Revisiting Retirement

Let me cut to chase - I think it would be wise to revisit what is going into your retirement accounts - mainly your 401K's and 403B's. Why?

1. President Obama keeps saying things will get worse, and they have been. Unemployment is up. Less commerce is taking place. Government is growing, but we don't have stock in government. We do have stock in business - and business is down - and President Obama says it will get worse. Pay attention.

2. How's your disposable income? If you become part of the unemployed, how long could you go without assistance? Are you able to get quick access to cash? You can't cash out retirement accounts without a stiff penalty. A wise goal would be to have three to six months of income handy in case of emergency. If you do not have this, you may want to rethink where your income is going.

3. While you think you have control of your retirement accounts - you really don't. I was taught that lesson last September. Someone caused those wild stock market swings last year. Someone could choose to sell big at any time and cause a similar domino effect. President Obama says it will get worse.

4. Has anyone retired as a millionaire solely through the 401K/403B program? I'm talking about people who make $100K a year and under. The program has been available for 30 years. We have heard about the power of compound interest. Has it produced results? If not, why not?

5. Do not trust the Wall Street experts as they sell their grand long term retirement plans. They are in business for themselves - so the more you send your money to them, the better off they are. Meanwhile, if you need your money, you lose 30% in the process.

James 4:13-14 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

If you don't have cash in the bank available for a three to six months emergency, start saving while you can. This is not meant to scare everyone away from these programs - but hopefully it will cause examination about both ourselves and the institutions where our money is going.