PAGE 10 - OKLAHOMA'S CHOICE WEEKLY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020
Celebrating Women In Business
“How can I still prepare for my retirement in this uncertain time?” Thank you, Doris for your amazing question. So… to answer this effectively, the truth is it is important to consider where you are now in your plan for retirement. If you are under the age of 50 and you have a company 401k, NOW is the time to be extremely aggressive and use Dollar Cost Averaging to your advantage. If you are young, chances are you are going to see many more ups and downs from the market over your lifetime. For someone who is less than 50 years old, this is a very effective strategy because you have time to recover and take advantage of deep sell offs within the market. On the flip side, if you are within 10 years or already in retirement, now you have cause for worry. The stock market is not only asking you to sacrifice your entire life savings, more importantly, it is asking you to sacrifice your TIME. When you are close to retirement or already retired, most people have a dream. They have family to spend time with (Hello GRANDKIDDOS!), traveling to do, hopes, goals, and dreams that are specific to only them. If you took some time to really consider what life will be like when you don’t HAVE to work… what is one of the LAST things that you would want to worry about? The Stock Market? You are the only one that can change your financial story. With all of this uncertainty boiling in our country and in our economy…. What do you value more at this stage of your life? Money? Or Time? This is a question I ask every single one of my clients. Because worry, sacrifice and stress are just simply not worth the price tag. Find a Fiduciary to help you navigate your statements and hold the people you pay to help you, with what took you your entire life to accumulate, accountable. This is not the time to stick your head in the sand and wait for it to be over. NOW is the time to move. Ask questions and take massive action without hesitation. Please send comments and questions to ajohnston@soundincomestrategies.com.
Ask Amanda
Investment Advisory Services offered through Sound Income Strategies, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisory Firm. Johnson Wealth and Income Management and Sound Income Strategies, LLC are not associated entities.
As a mother of two children, I spend most of my time picking up after them, along with my husband, father-in-law, and 4 lovely dogs and cat sidekicks. Clearly, this means I am more than qualified to write about cleaning as it seems to be a never-ending journey. “The Kitchen Sink” is my way of sharing tips and tricks I am learning along the way. With COVID-19 lots of families are staying home more. That is ok, we are too. It is hard to keep children busy day to day without the normal summer activities. My family has taken this as a personal challenge we planted a garden, got more chickens, invested in more board games, and bought a sprinkler. Lots of people planted gardens too and now that we are in the middle of summer, July is time to plant a fall garden. The best part of gardening is how busy it keeps everyone, my children love watching it change day to day., our chickens are loving all the scraps. It is the best part of Covid for us. Summer is here to stay in Oklahoma. Summer in Oklahoma means it is hot as all get out. The heat and children can make it difficult to stay organized and keep your sanity. Every family I know goes through the “Use every dish in the house” all summer long. My home is no different, cups are our problem so I came up with an excellent solution for the cups. I got these cute color changing tumblers with lids and straws By Misty Crouse from Walmart and I put each child's name on their cup. They must use only that cup and wash it themselves. It is a great way to cut back on dishes and teaches smaller children how to wash dishes at the same time. Also, I have seen this done with plastic bowls and plates. My family loves to camp and go to the lake for the day. It is so much work to get ready and to put everything up when you get home. Have no fear! I have a solution for that too. I use totes for our camping stuff that we take with us every time, plates, coffee pot, matches, etc. then when we return home I just reorganize, replenish and pack it away for our next trip to the lake. I use laundry baskets for clothes, towels, and groceries. Use different colored baskets for different things, for example; I use a white basket for my groceries and a blue one for clothes and towels. When we get home it is so simple, put the blue basket in the laundry room and the white in the kitchen, it makes putting things away so fast. As we all know, putting things away is the worst part of camping. My most important tip, give yourself a break! This entire summer has been harder than normal. If your house is not as clean as you would like, it’s ok. Remember to be kind to yourself, you are doing Great!
The Kitchen Sink
Happy Cleaning