another family.

Here are the major things that you need to ask yourself when choosing a location that matters to you.

Is the school district important to you? One of the major concerns people have when moving is what kind of school their child will be going to. So, if you don’t have children, or if your children are attending private school, or an alternate schooling program, you can save a lot by not competing for the same thing other families are desperate for. This link has a good guide if school district is a priority for your move.

What does your commute look like? One of the biggest things that contributes to (or detracts from) our quality of life is the time we spend in traffic getting to and from work each day. How much does a long commute bother you? 

Can you use public transit to reduce costs and stress? Don’t forget; it’s not just about the commute to work. The commute to school, to the grocery store, and to your friends’ or family’s homes can all determine how well a location works for you.

What does your lifestyle demand of your surroundings? Some people love to be friendly with their neighbors. Some of us love to be close to the outdoors. Others love a convenient park in the neighborhood. It’s important not to be distracted by things that really don’t matter to you, though. 

Sure, a park nearby is nice, but if you never use or see that park… then it really doesn’t make a difference to you. Let someone else pay for that proximity.

Renting vs. Buying

Deciding whether you’re going to rent or buy will also have a big impact on whether it’s time for you to move. After all, it’s a completely different game. Renting will feel much more temporary. 





If you decide to buy, you want to be comfortable with a more long-term decision. Even if you need to move from that home, will you be able to get good rental rates if you decide to become a landlord? Will it retain its value if you resell it in a few years?

People Matter

Although we usually think in terms of finances and employment while we’re looking into a move, the truth is that there’s one thing that matters more; who you share that space with. In the end, money doesn’t make us happy, and few jobs will. 

On the other hand, people who have the best quality of life, self-reported levels of happiness, and life expectancy, are those who have strong networks of connection with friends and loved ones. 

So, while you’re evaluating your reasons to move, it could be that it just comes down to doing the best thing for your family. That might be enough! Moving doesn’t have to be a terrible hassle if it’s handled right.