How Do I Prepare for Retirement?. Top 10 Ways For Copywriters To Overcome Writer's Block.
When the day finally arrives, will you be ready? What do you need to do? How do you need to prepare? Well, if you are over 10 years from retirement, then just sock away tons of money in your 401k for now. This article is focusing on people a little closer to retirement.
So you are about 10 years from retirement. What should you do? What should you look at and what things will come up that you typically don't think about while you are working? There are 5 guidelines for you to look at to prepare your financial retirement.
Do you have an emergency fund? Some experts say you should hold between six and 10 months worth of living expenses. When we were younger, that seemed ludicrous. How could you save so much and be expected to eat? We had kids to raise and educate. But now, think about it. You are older. Expenses are settling down (I hope). Look at your living expenses.
While you are there, make a rough estimate of what your retirement expenses might be. You can only estimate since you aren't retired and its several years away. But you can get the general idea of what it will cost. This is step two towards planning your retirement.
Next, are you saving enough? Is your 401k beefy? If its not, its probably too late to catch the effects of compound interest. Hint for the younger readers. By the time you are old enough to save a considerable sum, time has eluded you and you can't get the benefit from compounding interest. But there's still hope. You can contribute a considerable amount into your tax deferred retirement account and when you can also take advantage of a "catch up provision". Can you live on 90% of your current income? 80%?
Five till Five. Step 5 - 5 years to retirement. Consult your financial advisor and start looking at your options. Will your Social Security checks plus your company's retirement, plus your own retirement be enough? Can you draw just the interest? Do you need an annuity? Will you require a reverse mortgage on your home to help you in retirement? The "5 till 5" rule means its time to put things in perspective.
Lastly, if you need estate planning or "wealth transfer" strategies, contact a financial advisor or better, a financial attorney. This area gets complicated quick. You want to make sure you have plenty of money for you and your spouse, but when you pass away, will you burden your children with taxes and leave them hardly any money? Or will your favorite charity only get half of what you designate due to taxes? Life insurance can hedge this complex area, not for the sake of life insurance, but to hedge the tax issues that will arise.
I hope these guidelines can help you see what is coming. If you are younger, the trick is to put back as much as possible. Who knows if you can rely on Social Security or company pension plans. You have to look out for yourself.
Stuart Simpson
http://www.401k-review.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
We all know that words have the power to persuade, compel and most importantly, sell.
However, many have likened the process to getting the 'right words' to trying to get blood from a stone.
When I first started out, writing copy meant slitting my wrist and 'giving blood'.
Of course, I've greatly refined my copywriting process, and I'd like to share my methodlogy with you.
Here are my top 10 ways of getting greatly reduce the number of brain farts that can stand in your way of writing cash pulling copy.Writer's Block Annihilator #1: National Enquirer
While you might be tempted to dismiss the Enquirer, the fact is people love tabloids! Senstionalism sells. Big time. This may just provide the much needed 'sensational angle' you need to position your product or engineer your offer.
Writer's Block Annihilator #2: Female Magazines
Headlines on these magazines are designed to tilltilate, tease and intrigue. You can and should model those headlines to add more sizzle into your copy and to give your writing that much needed 'oomph'!
Writer's Block Annihilator #3: competitor Research
Check your competitors out. Observe what they're doing. What kind of strategy are they using? What kind of tactics are they using. How are they presenting their offer? The answers to these questions will provide you with the necessary brain juice to get the words 'flowing'.
Writer's Block Annihilator #4: current Events
There may be happenings in the world that you can link your ad copy to. For instance, you could have headlines like "If Only Clinton Knew This...".
Get the idea?
Writer's Block Annihilator #5: Festive Occasions
Is Thanksgiving or Valentine's day around the corner? If you're an info-publisher, would Valentine's day be a good time to tell your subscribers how much you love them? Would Thanksgiving be a good time to tell your subcribers how grateful you are for their continuous support?
Writer's Block Annihilator #6: Be Still
How about trying to stop 'figuring' it out, and just observe a good 3 minutes of pure silence. To quote the Good Book, "Be still and know that I am god". You'll surprise yourself at just how many ideas will start popping into your head simply because you 'stopped thinking'.
Writer's Block Annihilator #7: Read Something else
Choose to read something completely different from what you are writing. The more 'different' it is, the better. This will allow your haphazard thoughts to regroup and refocus.
Writer's Block Annihilator #8: Chunk It
Break down whatever you're writing into achievable small chunks. Reward yourself at the end of every completed chunk.
Writer's Block Annihilator #9: Refer To Controls
Drop all that you're doing, and start reading winning 'controls'. Understand that these sales letters became 'controls' because they were winners. It's near to impossible to not get the next million dollar idea from winning sales letters. Remember, don't reinvent the wheel when you can change the tires.
Writer's Block Annihilator #10: Listen To Mozart And Baroque Music
Yes, it's been proven to boost productivity. Baroque music is an excellent example, especially the works of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. Interestingly, the major portion of scientific research into whether listening to music increases productivity has centred on what is known as the "Mozart effect". Studies have shown that college students had performed better on their math problems when listening to classical music. Interestingly the effect of listening to Mozart does not appear to be limited to humans either. Apparently cows will produce more milk if music Mozart is played. Imagine what the 'Mozart effect' would do for your copy?
So now not only do you have one, but ten ways to rid yourself of writer's woes.
Use them, nail those words, get those customers and rake those sales in.
Copyright 2004 Jo Han Mok
About The Author
Jo Han Mok is a frequent guest and featured speaker at Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences on subjects such as copywriting and Joint Venture Marketing. Visit his website to get a simple step-by-step plan that can take you from ground zero to having money deposited in your bank account from an online business every single day for the rest of your life!
==> http://www.SuperFastProfit.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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