Joe Brown
Brown Advisory Group, LLC
Where Will You Be in 10 Years?
How time flies! It seems such a short while ago that it was 2004.
George w. Bush was starting his 2nd term, "The Lord Of The Rings: Return of The King," which won Best Picture in Hollywood, "Live Like You Were Dying" was the top Country single, and American Idol was the # 1 most watched show in America! Do you remember that in June of 2004, the average price of gasoline in the US was $1.92 a gallon? And we thought THAT was outrageous! Coffee that month was $2.75 a pound, eggs $1.31 a dozen, and bread $.98 a loaf. Our government tracks the cost of goods and reports it as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This figure is how we base our inflation rate and determine the purchasing price of goods and services. What is strange about the CPI and our government's approach is the sectors they omit in the calculation. Energy costs and food are not included in the calculations. We can blame the government for that omission; under the Reagan Administration, food costs were omitted. Under the Clinton Administration, fuel costs were added to the categories not included in calculating inflation. To me, that seems strange; the two things that are the most volatile to our budgets are not worthy of government tracking. One thing is sure: Prices, taxes, and health care costs are NOT going down; they never have and never will. Of course, that wouldn't preclude the government from freezing the prices on a specific category, such as fuel. If the most recent war in the Middle East causes fuel expenses to soar, the government may have to step in to protect our economy. Has that ever happened? Indeed it has; under Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon, many prices for goods were frozen. When you look into your crystal ball, where do you want to be in 10 years? Do you plan to be retired? Still working at a job you love or hate? As we look into the future, the question is: WILL you have enough money in retirement, and is your retirement account sustainable? A recent report about Baby Boomers found the five things most are concerned about.- Having a catastrophic event that invades retirement funds
- Outliving retirement funds
- Government not fulfilling obligations
- Not having enough funds to begin retirement
- Current interest rates do not provide a sufficient return, forcing to add risk to an investment philosophy.
Joe Brown
Brown Advisory Group, LLC
2445 Darwin Rd.
Suite 105
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
joe.brown@retirevillage.com
(608) 241-4425
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