On another note.... a buddy has just contracted to sell some property he's had for 40+ years... there was a bidding war for weeks going on by builders. It's a choice piece bordering 3 streets -- and will hold 19 houses... my point is more that there was a bidding war going on... and he (the seller) is a happy man.
Now.... we've been talking about this for weeks (he and I) as I've pushed him to finally move to cash out and use the money to improve his standard of living. I'd ask him -- dude!?!? Do you remember when you bought the property and he'd say, sure! I'd say - Why did you buy it? He'd say - it was a great investment. Then I'd ask him - when are you going to monetize (turn into cash) your investment? Do you have a plan? If you had X million in the bank - would it make a difference in your life? Or does owning / mowing / paying taxes on all that property make you happier?
He never formulated a PLAN for his INVESTMENT... there was no exit strategy. It was just "his property" but given his age and his retirement status - it was a burden. He'd never actually thought about turning it into real money. So a nudge here and there -- and I can tell you right now - this is one excited old guy! Now my problem has been to get him to stop figuring out all the crap he's gonna buy! OMG!
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So last night he calls. "How much could I earn on 1.5MM"? "Do I need a financial planner"? "What do they do for me"?
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Of course I go nuts on the "planners" - most cloaked in "planner" business cards but they're really just salesmen - and they sell crap products that only benefit themselves... and that are so complicated NOBODY understands what they've just bought ("bought" like a product - because they're not "investments").
After hanging up -- I sat down and started planning for him - figuring a list of 15 names -- 100K invested in each -- what they'd pay in dividends - what their 3 year growth rate was etc. And how much he'd get per month Gross and NET of 15% dividend taxes. When I was done - I put it into an Excel spreadsheet and emailed it to him.
Given that he is 75 -- gets SS and a small union pension... my guess is that the annual dividends are larger than he ever earned working. Think it will make a difference in his life?? Now we're working on the 32 Ford Tudor he wants to build (to keep busy)...
I'm so happy for him I can hardly stand it!
Mind you -- this is just a quickie list to serve as an EXAMPLE of what he could anticipate. The actual investments should / can / will be modified once he fully understands what is going on.
