J.P. Dahdah, Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans
Written by Daniel Ortega, Head of Retail Sales at Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans
The effect of COVID-19 has forced Americans to accept that aspiring for work-life balance is a thing of the past. Our life plans will dynamically evolve and our retirement planning must adapt along with them. There is no going back to normal. Millions of Americans have experienced entire industries wiped out due to social distancing and lockdown mandates, while others are adapting to being teachers, parents, spouses and employees at the same time. Many families are finding creative ways to stay connected with loved ones, such as, working on puzzles and playing board games during the stay-at-home orders. Which leads me to ask, how are you spending your days? While working on a 300 piece family photo puzzle could be a wonderful way to spend quality time with your loved ones, so is finding additional time to re-work your family’s retirement puzzle. For many of us, it feels like Covid-19 has swooped in and destroyed the completed retirement puzzle we had previously assembled and threw all the pieces back on the table in complete disarray. Let’s use this time to put our retirement puzzle pieces back together!
During The Great Recession of 2008 many Americans lost their jobs. Coincidentally, however, there was a rise in the number of real estate agents in the country during that time. You can attribute that to many out of work Americans seeing an opportunity to use their involuntary free time to be a part of the next growth sector, which was the resurrection of the housing market and a robust real estate workforce we recently experienced. Even though we’re all trying to navigate through these difficult times, there are real estate investment opportunities to benefit from, so it’s critical to use your free time wisely. I encourage you to use this time to further your education on real estate focused Self-Directed IRAs and evaluate which real estate strategies can be maximized using this powerful tool to protect your nest egg against market disturbances and help you gain clarity once again on your financial picture.
3 Important Things You Can Do During Your Time At Home
- Request a current statement from all your financial institutions and update your contact information: By requesting your statements, you have the most updated picture of your financial landscape. Also, you’re able to confirm that each financial institution has the most accurate contact information to get in contact with you and prevent fraud.
- Review your retirement accounts & evaluate new investment opportunities: If you’ve been recently laid off and had a 401K with your previous employer, you are eligible to roll those funds into a Vantage Self-Directed IRA. Regaining control of this money allows you to redirect the money into opportunities you want while maintaining them in a tax favored vehicle. Now, more than ever, income producing real estate strategies should be top of mind as opportunistic investment options.
- Revisit your financial goals & plans: Your financial plan is ever-evolving until you finally retire. Therefore, making adjustments for the current market conditions serves you well when it comes to proactive investment decisions. You may have to adjust your goals, adjust your risk level of investing, and ultimately explore a multitude of diversification options within the alternative investment marketplace. Rest assured that we are available to support you the best way we can, whether through educational resources, discussing various real estate options available to you within a Self- Directed IRA or simply just to listen. We are committed to helping you invest by design, not default, whatever that may look like.
Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish. We will get through this together.