More and more companies are getting away from defined pension plans and going with 401k plans for their
employees' retirement. Smaller companies and self-employed folks have the option of opening employee-sponsored IRA's that can act just like a 401k plan. These plans provide a great opportunity for regular people to invest in the stock market, often with matching funds contributed by their company. In addition to getting an annual tax break on their contributions, employees also benefit from having their nest egg grow tax-free. Very powerful tools for us working stiffs!
> The problem is, employees get little or no guidance from the company or the plan administrator. Oh yeah, maybe a quarterly flyer with some very vague investment advice, maybe a set of general retirement planning rules on the website, or maybe even an ocassional seminar hosted by the company, where you are thrown a couple of old-fashioned ideas and a bunch of brand-new b.s. You usually end up putting your money into whatever your co-workers put theirs in, with none of you knowing why! <
But guess what? You can make your own 401k and IRA investment decisions with the right kind of help. We believe that it's more important now than ever for you to learn how. The guidelines and training we provide are geared towards working people with very little spare time and little or no investment knowledge. Sure, it will take some time to "get it," but it won't be that bad, we promise. And, come on, don't you think the money you busted your butt all week to make deserves at least a few minutes of your tender loving care?
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Our background includes almost 125 years of experience - in the working world, not the financial world. Over that time we've gotten a pretty lengthy resume. We've cut meat, primed tobacco, worked retail counters, repaired heavy equipment, managed apartment complexes, worked pole lines and run office staff. We've also unloaded trucks, waited tables, done landscape work, roof repair, plumbing repair and hung sheetrock. In between, we sold insurance, taught school, installed security systems, detailed autos and sold Christmas trees.
We've pulled shift work, held down 2 jobs at a time and always worked all the overtime we could get. We've done
whatever we've had to do in order to maintain households, raise kids and take care of family. Pretty much the same thing you working folks do every day.
But what does that background have to do with finance and investing?
Well, along the way we've made every money mistake and financial screw-up you can think of. And retirement plans? The farthest thing from our minds! Then, a few years ago, we finally decided to learn how to be smarter with the money we were toiling to make each week. What an eye-opening education!
With this website, we hope to pass on to you not only some of what we have learned, but the desire to learn it as well. You don't have to make the mistakes we made. You don't have to struggle like we struggled. Make yourself smarter about your money.
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Now rest assured, we're not going to roll our eyes at you like Suze Orman. We won't fuss at you like Dave Ramsey. And we won't scold you like Clark Howard. Know why? Because we know you. All the advice in the world is not going to stop you from continuing to live "paycheck-to-paycheck." Yes, it would be great if you would heed at least some of Suze, Dave or Clark's financial wisdom. But you won't. Oh, maybe you'll start working on a budget, or do a little more shopping around for a better credit card rate, or double up on some bills to get them paid off - but you won't do it for long. We didn't either. Never could. Any extra money we happened to come across went right back out to fix a water heater or get the kids' braces or something!
> But there is one area you can improve on without any sacrifice: getting the most out of your 401k or IRA
retirement plans. Think about this a second. You're already set up in your plan, your contributions quietly deducted from each paycheck. All you have to do is manage the plan to get the most out of it. With our help, you can do just that. You'll find that it's less hassle than you think. <
Maybe attacking your finances from the rear (managing your retirement account) will get you interested in paying a little more attention to the front lines (your day-to-day money flow) and you'll end up a double winner.
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Our membership website is $33 per year. Lots of investing guidance, a weekly newsletter, everyday
money tips, resources for further education: we've got lots of good stuff for you. More importantly,
you'll be hanging out with people just like you - everyday working folks just trying to get by in a
world that seems to make "just getting by" harder and harder each day.
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CONTACT US: info@hardhatinvestments.com
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