Is The Best Retirement Business Right For You?

 

Ilene Fudim

According to the Coin Laundry Association, laundry centers and coin laundries average a powerful 20 to 30% return on investment. A successful laundry owner offers 6 powerful insights on why you too can and should achieve great financial rewards with part- time effort. Are you ready to join the ranks of the many successful entrepreneurs like Dan King who are "cleaning-up" in today's commercial laundry industry?

With stock market fluctuations and an uncertain economy, many Americans have a difficult time finding investments that can survive recessions and economic downturns. However, the commercial laundry business with its 20 to 30% ROI is almost recession proof. In fact both Dun and Bradstreet and the SBA have cited it as one of the 10 top safest business investments one can make. Believe it or not, that's just one of the many powerful reasons so many retirees are looking to invest in their own laundry stores. The fact is that coin laundries and vended laundries are one of the most advantageous part-time and retirement businesses that exist.

AN OWNER LISTS THE BENEFITS

According to Dan King, owner of several coin laundries in Southern California, "I highly recommend investing in this industry – it has worked wonderfully well for me and it can for you. Before I invested I considered 6 major benefits that Laundry Center ownership offered and that no other investment provided."

1. First, I didn't have to give up my regular job. I found that Coin Laundries basically run themselves, which was great for me because I was looking for an absentee manager situation. The fact is they require just a couple of hours a week and are so easy to operate that basically anyone, anywhere can own one or more.

2. I also liked the fact that this is a 'turn-key' business, where you don't need staff on the premises. You can set your laundry to stay open 24 hours a day, or you can have an automatic door-locking system on a timer set to open and close when you choose. I personally keep my laundry stores open full-time and that works well for my customers and for me.

3. Another benefit is that you can own a laundry near your home or further away. They thrive in every state of the union. Coin laundries can be placed in virtually all neighborhood shopping centers and perform exceptionally well in renter-occupied, densely populated, lower-income areas. Your average customer will be the estimated 89 million people who live in rental housing, which is the fastest-growing housing segment in the nation.

4. Even better, this is an "All Cash" business with no inventory and no accounts receivables. You can expect a high return on investment, liquidity, tax benefits, and fast growing equity. Whatever your cash down payment is at the time of purchase, you can typically expect to get back within seven years, or sooner. Like buying a house, equity builds and you ultimately can expect a substantial profit.

5. Once set up, I found that coin laundries paid off like a "cash machine" week in and week out. Let's face it: people will always need to wash their clothes, which is why laundry centers thrive in periods of both growth and recession. In fact, when times are slow and homeownership decreases, the self-service laundry market thrives as more people are unable to afford to repair, replace or purchase new washers and dryers, or as they move to apartment housing with poor or nonexistent laundry facilities.

6. Finally, I loved the fact that I could purchase an existing coin laundry to fit my budget, available investment dollars and personal requirements. Coin laundries generally require between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet of retail space, depending on the market size. Most laundries occupy retail space that is rented on a long-term lease of 10 years to 25 years, including option periods. The cost of buying a vended laundry can range from less than $50,000 to more than one million dollars, depending on size, age and net income.

Bottom line, Dan King is one of many successful entrepreneurs in our dynamic industry. In fact, there are over 35,000 coin- and card-operated laundries in the United States, generating more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue and these numbers are growing! Millions of families use laundries every day. But most people don't realize that those same laundries offer even better ways to "clean up" than with water, soap and bleach. With the primary customer representing the fastest growing segment in the nation -- the laundry business is amazingly stable, and dependably profitable. After all, families need clean towels and sheets whether the stock market is up or down. They need clean clothes in summer and winter, on vacation or working, whether they're newborns, teenagers or retired.

About the author: Ilene Fudim is a nationally recognized expert in the coin operated laundry industry and a contributing editor to the Laundry Center Marketwatch newsletter. She has been instrumental in helping launch many successful coin laundry businesses. For more information and a free copy of the Laundry Center Marketwatch newsletter, visit the site at: laundrycenter.info or call toll free 1-877-45-Laundry. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ilene_Fudim

Baby Boomers Create Passive Income By Buying Customers

R H Sterling

 

Thanks to some creative thinking virtually anyone including the fast growing number of baby boomers can create passive income to increase their wealth and add value to their retirement portfolio. Let's be direct, it is no secret that social security isn't so secure. The social security system was created as a safety net and that net has a huge hole. People are finding out that even when you spend your life working for XYZ company that your pension/retirement may be worth a whole lot less than you were counting on when it comes time to put it to use.

American companies are cutting benefits and reducing contributions. I know of once such company who closed their U.S. operations and left 20 and 30 year employees retiring on less than 30% of what their retirement should have been worth. Shocking but true, this is not a new story but this is a story gaining more and more attention as the baby boomers come closer to retirement age. As much has society has been conditioned to expect an entitled way of life there are no entitlements. My friend Lester spent 30 years working for a single company. His monthly retirement check for his 30 years of service is $30.00.

His reality is that he is working long after retirement age and he is not alone. Many people are working secondary jobs to supplement whatever they receive for their retirement income. Many people are turning to the internet for an answer only to find that there is a high failure rate in the internet business for several reasons one of which is because it has been a distributor based marketplace with no real customers.

Marketers marketing to other marketers who jump from company to company looking for the next get rich fix that never really works has been the name of that game up until now. Enter Thomas Prendergast CEO, Inetekk and Founder of Veretekk known for his belief in helping the 'average guy' like you and I become more successful working from home online. In a recent interview Prendergast spoke about how most online businesses use the distributor model and although it may grow for awhile that it stumbles and fails in the long run.

People are fed up with investing in an online business where there is no real way to build a viable customer base and end up spending thousands of dollars on stale leads that have been sold over and over again so that by the time that you receive them they are worthless. Wouldn't you rather invest your your time, effort and hard in dollars in customers who are already familiar with your company and already buying and using your products? Imagine no recruiting, no selling and no rejection while building a passive stream of income.

If that sounds like a dream... Wipe the sleep bugs out of your eyes..... it isn't, Its good business.

RH Sterling Case Statement Copywriter West Pittsto, PA 18643 570.655.0522 http://itsgoodbusiness.net http://itssmartbusiness.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=R_H_Sterling

Which Retirement Plans Will Fit Your Goals?

G. White

 

It used to be many years ago that retirement plans meant getting the pension your company gave you along with your social security payments from the government and any savings you have on your own, and living comfortably in a downsized apartment throughout your golden years. For some this type of financial plan is sufficient for their needs; they may have a well-funded pension from a corporation that will provide well for them. But for most, you will need to make your own retirement plans when it comes to your financial health in order keep yourself afloat financially, and to make those dreams you've had for retirement a reality. It's of course easy to get overwhelmed with the many options that are available to you when it comes to financial retirement plans, and you should speak to a financial advisor or counselor when making these decisions if you still have questions, but we can give you some general information that will explain some of the details a bit more clearly.

Defined Benefit Retirement Plans

Defined benefit retirement plans as provided by employers guarantee a certain payout upon your retirement, which depends on the retiree's previous salary and the number of years he or she has been contributing to this plan. These may be referred to as funded meaning that there are contributions from one's employer and sometimes from the plan members. In unfunded retirement plans, there are no funds set aside but the benefits are paid out of current taxes and social security contributions.

401(k) Retirement Plans

A 401(k) allows a person to save for retirement while deferring the taxes to be paid on the funds in the plan until they are actually paid out. Some are what are called participant directed, meaning the worker may decide on the investment options for the funds that are set aside to fund the 401(k). They may opt for stocks, bonds, money market accounts, or a mix of all of these. Most of these retirement plans also allow an employee to purchase a portion of company stock as part of this investment portfolio. These are the most common types of 401(k) plans; in trustee directed plans, which are much more unusual, the employer would appoint a trustee to oversee all the investment decisions of that plan.

Roth IRA Retirement Plans

One of the main characteristics of a Roth IRA is that the money put into this retirement fund has already been taxed as income; therefore, when the money becomes available to the retiree he or she does not pay taxes on it at that time. In contrast to a traditional IRA, contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax-deductible. This may not be advantageous to some who are in a higher tax bracket and expect the contributions to their retirement plans to help with the tax bill. At any time, the Roth IRA owner may withdraw up to the total of their contributions without tax or penalty. There are income limits for those who want to contribute to a Roth IRA.

Traditional IRA Retirement Plans

In a traditional IRA, the account is held at a bank or brokerage house, and may be invested how the custodian for the plan allows. There are no income provisions for a traditional IRA, but there are more restrictions when it comes to early withdrawal. Since the dollars funding the IRA have not yet been taxed, they are subject to federal taxes upon withdrawal.

The main advantage to traditional IRA retirement plans is that their contributions are tax deductible. This has definite advantages for someone during the year of the contributions. However, a Roth IRA typically offers more shelter on one's assets than a traditional IRA.

Choosing Between the Retirement Plans

No one can tell you what the best choice is for you; even your financial advisor can only give you all the relevant information on how the different retirement plans affect your money and its potential growth. It's up to you to decide which option you're more comfortable with. Some people want to make their own decisions about where their money is invested and some would rather leave the decisions to others; some would prefer to pay the taxes on their contributions now while others would prefer to wait until the funds are disbursed. You need to educate yourself thoroughly and then make the decision that works best for you.

FREE retirement ideas ==> http://www.RetirementTips.org Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=G._White

Essential Questions for Successful Retirement Planning

Ian Pealin

 

It's a question that takes most of them aback. You can see them thinking "What's he on about? I came here for investment advice and here he is asking how I intend to live out my days".

A good financial adviser will ask these sorts of question and with good reason. Not only that, he will keep asking and keep digging. The real value to be had from a financial planner is in how much he asks and finds out at the start of the relationship and not how much he tells you.

For example, will you be at home most of the time because you get enormous pleasure from the garden? Is it a big garden or little garden? Will you be able to maintain it throughout your life or will you need to employ a part-time gardener at some stage?

So you want to travel. Is that occasional weeks away in the UK or regular world-wide travel? How far and how often? What quality of accommodation and cost? Or do you mean that you will probably buy a bicycle?

A poor adviser will just accept that you want to enjoy the garden or want to travel and not dig deeper but surely there is the need to fully understand what you have in mind, consider the cost of this lifestyle and ensure that you have sufficient funds behind you for the rest of your days. This is value based financial planning.

By understanding your lifestyle values and putting numbers to that, we can begin to put a plan in place to help you achieve your aims. You will no doubt have accumulated a miss-mash of pension policies, PEPs, ISAs, investment bonds, unit trusts etc but has an adviser ever explained to you how they fit in to your long term lifestyle planning? I thought not. Doesn't it make more sense to have a clear strategy with a clear targeted outcome and arrange your investments and life accordingly? Not only that, investment "products" are rarely the complete answer. They may be the answer to the commission based financial adviser but your needs might be met by looking at other solutions that a fee based adviser would consider.

So, if you go along to see a financial planner to discuss retirement or investment planning and the questions asked seem to be more personal and intrusive and less money orientated than you expected, relax. It is likely that he/she is taking care to make sure that your financial situation is fully understood, not just by them, but also by you.

This article is submitted by Ian Pealin a Certified Financial Planner based in Bedfordshire. For further information please go to http://www.focusedfinancialplanning.co.uk Focused Financial Planning offer a financial planning service with outstanding customer care and guaranteed value for money. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Pealin

Retiring Baby Boomers - Home Based Business to Supplement Retirement Income

Viola Bontrager

 

With 80 million retiring baby boomers, and most of them needing a way to supplement retirement income, plus the fact that 75% are planning to travel in the next few years, the home business travel industry is fixing to explode!

Born between 1946 and 1964, they changed American business at each stage of their development. Diaper services, Barbie dolls, Rolling Stone magazine, relaxed-fit jeans and SUVs - all were created in response to boomers' needs.

Now it's the travel industry that will be affected. Carnival Cruise lines is building more flag ships in the next two years than they had built in the previous twelve years, in anticipation of the boomers.

Boomers consider travel a necessity, not a luxury. This is good news for the industry on two counts. First, the sheer number of boomers traveling will cause business to grow. Second, since travel is a necessity, boomers engage in it no matter how scarce their time or money..

Unlike their Depression-era parents, boomers grew up in times of plenty. As a result, boomers don't wait to take the trips they want. If they don't have the money, they just use plastic. They want to go - NOW. Remember, it was the boomers that invented the question , "Are we there yet?"

When boomers travel, they want to do it right. They still look for a bargain, but a bargain to them means "getting a good price on something of great value."

Baby boomers today are between 35 and 53 years of age. They are in their peak earning years, and the oldest of them are retiring and have reached the prime age for travel. However, an ever growing number of boomers are looking for ways to supplement retirement income.

With over 100 million users on the internet and with the retiring baby boomers spending hours on the net daily, it is only a matter of time until they will revolutionize the way home based business is done on the internet, just as they changed fast food, toy cars, real estate and now retirement , home based business and the travel industry.

The idea of sitting back and relaxing at 65 is absurd to them. Having worked hard all their lives to get to a life of retirement, independence and no longer having to punch a time clock - they will go to whatever measures they need to, in order to HAVE that life they dreamed of.

For many of the retiring baby boomers, getting started in a home based business will help maintain the lifestyle they are looking for and create that supplemental income, and in many cases create that much needed income and independence.

With a home based travel business, laptop, cellphone and RV - ANYONE can take advantage of these powerful trends:

• Retiring Baby Boomers
• 7 Trillion Dollar Travel Industry
• Home Based Business Trend

To find out more about a very lucrative home based travel business, that is helping retiring boomers supplement their retirement income, Moms stay at home with their kids, and is helping create debt-free lifestyles all over the world, Click Here Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Viola_Bontrager