Working and Saving doesn't require a Genie.

While this article has good advice for all, it is geared to those who can do the things written here for life.

To begin; A young man found a bottle, and out popped a genie. Said the genie, “ I'll grant you one wish for freeing me.”

The young man said,” OK, I want to take my mom to Hawaii, but she won't fly or take a boat. I want a private highway built across the Pacific, so we can drive there.

The stunned genie said,” That's a tough wish, can't you scale it down. I mean, you must to realize the problems a structure like that would cause, and I'd need a trillion tons of concrete."

The young man said,” Well, OK, I want to retire rich without working or saving.”

The genie said,” Do you want that highway 2 or 4 lanes?”

The point is that some people think success equals shear luck. According to Christine McKinley, in a toll taken by the Consumer Federation of America, 27% of people surveyed believed that the only way to get $500,000 in their lifetime was by winning the lottery."

Yet, if a person invested $100 every month, from the ages of 18 to 60 in a diversified portfolio, he or she would be a millionaire at retirement. A nice sum even with inflation. Why? It's like compound interest. At their traditional rate of return since 1920, the major stock indexes double roughly every 7 years.

(In a savings account right now, your money will double in 720 years! Gold has risks because governments have intervened negatively in the olf market. Governments like stock markets to rise, though).

Yes, stocks and mutual funds have risks, too, but, to counter, you're investing over time - not short term. Also, you invest in a diversified portfolio to spread the risks over a wide field. Most importantly, don't do the investing yourself; use a qualified financial advisor.

When picking a financial adviser use an established, registered firm for your safety against theft or fraud; they're required to insure against this. As far as a firm's solvency, in virtually all cases, should it go bankrupt, your assets are safe. They're not the firm's assets; they're yours.

The next advice is maximize your income by working extra hours or even working another job. Even in hard times there is always part-time menial employment. You need to generate income because the amount of your Social Security is dependent upon this. And don't believe the nonsense about Social Security disappearing.

If you're young, the baby boomers will one day be a memory, so when you retire, the population will be young again and paying into Social Security for your benefits. For those older citizens, Social Security is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The U.S. is 28 % of the World's Economy today, She is not going any where. In 1803, 75% of the U.S. Budget went to pay the interest on the national debt, we will survive this economic crisis.

Finally, report all your income. The benefits you get by hiding income is nothing compared to the economic loss you'll suffer when you retire and have to rely a Social Security check that pays less than minimum wage. Social Security is based on reported income.

Of course, there's no advice that helps if you won't change bad habits in handling your finances or are work capable but couch minded. Saving money is common sense, but the hard-luck saver never can save a dime, yet always has $ 6 a day for a pack of cigarettes.

By

Jeffrey Ruzicka

Jeffrey Ruzicka is a retired executive of a small company that specializes in industrial water treatment for generating stations and water treatment plants. He lives with his wife in Western Pennsylvania. He is a contributing writer to ManufacturingWorkers.com, ManufacturingWorkersBlog.com, and Nexxt.