Most retirement accounts, mutual funds, and other large pension funds are invested in the S&P 500 corporations.

Unfortunately, many, many seniors do not understand how their investments are being managed, or simply do not understand the basic nomenclature of the “so-called” investment gurus.

In fact, today, (12/4/2008) I heard a very prominent mutual fund manager who is extremely experienced and respected in the financial community state, “Do not sell your funds as I expect the market to turn around momentarily and produce returns of 10% over the next 10 years!”

He obviously gets paid whether your investments go up or go down, and he needs to keep as much cash in his family of funds as he can.

I disagree with his prediction and I will explain why, as follows.

First, let’s try to make the senior or novice investor understand what the S&P 500 really is, and why its members are so important to both the American economy and more importantly, to the welfare of the planned retirement community.

Why are most equity funds invested in the S&P 500? A summary of the definition from “The Wikipedia”, the free encyclopedia. . . The S&P 500 is the most widely followed index of large-cap American stocks. It is considered a bellwether for the American economy, and is included in the Index of Leading Indicators. Some mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and other managed funds, such as pension funds, are designed to mimic the performance of the S&P 500 index. Many hundreds of billions of US$ have been invested in this fashion.

Companies such as General Electric, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alcoa, Apple Inc, Black & Decker Corp., and Home Depot are just a few of the more recognized of the 500 listed. If you want to see the complete list, click on this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_S%26P_500_companies

How has this group of funds performed for the past 10 years?

The following link shows a chart of data from Yahoo.com and graphically depicts the ups and downs of the S&P 500 performance. The overall chart is for 58 years. (1950 through 2008)

To see the chart, click on this link: http://www.cabinetsoflasvegas.com/S_P500Sum

Unfortunately, if you or your financial administrator invested in the index or stocks or funds that mimicked this index, you made no headway in your account during the last 10 years.

Will the volatility continue for the next 10 years? Obviously no one can predict the future, but there simply are better ways to invest than to buy and hold, and you can do it yourself with such a little bit of effort.

There are trading systems using funds that invest in the same S&P 500 stocks that have produced returns over 27.7% annually during the same 10 year period for which the “Buy and Hold” investors received 0%.

Remember the rule of 72. This rule states that to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you just divide the rate into 72.

If your investment earns 7.78% return, like it did for 44 years, it will double every 9.3 years (72 divided by 7.78%). So, if your $40,000 investment had grown at 7.78% for the past 10 years, it would be worth $84,771 after 10 years.

However, if you traded the same mutual funds and received 27.7% return for the past 10 years, your account would be worth $461,285.

Isn’t it worth looking into a better way of getting your retirement fund back on track?

Debts are a result of simply spending more than you make. Being in debt has become a way of life. I am glad to tell you that there are ways to effectively consolidate those debts.

There are companies that offer debt solutions when your debts get out of hand. This debt tends to be highest right after the holiday season, when credit cards are terribly overused to buy gifts. Debt consolidation can help by rolling all your debts (credit card, loans, etc…) into a single, lower payment so you can get free of debt quickly. Consolidation loans clear out high interest credit card balances and set you on a path to freedom from debt. With debt consolidation, you clear up outstanding credit card balances and move forward to a better position financially.

Consolidation of unsecured debt is one of the better solutions you will find. However, understand that consolidation simply combines your debts, not reduce or lower them. Shop around a bit, compare a few offers and run BBB checks on several just as you would if you were shopping for a television or computer.

Debt consolidation works by simply eliminating high interest debt(s) and unsecured debt that has been destroying not only your finances but your health as well and rolls them into one loan at a low interest rate. This means you only make a single payment every month as opposed to several. With a consolidation solution, you are able to wipe away delinquent payments and start moving in a more positive monetary position. You can also stop the negative marks on your credit report and establish a higher FICO score.

Your first step is to take a serious look at your debt. Consolidating all of them into one, single manageable payment is a very good, positive move for you to make. The benefits of consumer debt consolidation include a lower interest rate as well as stopping the calls from creditors. Whatever situation you may find yourself in, you can consolidate your unsecured debts, including credit card debts, with a little assistance from an online consumer debt consolidation company. They can make you a loan that is quick, safe and secure.

Consumer debt consolidation is a real, working solution that deserves a good look. A debt consolidation loan can end the incessant calls from creditors and/or their collectors. More importantly, you can effectively avoid bankruptcy and start getting a good night’s sleep for a change.

Getting relief from debt and the calls that come with it is something you must start doing now.

Right now is the right time to buy a home, when there is a very high inventory of foreclosed houses. In fact, you are likely to get a lot of amazing deals, particularly with homes that have been foreclosed. If you buy a house that has been foreclosed by a bank, you can expect to save up to 50% of the home’s property value. To find out which houses in your area are under the foreclosed category, it will be a good idea to get some free foreclosure listings.
It can be challenging to find free foreclosure listings of homes in your area. Most real estate investors will usually snap them up by buying these foreclosed homes at very low prices, then selling them at a price they can profit from. This makes foreclosed properties very high in demand.

There are a good number of foreclosure listing services who will offer these listing free in a 7-day trial offer. These free trial offers will show you a hint of what full access memberships to these services will give you.
There are some websites that you will be able to find on the Internet that offer free foreclosure listings, and while they do not charge a membership fee, these website have their share of advantages and disadvantages.

Among the advantages you will find is access to a huge database of hundreds of listings that you can compare side by side to find the best deal. Some services are reputable enough to have 24/7 customer support to answer any of your questions. You will also find that they update their inventory on a daily basis, giving you a fresh listing each time you visit their site. If you have done your research and know what you are looking for, you will find that a 7-day trial period is enough time to locate the ideal home.

If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for after seven days, you might want to consider paying a reasonable monthly fee for another month of searching. One thing about this free trial offers is that the listing service requires you to give your credit card information for the trial basis. Make sure you find reputable service listing to avoid unwanted credit card bills.
Look through realtor websites that may have lists of bank-foreclosed properties. Usually banks work with these realtors to have these foreclosed houses sold, and they give permission for a listing of these properties on the realtor’s website. These listings are for free, and you can take good advantage of them.
Another source of free listings are the official websites of the State you reside in. These government websites will normally have a free listing of all foreclosed houses within the region.
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