RETIREMENT: SAY IT IS NOT SO

We all hope to live long enough to reach retirement but like many jobs today, "here today, gone tomorrow." A bit morbid, but that's life. Most of us will probably work through our retirement until death. "What," just to think, that feels like a knife through the heart. For goodness sake, I will come back to this.

Do you remember when a pension, really meant that you could count on enough money to retire when the time came. That is waaaaaaaay before the economy went out of control. You could blame it on many things but it does not matter now because for those who are ready to retire, it is too late.

Yea! our government will make an attempt to fix it. By the time it is done, if ever, "need I say it." The word decease comes to mind. Any way as the story goes, I remember when the 401k plan was introduced. It sounded great at the time and it was working at first. Than we saw the minus on our statement. Some people wondered, what does this mean. Not me! I knew because I worked in accounting.

Many rules came with the 401k plan and as always the IRS made sure their pockets would be filled with our money. Paying them a yearly income tax was not enough. The IRS tell trillions of people what they must pay to them each year. It is so much money that even the government and states can not keep up with it. That's when corruption on a high scale hits us in the face from people we trust to handle our tax dollars properly.

Okay, I got side track. Back to the 401k plan. Good ideal but a lot of people did not know how to invest and some companies decided to help them. It was all good. But in the end, we all lost money. We realize our pension/401k/retirement savings became a joke on us. To shorten this story the current retirees are screwed. This brings us back to the first paragraph about working till death do us part.

If you have something to say, "SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE."

A FINANCIAL LESSON

A story to be told. All about Finance. No matter what you buy, read the small print. We all know that! But really, when the paper work is so painfully long, all you can think of is getting it over with. So, here goes.

Buying a time share is like buying a house. Many papers to sign. You want to trade-in one timeshare, as if it was a car, to purchase a brand new time share. Simple, not exactly.

So, you sign the papers based on the financial agent information. He wouldn't lie! Maybe not on purpose, anyways. It's August 2008 and you realize that you have to send all trade-in documents such as a Deed to a third party that actually buys and sells timeshares. You think it's over. HA!

October 2008 rolls alone and the third party said that you owe them for 2009 maintenance fees ($834.00) and 2009 RCI fees ($124.00). You had three weeks in the RCI bank that you did not use and you nicely signed it over to them for free. By the way, you will not benefit in 2009 from any of the monies you just paid. The timeshare belongs to the third party.

ONLY IN AMERICA, A LOOPHOLE TO GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!

You see, you signed one form stating that you will deal with this third party, while written below in small print, legal mumble-jumble, it mentions the fees. Oh Yea! you are tired and have been in the building about 4 hours discussing and viewing your new timeshare. Exciting.

Later, it hits you like a brick and you don't want to pay and now the third party sends you a letter or two about defaulting on your legal agreement. Threats. What do you do?

BLOG ME!

Do you think the third party over stepped its legal bounds?

Do you think this 5 star resort needs to get out of bed with this third party?

Maybe the resort can help pay the bill.

Do you think there was deceit on both the third party and resort?

Do you think it is all your fault because you signed that agreement.

Maybe the Commonwealth of Virginia might won't to know.