Having a safe and successful retirement can be like taking a trip. Your trip begins with a destination in mind. As you travel down the road, you find everything is going smoothly on your trip. You should reach your destination soon.
First of all, before you can reach your final destination, you have to cross one of two bridges. One bridge is on a freeway, the other is next to it on the toll road. The one on the toll road had a guardrail that will prevent you from accidentally driving off the side of the bridge. The one on the freeway has no guard rails and you could drive off the side of the bridge. Which one do you take?
Most people would pay the $2 toll and take the one with the guard rail. Even though they have no intention of ever driving off the bridge, it is nice to know the guard rail is there. It’s worth paying the toll to know that you will reach your destination safely.
But there are still many people who refuse to pay the toll and take their chances on the freeway bridge. These are the do-it-yourselfers who enjoy the thrill of keeping their money with Wall Street and making the decisions themselves. Some of them will make it across the bridge without guard rails and arrive at their destination safely, some will not.
Finally, if your destination is having a safe and successful retirement where you will have an abundance of cash flow, you may need some help from a financial professional. The right financial professional can help you with a safe and successful retirement by presenting you with the right financial products to meet your needs, goals and objectives. Stop chasing x percent around that cannot be guaranteed. Instead, seek out a lifetime of income that you cannot outlive. Add some guard rails to your retirement.