This download is a chapter from Retirementology: Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy (ISBN: 0137056532)by Gregory Salsbury. Available in print and digital formats.
Read the following excerpt from the Introduction:
RETIREWENT: [ri-tahyuh r-went]
What happened to the retirement hopes and dreams of Americans after the meltdown. Roger and Dee both had to take on second jobs thanks to retirewent.
Paradigm Lost
The greatest bull market in history was a glorious thing. When the bull finally keeled over from exhaustion at the end of 1999, it ended a 20-year period in which the S&P 500® Index saw an annual average return of 18.5%.1 Encompassed within that period were 5 consecutive years of 20% plus returns.2 The impact of that 5-year period on the psyches, not just the portfolios, of investors shouldn’t be underestimated.
Picture Herb, a hypothetical ultraconservative investor, who years or decades earlier had sworn off of equity investments, which are a stock or security in which an investor can buy ownership and which involve financial risk, including loss of principal. Since 1982, Herb’s brother-in-law has been telling him that he’s missing the boat. “Herb, I’ve shaved 15 years off of my retirement date. I’ll be on the beach about 5 years from now. You are too conservative, Herb.” Well, Herb smiled politely and ignored such comments for the first few years, and said to himself, “Slow and steady wins the race. This growth and tech stuff is just a fad. This can’t continue.” But it did continue, not just for a few months or years, but for more than a decade–and then it accelerated. You could see it in the headlines of the day, as things like price-to-earnings ratio and profits became quaint notions from a former era.
To continue reading, download this Introduction & Chapter 1. The full book is also available for sale in print and digital formats.
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