Guest Speaker: Helen Georgaklis
Topic: How To Retire Before You Die!
[12:28:29 PM] Ginger Marks says: Welcome to Networking 101
[12:28:40 PM] *** Ginger Marks added Helen to this chat
***
[12:29:56 PM] Ginger Marks says: Welcome to our first Guest Speaker for 2009! Helen Georgaklis
[12:30:23 PM] Ginger Marks says: Her topic is How to Retire before you die!
[12:30:30 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: morning
[12:30:50 PM] Ginger Marks says: hi Sandy. Welcome
[12:32:52 PM] Ginger Marks says: Waiting for Helen to accept the invitation.
[12:33:12 PM] Ginger Marks says: How goes it, Sandy? Anything new in your neck of the woods?
[12:34:01 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: nope, warming up a bit
[12:34:57 PM] Ginger Marks says: wonder if Helen forgot?
[12:35:02 PM] Ginger Marks says: lol
[12:35:08 PM] Ginger Marks says: brb
[12:35:27 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: oops
[12:39:55 PM] Ginger Marks says: back
[12:40:04 PM] Ginger Marks says: She is having a snowstorm in Canada
[12:40:49 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: that's tough
[12:41:45 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: i invited thru twitter, facebooketc
[12:42:10 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: see no ne yet
[12:42:39 PM] Ginger Marks says: me?
[12:42:47 PM] Ginger Marks says: I am not into facebook
[12:42:58 PM] Ginger Marks says: I am a twitterer though
[12:43:49 PM] Helen says: am i here??
[12:43:55 PM] Helen says: lol
[12:44:07 PM] Ginger Marks says: yeah! She made it!
[12:44:15 PM] Ginger Marks says: Welcome to our snowbird, Helen
[12:44:21 PM] Helen says: FINALLY! we've got 7 inches of snow falling here
[12:44:36 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: am ready to quiit, but all my SOC friends r there.....
[12:44:56 PM] Helen says: okay, so we want to retire before we die
[12:45:24 PM] Ginger Marks says: Yes! Resounding!
[12:45:27 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: yes we do
[12:45:47 PM] Helen says: in these economic times alot of us are thinking it's not possible
[12:45:59 PM] Helen says: but what we are not looking at are all the sales that are going on
[12:46:08 PM] Helen says: liquidity is key right now
[12:46:26 PM] Helen says: there are alot of stocks/funds/homes for sale right now
[12:47:22 PM] Helen says: if you haven't re-financed your home to the hilt and you have equity in your home, now is the time to use that equity to pay off all debts, allow yourself only 1 monthly payment in order to take advantage of the sales available around you
[12:47:43 PM] Helen says: example: I consolidate all my debts onto my house, including my bought car
[12:48:01 PM] Helen says: i now have 1 payment, let's say it's $900.00
[12:48:13 PM] Helen says: i have freed up over $400.00 a month
[12:48:24 PM] Ginger Marks says: great advice!
[12:48:35 PM] Ginger Marks says: Everyone is credit card debt heavy!
[12:48:42 PM] Ginger Marks says: but me. lol
[12:49:09 PM] Helen says: with that $400.00 a month, i borrow to invest in only blue chip funds and i say blue chip becaust they are still valued stocks/funds
[12:49:40 PM] Helen says: by using your $400.00 per month, you can easily put $50,000.00 into the market prudently
[12:50:25 PM] Helen says: averaging a very conservative rate of return of 7.2% in 10 yrs, your money has doubled, plus you've bought everything on sale so when the pricing re-adjusts, as it will, you end up with more units!!
[12:51:13 PM] Helen says: simple technics like this which are available to all of us, yet so rarely used is how one pays their mortgage in half the time
[12:52:57 PM] Helen says: another simple one is to use equity to buy a car, meaning buy it cash, then use the monthly payments you would normally have for the car and apply that instead to the borrowing to invest concept
[12:53:57 PM] Helen says: i feel very alone in this room
[12:54:48 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: many creative ideas
[12:55:28 PM] Helen says: thank you Sandy
[12:55:30 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Hi
[12:55:42 PM] Ginger Marks says: What about credit card debt vs, paying off mortgage
[12:56:17 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: it's just i'm on a fixed iincome right now
[12:57:04 PM] Helen says: why pay off a mortgage that has an interest rate of 5% vs credit cards that are at 18%??
[12:57:10 PM] Helen says: do you own a home?
[12:57:47 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: my hubby does
[12:58:14 PM] Helen says: is your name on that house?
[12:58:36 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: no, can't b
[12:59:00 PM] Ginger Marks says: that doesn't sound like a good thing, Sandy.
[12:59:20 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: complicated..lol
[12:59:43 PM] Helen says: well, if your hubby owns a house, if he has equity in that house, he should be using that to make spousal contributions towards you in the states which i think are called 401K, right
[1:00:57 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: we arent 'legally' m arried
[1:01:11 PM] Ginger Marks says: yes, that is what they are called.
[1:01:36 PM] Ginger Marks says: if you are working, Roth IRA if not
[1:01:44 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: he is my attendant'
[1:02:19 PM] Helen says: legally or not, there has to be a way that you can build some retirement funds in your name, right??
[1:03:08 PM] Ginger Marks says: he could gift her an amount each year
[1:03:17 PM] Ginger Marks says: not sure what that is up to now in $$
[1:03:20 PM] Helen says: well that's what i'm saying
[1:03:29 PM] Helen says: something that will give you extra income at retirement
[1:03:31 PM] Ginger Marks says: if I remember right from my FA days
[1:03:40 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: not without jeapordizing my income
[1:03:44 PM] Ginger Marks says: (Financial Advisor)
[1:03:48 PM] Helen says: at some point, the house will be put in both names, no?
[1:04:01 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: no
[1:04:15 PM] Ginger Marks says: probably not, Helen
[1:04:45 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: but forgget m e
[1:04:57 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: go on
[1:05:12 PM] Ginger Marks says: Rod might want the info too.
[1:05:24 PM] Ginger Marks says: consolodation is great advice
[1:05:26 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: (sun)ty
[1:05:41 PM] Helen says: sandy, what age group are in?
[1:05:46 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: yes, he maay
[1:06:00 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: 600
[1:06:06 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: lol
[1:06:29 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: 60
[1:06:42 PM] Ginger Marks says: lol
[1:06:55 PM] Ginger Marks says: methuselah move over, Sandy is in the house!
[1:07:23 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: lol
[1:07:29 PM] Helen says: do you have any savings?
[1:07:37 PM] Ginger Marks says: very little
[1:07:59 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: not to mmention
[1:08:03 PM] Ginger Marks says: I lost half of my investments
[1:08:09 PM] Ginger Marks says: this year already
[1:08:16 PM] Helen says: well missy, how aggressive were you???
[1:08:17 PM] Ginger Marks says: or was that last year-end.
[1:08:19 PM] Ginger Marks says: :(
[1:08:23 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Oh, wow that is hard.
[1:08:25 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: wow
[1:08:33 PM] Ginger Marks says: Hey, Larissa! Welcome
[1:08:46 PM] Larissa Glueck says: (hug)Ginger
[1:09:04 PM] Ginger Marks says: We are truly international now
[1:09:22 PM] Ginger Marks says: Helen is in Canada and Larissa in Germany, Sandy & I in US
[1:09:39 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Great.
[1:09:46 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: YAAY
[1:09:51 PM] Helen says: i think what alot of people are going through today is more panic than reality
[1:10:19 PM] Helen says: even at 60, you still have time to create a nest egg for yourself, but that means buying things on sale and selling them higher when the prices re-adjust
[1:10:54 PM] Larissa Glueck says: You need to know the market for that.
[1:10:57 PM] Helen says: even borrowing money and investing in low rate of returns is worth it because that interest is a write off anyway
[1:11:05 PM] Helen says: not really
[1:11:22 PM] Ginger Marks says: not really?
[1:11:43 PM] Helen says: you need to know the companies, make sure they've been around long time, and most importantly they have strong and REAL financial statements; solid
[1:11:48 PM] Helen says: GE
[1:11:53 PM] Helen says: Microsoft
[1:12:17 PM] Larissa Glueck says: What stands GE for?
[1:12:20 PM] Helen says: utility companies, like whatever you have their for heating
[1:12:29 PM] Helen says: general electric
[1:12:31 PM] Ginger Marks says: I thought the automakers were hurting, but then I heard that one company getting bailout money is using it to buy a private jet!
[1:12:34 PM] Larissa Glueck says: ok
[1:12:40 PM] Helen says: phone companies
[1:12:48 PM] Helen says: notice i did not say any of the car makers..
[1:12:59 PM] Helen says: but just think of what you use everyday
[1:13:02 PM] Helen says: oil
[1:13:05 PM] Helen says: gas
[1:13:07 PM] Helen says: electricity
[1:13:20 PM] Helen says: canadian banks by the way are the most solid bet right now
[1:13:30 PM] Helen says: they are the strongest in the world
[1:13:44 PM] Helen says: and make sure that the company continues to pay out dividends
[1:13:45 PM] Larissa Glueck says: How did they managed to be solid right now?
[1:13:54 PM] Ginger Marks says: but how does one more American funds out of the country to keep them safe
[1:14:14 PM] Helen says: because they had little to no expose to the asset back scandal
[1:14:19 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: can we bank there
[1:14:33 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: lol
[1:14:36 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Yes, can we?
[1:14:38 PM] Helen says: bank of montreal for example just bought the canadian leg of AIG for $350M
[1:14:51 PM] Helen says: you can buy shares of canadian banks
[1:15:10 PM] Helen says: and our banks, because we only have 7 in all of canada are constantly paying out dividends
[1:15:16 PM] Larissa Glueck says: ok, can I open an account there too?
[1:15:20 PM] Helen says: a little less today, but still
[1:15:52 PM] Helen says: if you have a portfolio, you can buy anywhere and especially now since the us dollar is so strong compared to the canadian...you're laughing at the cost of your shares!
[1:16:22 PM] Helen says: a stock portfolio can hold stocks from anywhere
[1:16:31 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: how much
[1:16:58 PM] Helen says: how much what?
[1:18:06 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: does stcck cost therev
[1:18:24 PM] Helen says: it depends
[1:18:38 PM] Helen says: i haven't been online today, but www.globeinvestor.com
[1:18:42 PM] Helen says: is a good site
[1:18:49 PM] Helen says: even yahoo finance is good
[1:18:56 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: k
[1:19:49 PM] Helen says: there really is alot of information on the web, but i still recommend working with a trusted advisor, NOT broker
[1:20:07 PM] Helen says: don't look for short term gain because that will automatically result in long term pain
[1:20:17 PM] Helen says: ask if your advisor is certified
[1:20:35 PM] Helen says: ask what they're opinion is based on retirement
[1:21:06 PM] Helen says: and you want to build a relationship with them; you want to know you can pick up that phone and ask them anything, anytime
[1:22:49 PM] Helen says: and for those who have portfolios, now is the time to re-balance, trigger some losses against any previous years gains and get some cash back at tax time!
[1:23:43 PM] Helen says: any more questions or concerns?
[1:24:21 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: learned lots
[1:24:26 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Is there an Organisation who is giving responsible certificates to advisors and prof them once in a while?
[1:24:34 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: ty
[1:25:39 PM] Ginger Marks says: yes, here in the states it is the SEC, Security and Exchange Commission.
[1:26:25 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Great, is something like that in Canada too?
[1:26:53 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Had we lost Helen?
[1:27:04 PM] Helen says: yes, it's the MFDA
[1:27:05 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: no
[1:27:20 PM] Helen says: my computer is as frozen and slow as the ground is here in montreal!
[1:27:28 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: is writing
[1:27:49 PM] Helen says: Quebec is very, very tough on laws for advisors as it the rest of Canada
[1:27:50 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Is there an organisation who does it for international advisors?
[1:28:11 PM] Helen says: uhh, i could find out, but i think each country has their own legislation
[1:28:21 PM] Larissa Glueck says: That is very clever.
[1:28:40 PM] Helen says: I have to run because i have an appt in 2 minutes that is 20 minutes away!
[1:28:53 PM] Larissa Glueck says: I thought it might be good if you want to invest in several countries.
[1:28:56 PM] Helen says: i would love to continue this so Ginger, when and if anybody wants, i'm in!
[1:29:11 PM] Ginger Marks says: yes, our hour is up. Thank you Helen for this wonderful information
[1:29:17 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Run slowly Helen.
[1:29:19 PM] Helen says: anytime
[1:29:23 PM] Ginger Marks says: You all have a WINning Week.
[1:29:24 PM] Dreamcatcher Sandy says: thanks
[1:29:25 PM] Helen says: lol
[1:29:28 PM] Helen says: u 2
[1:29:40 PM] Larissa Glueck says: Have a winning week