Watching my retired parents, or rather the size of their pensions, I think hard about how to provide myself with something in an amount worthy of me. It seems that one cannot count on a state within the CIS. So, you have to do something yourself! And I need to start now, while I’m 32 years old, have some income and the strength to spin. I used to have thoughts that I would be forever young, forever healthy and do something all the time. I’m gradually beginning to realize that in 20… 30 years, my strength will melt (or dissipate). So a couple of years ago I started doing a little something in this direction. Gained some experience that may be of interest to the respected community. Even if the issue of pensions now sounds insanely abstract to the reader, I still recommend at least a run through. If I had read such material 5 years ago, I would have been significantly richer!..
UPD: in the article I added about the meaning of diversification, otherwise there were a lot of questions in the comments...

As usual, I warn you right away - this is mine personal experience, which is not subject to dull copying. Try it on for yourself and think! And most importantly - act!

Stage -1: non-financial assets

The history of our long-suffering homeland has clearly shown that financial savings from 30 years ago have no value. In particular, my wife (then still a minor girl) had an amount comparable to a car set aside for her book. Afterwards, this money first evaporated, then returned, but in a very modest and fixed amount. There’s not even enough for a normal bicycle... Where is the guarantee that this won’t happen in the future?

Nobody will give guarantees. Therefore, eternal values ​​will always be the most reliable. This health- and this is a corresponding way of life, skills- and this means constant professional development and mastering new skills, relationship- and this is the ability to competently conflict, raising yourself and your children... This applies not only to yourself, but also to your descendants (well, it’s not like school will teach them all this!)

But it's best to combine wisely. After a couple of years of accumulating these same non-financial assets, I saw that no one was stopping me from combining. Moreover, all of the above requires almost no money!

• health- it's not only gyms and fitness clubs, and also... drive less and walk more, hikes and kayaks, start a garden where a lot of effort is spent and high-quality food is grown, less hamburgers and cheeseburgers;
• skills- Internet in teeth and forward! Landscaping my house with my own hands (money doesn’t really allow me to hire people), I learned how to glue wallpaper, repair and build plumbing, electrical too, I built a drainage hole myself (and there was not only shoveling work, but also masonry, pouring above). I’m also gradually learning how to tinker with the car myself;
• relationship- you don’t have to go to trainings with Kozlov and Norbekov, look around! Maybe you can become softer in some ways at home, in your family?.. You can always help a child overcome fears and self-doubt, and help your friend get out of life’s troubles.

This is a very large topic worthy of separate books, so we will focus on financial assets and those directly related to them (real estate, metals, antiques...). To be fair, I note that I also do not forget the topic of eternal values.

Stage 0: creating your own bank

I am a humble worker of the IT front. I don’t work for a large company, but for a fairly small one. However, there is enough to live on, and there is also free time. Someone else collects bottles, someone works as a loader, someone is the president, and someone else is something else. This, however, is not about ways to earn money, but about the fact that we have cash flow. And since it exists, something can be put aside from it (this idea is very well presented in the very popular book “The Richest Man in Babylon”).

How many? Personally, I decided to stop at 10%.

Why exactly 10% and not 7.35% or 11.82%?
Well... first of all, counting is elementary. I earn, say, 2435 tugriks per month. Of these, I put 243 aside. This is so elementary that I taught it to my 7-year-old daughter, who had never heard anything about multiplication and division at that time.

Secondly, there is some simple mathematics involved. For example, in a month you earn x tugriks Of which you spend 0.9 x and put it off 0.1 x . By the end of the year you:

• earned 12 x ;
• spent (12 * 0.9) x = 10.8 x ;
• saved (12 * 0.1) x = 1.2 x .

Not bad, right? Having slightly moderated your appetites, you received almost 11 salaries in a year, and saved one and a quarter of your salary for the future. By saving money in this way, in 10 years you will accumulate... 12 salaries! Salary for the whole year! You won't be able to work for a whole year! Beautiful!!!

And thirdly - yes, you need to squeeze yourself a little. But, it seems to me, with any income it is possible to limit yourself by a tenth. Personally, I could.

“Secondly” looks beautiful, but we need to make allowances for inflation, all sorts of emergencies, and so on. Then I didn’t think about it yet... Then I generally just put money aside “just in case.” By the end of the year it was necessary to buy something expensive, for which there was not enough money. I thought then - “should I take a loan, or what?..” And then I suddenly remembered - I have it postponed! Let me take a loan from myself! Class!!!

As a result, as it turned out, I created my own bank. When I looked at my savings as a “bank”, all sorts of processes went into my head. And it led to the next stage. But more on that a little later.

How can we sum it up? Begin to discipline yourself to save a fixed percentage of the money you earn.. Why from “earned”? Because there is profit in the form of monetary gifts from investment activities (deposits, debt to someone at interest, etc.). Why "fixed"? Because there is a temptation not to save at all from small profits (“there is already so little money!”), and from large ones, the toad becomes choking and it’s a pity (“huh! Save so much money???”). And finally - precisely “disciplined”! In the absence of this, all activities will cease to have a long-term effect.

Stage 0.5: consumer loans

It happened a couple of times and I got in. I came out with a firm conviction - you should only get into them when there is no other way!

All sources devoted to the topic of finance give the same advice - first say goodbye to loans, then start accumulating and saving money. This is good if the loan is small, but what if it’s a house or a car? It’s not that simple... However, if you manage to save 10% and pay off the loan, then go ahead! Well, if not, wait with your bank and repay the loan as quickly as possible.

I can’t say anything more on this topic, because I have little experience.

Stage 1: maintaining financial statements

IN different places The thought ran through my mind that it was worth keeping such a report for myself - I earned so much, spent so much on this and that. The idea always seemed to me not very worthy and important. But one day, when my bank had already started operating, I decided to get into this business. Fortunately, I know Excel quite well, collecting receipts is not difficult, adding up all the expenses for today in my head and transferring them to the computer in the evening is also no problem. So I started running it.

Why do you need a financial report?

• to stand firmer on the ground. Now I clearly know (or can quickly find out) how much money I spend and on what. And, say, if I decide to transfer to another job, I clearly know what salary I need. And I can confidently say how much money I spent on school, on a car, etc. The same goes for income;
• organizing finances. Having looked at the report for the first full month, you will immediately see “black holes”. I didn’t have a lot of them, but the topic is relevant for many. If you smoke, then add a column for “smoking” - for a year the amount will turn out to be hefty. If you like to binge drink, the results will also be stunning. If you love bars, women, casinos and a riotous lifestyle, then this also does not contribute to the development of financial well-being in the distant future. By the way - Entertainment is necessary and you can’t deny it to yourself! Without them it will not be life, but hard labor. BUT! We are talking about streamlining them, limiting them to some justified and reasoned amount - say, no more than 5% of income. And then they will be completely “legal” for you, your conscience will not torment you;
• visible result of activity. You began to spend less on smoking - and God knows, was it worth it?.. You looked at the statistics - yes, there is more money! You said goodbye to the loan - this is the result! You invested in some enterprise - in a year or two it paid for itself! For example, they used to tell me: “a vegetable garden doesn’t pay for itself! How much do you spend on it! I looked - but not so much! And how much he brings! Sometimes at the end of winter I buy potatoes/carrots/beets; I don’t buy tomatoes at all. How much would I spend buying them for my 4 mouths all year???

What kind of appearance should he have? The question is very personal, because there are a lot of opinions here. There are table options and ready-made software. Personally, I decided to keep the table in Excel and not use ready-made programs. I am pleased with the result, because I am constantly expanding the analysis and statistics for myself. I won't post it, but general principles I’ll tell you (I can send it to those who especially want it - write to your personal email).

My history goes by month - the earliest month is on the last page. On top of it there is a section “at the beginning of the period” (how much was at the beginning of the month), then “at the end of the period” (what follows is summed up), then “history” (by sections). Vertically there are columns of “total” (amount), “receipt” (how much came), “expense” (how much was spent), “assets” (deposits, etc., which is not money), “debts” (loans - what requires money in the future). My history sections are “work, income”, “maintenance” (house, car, ...), “children”, “miscellaneous” (gifts, entertainment, household deposits, ...), “investments” (profit and cost). There are separate funds (more on them later).

Then I began to keep a history of utility payments: “month, year”, “amount”, “gas” / “electricity” / “water” - volume for the current month, actual cost, average volume for the current year, average cost for the current year. It is now interesting to compare the average consumption per year. By the way, here my gas “eats” a very uneven amount of money - in the summer it’s less than 10% of the winter money. And I decided to pay all year round arithmetic mean. If before a strong winter was almost ruinous for me, now I don’t feel any difference.

I also began to conduct all sorts of investment activities - separate pages are dedicated to it.

I immediately entered the “structure” - one page, where for all months (the last one on top) the ratio “earned/spent”, “assets/cash”, etc. is written. There is also a breakdown in % of income and expenses by budget item (car On average, 12% “eats” me per year, children - only 2%, food - 17%).

The mathematics of calculations is a separate and very interesting story. Let's say I have gas values ​​paid for the year. I look at the minimum (MIN formula in Excel) / maximum values ​​(MAX) and see a corridor where the values ​​go. The arithmetic average (AVERAGE formula) shows me the average value that I had to pay for the whole year to get the correct amount. For some intuitive understanding of the average, the median (MEDIAN formula) is more suitable - rare (albeit large) outliers in the sample of values ​​​​do not have a big impact on it.

It turned out to be a lot of pages. So I made the first page a “table of contents”. From there there are transitions to the necessary pages.

My plans are to create all sorts of beautiful graphics that will delight my eyes.

UPD: why I am a supporter of diversification

Next, I will describe many places and ways where I want to invest my 10%. There are a lot of them there, and they are called the formidable word “funds”. Some will consider it too complicated, and many will ask, “why such complexity? Invest in stocks/gold and that's it! There is no need to invest here, here, or somewhere else - invest in one thing!” Or, to put it more correctly, many people do not understand the meaning of diversification.
Actually, Kiyosaki calls for this. He is against dispersing his financial forces in different directions, he is strongly against diversification. He believes that you need to choose one thing, prepare properly, and - r-time! millionaire. That’s what he, in fact, did (we won’t go into details - how many “r-times” he had and what his condition was).
However, he - Kiyosaki - does not take into account the fact that not all people have a “rich dad” who will teach and advise them everything. He doesn't take into account that not everyone wants to spend all their energy making money. And he also doesn’t take into account the fact that people have children (by the way, he doesn’t have them)... He also forgot that in different countries Oh, there are revolutions in the style of the fall of the USSR and the change of currencies.
In general, being a pro in the world of finance is not ideal for everyone. Many people (including me in particular) are much closer to another approach - to live their own lives, and use money as a means of achieving goals. That is, money is not the goal and meaning of life! I want to spend a little time in my life on them and leave the rest for life.
I found a lot of useful information from Sergei Spirin. He has a good blog, “Investor Notes,” where he introduces everyone to the idea of ​​“Asset allocation” - reasonable asset allocation. And the main idea there is to divide your funds into weakly related (or better yet, unrelated) asset classes. That is, diversify as widely as possible.
The picture in the section title (taken from here) clearly shows the advantages of the St. Petersburg exchange over the one from New York before the 1917 revolution. Then it was necessary to pour all funds into Russian shares! Those who did this ended up going bankrupt... Only clairvoyants could imagine the collapse of the entire financial system that existed then.
We also cannot predict what will happen to America, Australia and other world market leaders. Well, that is, someone can, but everyone else can only invest their money in various, unrelated assets - in gold, which can always be sold, in bonds of their own country, neighboring and some overseas, in shares of companies both your own country and another, in real estate both in your own country and in other places...
That's why I'm considering different types investments. I want to protect myself from uncertainty. The price is high, but peace of mind is more valuable.

Stage 2: setting goals

This is a very important stage, which at first seems insignificant and abstract. I felt its importance when the amount set aside became tangible and it was time to decide what to do with it. At first I thought of just keeping this amount on the shelf (then on a card), but then I felt the teeth of inflation. We had to come up with something to protect them.

Now it’s time to agree on terms:

• earnings- something that is earned through one’s direct labor. You can increase them only by changing your job or, if you are a private entrepreneur, by increasing your turnover;
• consumption- everything that directly flows out of the budget. This includes loan payments;
• assets- something that Can sell - and then it will go from “asset” to “income”. Real estate, shares, deposits (with interest paid at the end of the term) are all examples of assets. Rental property is an asset that generates passive income. Sold real estate goes from an “asset” to income (one-time, unfortunately);
• income- earnings, passive income and sold assets;
• duty- something for which necessary pay - and then it flows from “debt” into “expense”. Renting real estate, car, loans - these are all examples of debts.

Your debt (loan, for example) is always an asset for someone (for the bank). Your income and earnings are always someone else's expense. Your asset generates income. Your debt is sucking money from your budget. Your income, lying in the bank under the sofa, is a drying up asset, because inflation is chewing on it all the time.

It is obvious that ideally we would like:

1. get rid of all debts - so that money stops flowing into black holes;
2. have reliable assets that periodically generate income that exceeds expenses for the same period - let’s say that with your monthly expenses of 1000 tugriks, your rental properties, cars, etc. bring at least 1000 tugriks (or better, more, because . all this needs to be repaired);
3. also have reliable assets “for a rainy day”, which, when sold, can cover all your current expenses for a certain period - with the same 1000 tugriks per month, have a supply of bank metals or real estate that can be sold for 6000 tugriks, so that half a year can be calm live;
4. have a reserve of funds that will allow you, with the risk of losing them, to increase both types of assets - for example, have another 100 tugriks per month for investing on the stock exchange, participating in businesses, etc.;
5. if you have to create a debt (buy a car on credit, real estate or household appliances), then also have an asset that works to pay it off.

Well... these are my dreams. I work with them.

All authors urge us to formulate these dreams in a clear manner. Everywhere they advise you to decide for yourself - something like “over the next 30 years, create assets that generate 1000 tugriks monthly, have an asset reserve of 10,000 tugriks, risk 1000 tugriks monthly. As soon as I reach these numbers, I stop making money.”

Therefore, the task is to create different funds. Each fund has its own minimum, which cannot be crossed, and a maximum, which must be strived for. Once the minimum is achieved, the following tasks can be solved in parallel. Once the maximum is exceeded, the exceeded values ​​are transferred to the next funds that did not reach the goals and maximums.

A kind of line of funds is being created. The “junior” ones are the most modest in size (and in terms of profitability), but they have the highest priority. Having filled them (or exceeded their minimum threshold), you can move on. "Next" are more senior funds. As income grows and free funds become available, you can either improve your standard of living or create new global goals (say, charity in its various forms).

UPD: A group of funds forms a “portfolio of investments.” Let's say portfolio N1 serves for reserve purposes and consists of the most reliable funds (for me this is cash reserves, deposits in reliable banks, banking metals). Unfortunately, in the world of investing, “maximum security” = “minimum profitable.” Therefore, we also need a portfolio of N2 more risky assets - and, therefore, more profitable ones. I prefer dividing into 3 portfolios - the most reliable (often called a “safety cushion”), creating passive income (funds that “make money” are rental real estate, regularly sold assets, etc. - “acceleration zone”) and serving great purposes (to satisfy childhood hopes and adult dreams).

Personally, I am confused by references to specific values ​​of tugriks / euros / dollars /…. There is always inflation, changes in world currencies (anything can happen in 30 years!), and changes in appetites. So I decided to go a different route. In my financial report, every month I have a “monthly expense” figure. From it, of course, “minimum monthly consumption”, “maximum...”, “arithmetic mean...”, “median...” are derived. I take one of them as a certain conventional unit (hence the tugriks appearing in the text).

And then the following comes out - “a cash reserve of at least 1 arithmetic average of expenses for the current year, the Goal is 1 maximum of expenses.” This means that I recalculate my expenses for the current year every month. Let's say that in this current year my minimum expenses are 1,000 tugriks, the median is 2,000 tugriks, the arithmetic mean is 3,000 tugriks, and the maximum is 7,000 tugriks (the real ratio for the current year). If I have less than 3,000 tugriks in cash, then the problem is not solved. When I have from 3000 to 7000 of them, then I can solve larger problems, but I continue to put money here (how much exactly here and how much there is determined separately). When I have accumulated 7,300 tugriks this month and I plan to deposit 1,000 tugriks, then I withdraw 300 tugriks from this fund and invest 1,300 further in the next funds that are thirsty for filling. Every month I control the cash reserve and maintain it at 7,000 tugriks.

Let's say I began to live beautifully and spend more. Now all my numbers are changing - the minimum is the same 1000 (I obviously won’t spend less), the median is 2010 (we still spend more), average-arithm. 2200 (I started buying a lot), maximum 7500 (this month I exceeded my monthly expenses for this year). Now, with my 7,000 tugriks, I no longer reach my maximum, and I also planned to spend 2,000 tugriks on funds. Then I spend 500 on the cash reserve fund, the remaining 1500 on the following funds.

And so on in floating mode. In some years, appetites may decrease (the children have grown up and now live separately) - then a lot of funds are freed up (unless I decide to create new funds). Or maybe it’s the other way around - there’s more and more money, we spend more (or I help children’s families, now we divide the funds among everyone). Then you have to return from the latest funds to the older ones (or lower their additional profits lower in the funds).

UPD: without such an approach, focusing on specific values ​​in specific monetary units, I must take into account inflation for the groups of goods that interest me. At first I thought about maintaining my own “consumer basket”. Then I realized that it should be my current expenses - a ready-made basket for groups of goods and services that interest me. As a result, my basket automatically takes into account inflation, changes in interests, and everything else. Therefore it is very convenient.

All this is written down in the financial report along the way and verified against it. Let's say I have expenses of 1000 tugriks, cash 1200. Then 1.2 is calculated in the corresponding cell. Excel can do a lot of things, it does the calculations itself. Very convenient! However, no one says that this is the only software capable of this - the same OpenOffice Calc, for example. Here is a catalog of spreadsheets.

Stage 3: my goals and their implementation

Consider my current outlook, my long term goals:

1. "airbag"- creating a reserve for a rainy day. Until I solve these problems, I do not move on and continue to work as a hired worker or private entrepreneur in low-risk areas. I would like to solve the problem in 5... 10 years.
   1. cash reserve- at least 1 average-arithm. expenses. Goal - 1 max. expenses;
   2. stock of deposits in reliable banks- at least 3 med. expenses. The goal is 3 max. expenses;
   3. stock of bank metals- at least 3 med. expenses. The goal is 3 max. expenses.
   4. preparation for the acceleration zone- learning everything I need in the acceleration zone. These are issues of working with stock exchanges, bonds, and real estate.
2. "acceleration zone"- creation of active income. At this stage, you can quit your hired job, but you must remain a private entrepreneur. The general goal is to have a monthly income of 1 max. expenses. I would like to solve the problem in 5... 10 years.
   1. deposits in risky banks- deposits in highly profitable (and, as a rule, high-risk) banks for at least 2 minutes. expenses. The goal is an annual income of 2 max. expenses;
   2. internal government bonds- investment in bonds of your country, reserve of at least 3 minutes. expenses. The goal is an annual income from coupon payments of 2 max. expenses;
   3. external government bonds- investing in bonds of other (different!) countries, reserve of at least 6 minutes. expenses. The goal is an annual income from coupon payments of 2 max. expenses;
   4. long-term investment funds- investment in low-risk, highly liquid long-term funds, reserve of at least 6 minutes. expenses. The goal is an annual income from coupon payments of 2 max. expenses;
   5. reliable stocks- investment in shares of low-risk, highly liquid, reliable enterprises, reserve of at least 6 minutes. expenses. The goal is 6 max. expenses;
   6. venture funds- investment in medium- and high-risk funds, reserve of at least 1 max. expenses. The goal is 3 max. expenses;
   7. high yield stocks- purchase of high-risk shares, stock of at least 1 max. expenses. The goal is 3 max. expenses;
   8. real estate- real estate transactions. The goal is an annual income of 4 max. expenses.
3. "high goals zone"- That's it, you don't have to work anymore. There is passive income, there are decent reserves. You can take up lofty and grandiose ideas. Here, division into funds is no longer necessary. Or, rather, the funds here will correspond to your innermost dreams... Say, to visit all the mountains of the world, or to build a free school for children, or to develop environmentally friendly cars, or... or...

Such grandiose goals and dreams (I remind you again - my dreams, not necessarily yours!). This is essentially a long-term financial plan. For now I am in the process of forming a “safety cushion”. My cash reserve is half formed from minimal expenses and is being squandered all the time. But I'm trying to make up for it. My principle now is this: out of 10% of my income, I set aside 1/3 for deposits and bank metals, 2/3 for cash reserves. As soon as the cash reserve reaches a minimum, I will change the strategy - 1/3 will be put aside for it, 2/3 for deposits and bank metals. When all these points reach a minimum, I will begin to develop the funds of the next zone.

At the same time, I do not forget about self-education. Thank God, there is a lot of time, you can slowly study. I don’t want to turn life into a race for a long tugrik; I have other goals and interests. Let it go in parallel, at its own pace. A lot of money came - great, we got a lot at once, there is not enough money - we accumulate it little by little. The supply is already being created, so you can live and enjoy life and communication. After all, money is one of the ways to live happily, but it is by no means the goal of life.

Thank you for your attention!

P.S. Constructive criticism is welcome.

To make the idea of ​​saving for retirement stop seeming stupid now, look at these numbers.

According to Pension indexation 2018 Pension Fund, in 2018 the average pension in Russia was slightly more than 14 thousand rubles. Pensioners without length of service- about 8 thousand.

According to forecast Demographic forecast until 2035 Rosstat for 2035, the average life expectancy in our country will be from 74 to 82 years and will only continue to grow. Now in Russia, men retire at 60, and women at 55. From 2019, the government plans to gradually increase the retirement age so that by 2028 men retire at 65, and women at 63 by 2034.

This means that after retirement you will need to live on your own for another 20 years. Benefits from the state are unlikely to be enough to make these years comfortable. It makes sense to take care of a comfortable old age now, when you are young and able to work.

To figure out how much you need to save, estimate your monthly expenses on food, rent, transportation, medical care and vacations. Calculate the approximate amount you need to save now in order to spend the same amount in old age. Throw 10% on top of this amount - inflation is unpredictable, but this way you will at least take into account the inevitable increase in the cost of living.

Example: You are now 25 years old. You will retire at 60, and the state will pay you 14 thousand rubles. For a comfortable life, you need at least 30 thousand rubles a month, that is, 16 thousand more. Over the course of a year, this difference will result in 192 thousand, which means that for the entire 20 years of your pension you need an additional 3 million 840 thousand rubles. You have 35 years to collect this amount. This means you need to save 109 thousand every year or 9,100 rubles every month.

The later you start saving, the larger your monthly pension contribution should be.

• 30 years: 128,000 rubles per year, 10,600 per month.
• 35 years: 153,600 rubles per year, 12,800 per month.
• 40 years: 192,000 rubles per year, 16,000 per month.
• 45 years: 256,000 rubles per year, 21,300 per month.

To ensure that your savings do not lie dead weight until old age, but bring passive income, you need to manage them correctly. Come on October 3 for a free lecture “How to make money for retirement.” Financial advisor Natalya Smirnova will teach you how to save money wisely and share tools for increasing your income.

2. Invest in yourself

At the beginning of your career, it is better to spend money on self-development and education in order to increase your value as a specialist, and only then put aside part of the budget into a pension reserve.

An investment in yourself that will pay off

• Learning foreign languages. Don't skimp on language courses and take part in internships abroad. Employees with knowledge of English receive How does knowledge of English affect your salary? up to 20 thousand rubles more depending on the level. A second foreign language increases How knowledge of foreign languages ​​affects salary expectations salary by another 8–48%.
• Mastering new professions. Keep track of how the market is changing and improve your skills through specialized courses. For example, if you are a financier, study the cryptocurrency markets and become a blockchain expert: according to recent research Global Blockchain Benchmarking Study, Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, 57% of large banks around the world are already conducting transactions using this technology.
• Increasing personal effectiveness. Work on skills that will make you as productive as possible: time management, speed reading, personal finance management. This is not taught at the university, so do not skimp on professional literature, workshops and lectures in these areas.

3. Don't keep money under the mattress

To make your savings profitable, put them in a bank at interest. The amount of income will depend on the interest rate. Now Russian banks are ready to pay an average of 4–7% per annum. The rate depends on the amount and term of the deposit: the smaller the savings and the shorter the term, the lower the profit percentage will be.

All deposits up to 1.4 million rubles are insured by the state. It is better to divide a large amount into several deposits and place them in different banks.

Example: you have 500,000 rubles and you open a deposit at 5% per annum. In a year it will bring you 25,000 rubles.

An additional 2 thousand a month will not make you an oligarch, but it will reduce the impact of inflation. In addition, you will not keep money in your sock, gradually spending it on unnecessary things. Do not forget to check the current interest rates on deposits and move funds to more profitable deposits in a timely manner. The “Financial Culture” website has a convenient calculator for calculating deposit interest. With it you can compare the profit from investments in different banks.

4. Invest

The most simple types investment is to lend money to a company or state and then repay the debt with interest or purchase a share in a business and receive your share of the income. Choose the most predictable and stable options, not potential mountains of gold: if the company you invested in goes bankrupt, you won’t get your money back. The risk is lowest when investing in government bonds, preferred shares and shares of investment funds with a high rating.

It's no secret that when you arrive at any foreign resort, you can meet many American pensioners who, after retirement, travel around the world. Why can American retirees afford this, while retirees in some other countries live on the brink of survival? In addition to free time, health and love of life, American retirees are helped by the fact that they have money to travel. In the US, people over 65 are the wealthiest segment of the population. How do they do this? The American pension system is like a multi-layered pie:

1. It is based on the state pension system Social Security. Every working person pays 6.2% of their salary into the system, and the employer also pays another 6.2%. About the size state pension. The average Social Security benefit in 2014 was $1,294 per month. The maximum in 2014 was $2,642 per month for those who start receiving it at 66 years old (if you start receiving it earlier, it will be less, if later, it will be more). The minimum Social Security benefit for those who did not earn a pension was $721 per month in 2014. In 2014, Social Security paid out 863 billion.

By the way, if you are wondering who the American government borrows money from, Social Security is one of the largest holders of US government bonds. They hold about 3 trillion in federal government debt, and earn about $115 billion in interest per year.

But Social Security is just the beginning of retirement security. S Social Security provides approximately 38% of the income of American retirees (on average, less for high earners, more for low earners).

2. Another significant source of income is real estate . Americans own more than 11 trillion in real estate (less debt). By retirement, many people are paying off (in whole or in part) the mortgage they took out 30 years ago. For example, among homeowners over 60, 58% have no mortgage debt (for homeowners under 60, only 20% have no mortgage debt). How do they convert their real estate into money? Many people simply live in it and save on rent/mortgage.

Others sell their property and move to a cheaper place. People first buy big houses, with bedrooms for children, and in expensive places closer to work. And after they retire and the children go their separate ways own houses, and you no longer need a house with 4 bedrooms and a 3-bed garage in an expensive location. So they sell the house and buy something smaller, or in a cheaper place. The money saved is put into an investment account and additional income is received.

There is also a reverse mortgage option. In this case, the bank pays the person money throughout his life. After the death of a person, the house becomes the property of the bank. For example, a person with a home worth $250,000 could take out a reverse mortgage and receive about $750 a month (the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old is about 20 years).

Besides Social Security and real estate, Americans have about 24 trillion additional retirement savings in various retirement accounts.Overall, 81% of Americans nearing retirement have either one of their employer-provided accounts.or Individual Accounts (IRAs), which are described below.

3. Next on the list of importance are employer-sponsored plans. There's a lot here various options. Usually there are defined benefit (fixed payments) and defined contribution (payments are not fixed and depend on the results of the investment). Defined benefit works according to this scheme - the employer promises a pension according to a certain formula. For example, 2% of salary, for each year of service, with a maximum of 80%. After working for 40 years, you can get 80% of your salary (usually they take the average salary for a certain period, for example 5 years with the highest salary). Defined benefit is gradually dying out, as employers do not want to take on such long-term pension obligations. Only very large private companies and state governments or school districts have such plans. These defined benefit plans had approximately 8.7 trillion in assets at the end of 2013.

Defined contribution is easier for the employer. The employee contributes a certain percentage of his salary. The employer adds a percentage of his own. The money is invested (usually the employee can choose where to invest). And as a result, what will be will be. At the end of 2013, Defined Contribution retirement accounts held 5.9 trillion in assets. There are many different types of these accounts - 401(k), 403(b), 457, and others.

4. American retirees then save in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Also, there are many different subtypes of these accounts, with different conditions and restrictions. People independently choose where this money is invested - either in traditional mutual funds (mutual funds, analogues of Russian mutual funds) that invest in stocks or bonds of companies and states, or they can invest in any other non-traditional assets, such as gold, oil futures, real estate, vintage cars , forest.

IRAs held about $6.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2013.

Some people call such investments speculation, and believe that it is akin to playing roulette. There is, of course, always an element of risk in everything, but the risk is greatly reduced through diversification (investing in hundreds of different companies around the world), and due to a long period of time. If you invest in a diversified portfolio of securities, and if you take a long period of time, then over the previous 300 years, investments have always brought positive income, even during terrible wars, crises, and epidemics.

At the same time, you can invest not only in American companies, but also in companies from any other country. Here, for example, is a list of the largest positions of one international mutual fund. These are world famous companies that manufacture and sell their products all over the world. And this fund contains shares of more than 900 similar companies. Therefore, no matter what happens in one country or region, or in one sector of the economy, they cannot all go bankrupt at the same time.

Here, for example, is the result of investment in diversifiedfund portfolio for over the past 10 years. The average return was 12.38% per year. Only 2 years, 2008 and 2011, had negative returns. If the yield remains at the same level, and nothing else is put into this account, then in 25 years there will be $1.5 million.

5. In addition to the categories described above, there are also other mechanisms for saving for retirement , such as regular bank deposits, or stocks/bonds/mutual funds outside of retirement plans/or a business that generates income. One of my friends, for example, has a piece of land that he leased for the construction of McDonalds. Now he receives rent from this restaurant.

Also in the USA, a system of endowment life insurance (permanent life/whole life/universal life) has been developed. People buy an insurance contract. If they die prematurely, their family is paid insurance. If they do not die and live to retire, then there is a certain amount of money in the account with the insurance company that can be received.

As a result, if you look at who owns the majority of the American (and indeed the world) economy, it turns out that pensioners in Western countries own the majority of the world's assets. During their working life, they save money, which is then invested in the economy. When they retire, they receive income from this and live comfortably. This allows not only pensioners to live in dignity, but also the country’s economy to develop due to cheaper “long-term” money.

Spend less than you earn

Let's see how those 20 commandments work in Ukraine, allowing Americans to enjoy a prosperous old age

Statistics show that many people actively read columns from the “10 simple ways become beautiful" or "5 books you must master to become truly educated." And so on, according to the list of traditional philistine desires: to become athletic, sexy, charming, successful, witty and anything else, depending on the wildness of your imagination. From the entire list of desires, I settled on “How to ensure a comfortable old age?”, and decided to use the American experience to cover this topic. In any case, the huge number of wealthy and at the same time peacefully sleeping people living in the United States serves as a sufficient basis for our choice. Let's see how those 20 commandments work in Ukraine, which allow Americans to enjoy a prosperous old age.

To begin with, I propose to shorten the American list, discarding recommendations on how best to use pension system. Anyway, our social security system is in a terrible state, and most likely it will not get better over the years. Moreover, it seems to me that today’s 30-40 year olds, in general, should rely only on their own strengths, since their hopes for an old-age pension are unlikely to ever come true.

So, discarding all the factors unnecessary for the Ukrainian, where we're talking about about how the state can take care of its citizens, we will focus on 11 recommendations on how a person can take care of himself.

1. Spend less than you earn

In America, the formula for a comfortable, secure old age begins with a citizen's ability to save regularly. A generally accepted recommendation is to save at least 10% of your monthly income.

Of course, it is difficult to explain to a cashier from a supermarket in the regional center, who earns 1,600 hryvnia a month, how to save from this amount, but, for example, to a professional activist who selflessly fights for reforms in a good office and for a good salary, such a recommendation can be quite useful.

2. Start saving early

If a 20-year-old American saves $100 every month, assuming an average return of 8% per year (optimistic but achievable), he will have saved $527,454 by age 65.

In relation to Ukrainian realities, everything is a little more complicated. Of course, it is not a problem to find a hryvnia deposit with an 8% rate, even in a reliable bank. But it seems to me that such profitability is unlikely to compensate for the risk of possible devaluation. In dollars, decent banks offer rates around 0% - you can’t really increase your capital. Considering that the ordinary Ukrainian has no other investment instruments, it is very difficult to use this recommendation. All that remains is to spend and enjoy life. Look at Kyiv restaurants, they are crowded.

3. Minimize your tax payments

In this part, we ourselves can teach the Americans a lesson. A huge number of Ukrainians do not pay taxes anyway, and if they do, it is only on a small part of their income.

4. Add some risk

The average American can completely protect their investment by investing all their funds in US government bonds. Really safe, but you won't earn much. That is why it is recommended to invest part of the funds in real estate and the stock market. Despite the occasional failures, both markets always eventually recovered.

I don’t want to take it upon myself and recommend that Ukrainians invest money in the remains of the national stock market. As for real estate, prices have actually increased over the past 20 years. One problem is that investment instruments in real estate are limited only to residential real estate, and, moreover, only to the purchase of an entire apartment or house, which makes the threshold for investment extremely high.

5. Analyze your investments

Don't confuse a risky investment with an idiotic act. Imagine that you managed to bypass the obstacles, take your money abroad and invest in some fund specializing in emerging markets or Silicon Valley startups. This is a reasonable risk!

6. Marry the right way.

A good dowry is always a plus. It is not for nothing that our ancestors paid so much attention to this issue. As your relationship develops, ask yourself whether you want to be the sole breadwinner in the family, and balance your strengths with your partner's ability to spend.

Be patient when you get married! Divorces are expensive.

7. Family size matters

To answer the question “How many children do we want?” many approach differently. Some are guided by the logic that the fifth child in the family is just “another glass of water in the pot of borscht,” while others begin to count the costs of education. In any case, the number of children will affect the following expenses:

• Housing. Five children may feel cramped in a two-room apartment.
• Transport. A family with five children will not fit into Lanos. 

• Food and clothing. This is easier in Ukraine. The example of borscht is illustrative. Second-hand clothes. The younger one carries the older one to term.
• Education: Not to mention the cost of music lessons, ballet, English and sports training, think about the fact that you will have to hire people and acquire additional transport to take all the children to clubs and sections.

8. Don't compete with your neighbor

Who doesn't want to use the latest iPhone and drive a new BMW?! But buying such “toys” without having any savings, much less on credit, is stupid.

9. Learn to plan

Absolutely correct advice for Americans living a measured life in a country confident in the future. It is much more difficult for a Ukrainian to plan. Revolutions, wars, aggressive, drunken and poor neighbors, defaults, governments that come to applause and leave ingloriously booed, corrupt officials - all this makes the planning process difficult. Still, even a bad plan is better than no plan at all.

02.08.18 214 543 0

Hopes of T-Z readers

Strategy #1

Invest in real estate to rent out

Alla Shcherbakova

played enough

“I’m 50. Over the past 12 years, we’ve played with everything we can: mutual funds, shares, savings insurance, non-state pension funds, real estate. We suffered losses in many ways, took out all the money, gave some of it to the children for the mortgage payment, invested some of it in the primary building in St. Petersburg, now we are building a tiny one - 60 m², we are afraid of rampant taxes, anything will come from our state - an energy-efficient house in the Leningrad region, in a good area. We will rent out two apartments and enjoy working and traveling.”

“I’m already living on a pension, almost 20,000 RUR. A week ago, having sold my dacha, I bought an apartment in a new modern building - 25 minutes by train from St. Petersburg - and immediately rented it out. The money will go to his son, since he is now supporting his wife and child. In the future, he will inherit two apartments from me as additional income for his pension.”

“I’m 52, my husband is 46. I receive a pension of 18,000 RUR. A year ago we bought a small apartment in Tenerife, now we are saving for a residence permit in Spain. In three years we will rent out an apartment in Moscow and move to Tenerife. Enough for the basics, maybe we can find a part-time job. I hope everything works out for us.”

Strategy #2

Just save up

Dmitry Krotov

thought about gold

"I am 22 years old. I save 2000 R a month and transfer it into cash dollars. I think this is a good way to save money. The dollar is more attractive to me and inspires more confidence than the euro. There were also thoughts about gold.”

“I’m 28 years old now. I don’t count on a pension from the state at all; I decided to save up on my own. I save with this calculation: my monthly income is 42,000 RUR after taxes. There are payments for a mortgage and a loan, but we don’t take them into account, since I don’t plan to take out loans in my old age. To prevent my income from decreasing, I need to save 7,200,000 R and invest it at 7% per annum in a bank account or in securities. Then my income will be 504,000 R per year or 42,000 R per month.

To save such an amount, it is enough to save 5,000 RUR per month and put it at 7% per annum, which is quite realistic. The maximum rate on deposits is 6.8%, and if the money is invested in shares, the income can be even higher.

Of course, the situation in the country may change several times, for example, inflation will increase or decrease, maybe there will be no country at all after such a period of time - after all, who could have imagined 40 years ago that the USSR would cease to exist. I am aware of all this, but based on the situation today, my plan is quite good.”

Strategy #3

Choose an endowment life insurance program

Elena Tsygankova

plans to live to 98

“I am 58 years old, I retired 2 years ago, I receive 10,500 RUR per month. Unfortunately, I only learned about endowment life insurance when I was 53 years old. I figured: what if God decides to live to 98 years? Now I have a pension plus income, I’m an individual entrepreneur, my health, thank God, allows it, but what about tomorrow?

I signed a contract for 17 years, annual premiums of 90,000 RUR, a guaranteed insurance amount of 1,500,000 RUR in case of death - our daughter will not have any extra - and if she survives until the end of the contract, she should receive about 3,000,000 RUR. The daughters signed a contract for 33 years, contributions - 18,000 R per year. At the age of 60, without waiting for the Pension Fund, he can safely retire, receiving payments from the insurance company. Plus the state returns personal income tax every year.

This is how Europe and America live. They consider a pension not the social minimum from the pension fund, but what you yourself have accumulated in life insurance during your life.”

Strategy #4

Rely on children

Alex Tyutnev

going to invest in family and children

“I’m 29, I’m saving up for my own country house, where I want to move with my fiancée and work from home remotely, while building a family and a small farming business. I don’t and don’t count on retirement; I try to avoid taxes as much as possible, if possible. I understand that I earn above the average for the region, but you still can’t realize gigantic plans for your salary, and you can’t save a lot of money for old age. I will invest in myself and my family, and then, in old age, perhaps the children will help a little, the experience gained will be useful, which will allow me to earn extra money.”

"I won't live to see my retirement age, but if it does, then the only hope is for the son. I’m 37 years old now.”

Strategy #5

Buy shares

Pablito Schmeiler

started with the mattress period

"I am 31 years old. I always saved money, that’s my nature: at first it was the mattress period, then the period of deposits in banks, I was interested in mutual funds and metal accounts. For the last 4 years, I have been putting aside part of my earnings into an IIS brokerage account - it provides tax benefits.

I don’t trade stocks in the traditional sense - I rarely make trades on a “buy and hold” basis. This year I received dividends equal to my two months' income. I sincerely believe that by showing discipline (I add money from my income monthly) and patience (here compound interest comes into play as the eighth wonder of the world), in 10 years I will be able to receive dividend income comparable to my annual income, and then it will be possible to think about early retirement."

“I’m 30 years old, I started saving after my wedding, about 5 years ago. At first there was no particular goal. Then I wanted to buy an apartment, but abandoned this idea and came to the conclusion that I wanted to retire at a certain age and provide myself with passive income.

Bank deposits disappeared immediately, because in the medium term they are losing to inflation. After several months of studying the stock market and its instruments, the choice fell on him.

Initially, I opened an account with a Russian broker in order to receive a tax deduction - I opened an IIS. Then I looked at the subsidiaries of Russian brokers, but dismissed them as unreliable intermediaries between me and the American stock market. As a result, I opened an account with Interactive Brokers. Once a quarter I deposit money there and rebalance the portfolio by buying new shares. I invest approximately 35% of my income.

According to my calculations, I should reach the proper level of passive income earnings at 55 years old. In the calculations I used 4% real return above inflation - this is the average return of the stock market over the last hundred years.”

Strategy #6

Move and integrate into the local pension system

preparing to emigrate

“Personally, I don’t plan to celebrate old age in Russia. I plan to leave here for Canada. What I’m doing right now for this: I’m learning English as quickly as I can; I am confirming diplomas - two of mine and one of my husband; getting ready to learn to drive a car; I treat teeth; I improve my qualifications and receive professional certificates; I read blogs, listen to podcasts and motivate myself in every possible way to continue going in the chosen direction. But I hardly put anything off.

I am planning to immigrate under the Express Entry program, specifically under the branch of the federal program for skilled workers - this program provides for the selection of candidates with higher education.

Where I'm going, pensions for ordinary people start at 65. And there are several pension funds, including like trade unions. This means that employers pay a pretty penny depending on who and how long you worked for them.

But the most important source of pension is something like our IIS. Starting in the second year after moving, I plan to accumulate 10 to 15% of my income in a savings account. This is in case I lose my job or one of my family members gets sick. In this second year, I will receive training on how to use Canadian investment tools. They are significantly different from ours.

Strategy #7

Trust a non-state pension fund

uses corporate non-state pension fund

“I expect from the state only a small increase in my pension, which I will save for myself. Since 2017, I have been using a corporate non-state pension fund, all contributions are doubled by the employer, but this is tied to the place of work for at least 5-7 years under the terms of the contract. Also, since 2012, I have been participating in the state co-financing program.

In the event of dismissal and the end of the co-financing program, I will most likely save for a deposit. Later, perhaps, I’ll transfer it from the deposit to a low-risk investment fund. I still have 35 years to work until I’m 65.”