Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8A
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
/8
Jump-start your retirement
Take extra steps to
maximize your savings
It’s a staggering — and
sobering — statistic: More than
half of Americans surveyed say
they have less than $25,000
saved for retirement. Even those
with greater resources can’t be
sure they’ll live the comfortable
retirement they envisioned.
The good news? If you feel
the need to give your nest egg a
serious boost, it’s not too late.
The earlier you start catching up,
the easier it may be for you to
reach your retirement goals —
and answer questions about how
you’ll fund that dream retire¬
ment.
Maximize your savings
The most obvious way to get
a jump on your savings is to put
as much money as you can into
your retirement accounts. If your
employer has a 401 (k) plan,
contribute the maximum the IRS
allows: $15,500 for 2008. By
maximizing your contribution,
you take advantage of any
matching contributions your
employer offers and put your
dollars to work in tax-deferred
investments, amplifying your
potential annual gains.
Are you more than 50 years
old? If so, the IRS will let you
put an additional $5,000 a year
into your 401 (k) to “catch up,”
and an additional $1,000 in your
IRA. While you may not get a
match on your extra 401(k) con¬
tribution, you’ll still receive tax
deferral on any investment gains
— more than you’d likely get in
a savings account or investing on
your own and paying annual
capital gains taxes.
Set goals, be aggressive
Once you’ve maximized
yoyr. savings, take a long, hard
look at youf household budget
and investment portfolio.
The aforementioned contri¬
butions to your retirement
accounts should appear as line
items on your budget — along
with your mortgage payment and
other essentials like food, cloth¬
ing and utilities.
Before budgeting for large
leisure expenses, consider divert¬
ing some of these funds to an
additional savings or investment
account. True, they won’t be
matched or tax-deferred, but they
still translate to extra money
down the road.
Although people approach-
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, June 8, 2008
ing retirement usually take on
more conservative investment
strategies, you should consider
resisting this outdated tendency.
Because today’s investors have
longer life expectancies than pre¬
vious generations, they generally
have a longer investment horizon
and can consider using a moder¬
ately aggressive investment strat¬
egy into their 50s and 60s.
Create other income and
investment sources
Catching up can also mean
increasing your income and uti¬
lizing your assets. Some ideas
include:
A new job. Are you worth
more than you’re making? You
may want to clean up your
resume and start interviewing to
bring in additional income and
better retirement benefits.
Starting a side business. A
business to complement your
“day job” can yield additional
income for direct investment or
retirement savings. What’s
more, you may be able to
deduct as much as a quarter of
your self-employed income on
your taxes.
Maximize your real estate,
Do you own a home at the beach
or in the mountains that you rent
out seasonally? If so, be sure you
are getting the most out of your
investment properties. Often a
few minor improvements can
increase the weekly or monthly
rates you can command — more
money you can save.
Whether you just need to pad
your savings for a little extra
security or you are well behind
in your retirement savings plan,
you have options to help make
up for lost time.
You may be able to catch up
with proper guidance, aggressive
saving and appropriate investing
strategies. Speak to your finan
cial advisor about how you can
get started.
Prvvided by John M. Weaver,
senior financial advisor, and PIM
portfolio manager with Wachovia
Securities Financial Network,
located at 210 Dahlonega St.,
Suite 103-A, Cumming, GA. For
more information, call John
Weaver at (678) 455-0016.
Wachovia Securities
Financial Network LLC, member
NASD and S1PC, is a registered
broker-dealer and separate non¬
bank affiliate of Wachovia Corp.
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MARKET IN BRIEF At the close of June 6,2008 John M. Weaver
Branch Manager, PIM Portfolio Manager
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State outdoor exercise
Get Outdoors offers natural alternative to
By Debbie Gilbert
FCN regional staff
Though it’s being marketed
with a goofy gopher mascot, a
new state parks initiative has a
serious goal: helping Georgians
improve their health,
Earlier this month. Gov.
Sonny Perdue announced the
Get Outdoors Georgia cam
paign, an effort to promote state
parks not just as a place for pic¬
nics but as an opportunity to
exercise,
With the slogan “Get out.
get dirty, get fit,” the program
aims to get folks off the couch
and into the wild,
“You can get an annual
(state parks) pass for $30 for the
entire year," said Jessica James,
recreation director at Unicoi
State Park near Helen.
“Compare that to how much
you’d spend every month at a
health club.
Kim Hatcher, spokeswoman
for Georgia State Parks, said
outdoor exercise is a full senso
ry experience, not drudgery.
Climbing down into a
canyon is a lot more fun than a
treadmill,” she said.
And that experience is more
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v 7
accessible than people might
think.
“No matter where you are in
Georgia, you’re within an hour
of a state park,” Hatcher said.
“Gas prices haven’t affected us.
People are just going to parks
closer to home.”
Some Georgians buy an
annual pass and use their nearby
state park the way some people
would use a neighborhood com¬
munity center.
“There was a guy at
Amicalola (Falls State Park)
who lost 45 pounds by walking
up and down the steps (to the
waterfall) every day,” Hatcher
said.
Gainesville resident Tammy
Teston doesn’t have a state park
in her backyard, but she visits
them as often as she can.
“Back in the fall, I had put
on some weight,” she said. “I
just have never been a gym per¬
son. When it comes to exercise,
I get bored easily. I started
Googling outdoor activities, and
I found the Georgia parks Web
site.
Teston bought an annual
pass and began exploring the
parks. Soon, she began to notice
an improvement in her fitness
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level.
“1 have lost about 35 pounds
so far, with another 20 to go,”
she said. “I’ve just gotten into
the habit of whenever anybody
comes in from out of town to
visit, I take them hiking.”
Teston also paid $10 to join
the Canyon Climbers Club.
Participants attempt challeng¬
ing hikes at Amicalola,
Providence Canyon, Cloud
land Canyon, and Tallulah
Gorge. After completing each
climb, they get their card
stamped, and when they’ve
hiked all four, they get an “I
did it!” T-shirt.
The parks system has a
similar program for mountain
bikers, the Muddy Spokes
Club, which involves riding
bike trails at 11 parks.
Teston did her four climbs
between November and April.
“I definitely feel like 1
earned that shirt,” she said.
Though these programs
already existed, Hatcher said
most people didn’t know about
them. So the state has created
a new Web site, www.getout
doorsgeorgia.org, that makes it
easier for people to learn about
recreational opportunities. It
includes links to the Canyon
Climbers and Muddy Spokes
clubs, as well as to an expand¬
ed Junior Ranger program.
To kick off awareness
about Get Outdoors, admission
to Georgia state parks will be
free June 14. Normally, visi¬
tors are charged a parking fee
of $3 per car at most sites.
Hatcher said the state won’t
lose any revenue, because
Coca-Cola has agreed to
underwrite the event.
“We've asked every park to
do something special that day,”
she said.
Though Get Outdoors
Georgia is a program of the
Department of Natural
Resources, it has some of the
same goals as Live Healthy
Georgia, a campaign from the
Department of Human
Resources. The latter encour¬
ages people to get in shape
through diet, exercise and
other lifestyle changes.
Studies show that about
two-thirds of Georgia adults
are overweight or obese, and
the majority get no exercise at
all. Many of Georgia’s chil¬
dren are growing up with the
same unhealthy habits.