We’re not in a recession.
We are in a recession.
The worst is past.
The worst is yet to come.
Things will improve in 2009.
We’re going to hit bottom more than once in the next 12-18 months.

Who should you believe, especially when you have to make decisions about retirement living now?

When it comes to retirement planning, you hope for the best. When it comes to retirement investments, however, you need to do more than that. You need to rely on investments that will come through for you, even when your hopes don’t materialize and your best guesses are wrong.

The returns on retirement investments aren’t very promising right now. If you’re relatively young and you have many years ahead of you, you may not be too worried about this downturn. You may believe that you have time to recoup your losses. You may be right. If you’re within a few months or years of retirement, however, you may not have the luxury of waiting to find out if your investments turn around.

Life in Mexico offers many benefits, especially for retirees. The quality of life here is very high, and the cost of living is decidedly lower. You can build a luxurious home here for much less than you could in the US. The weather here is nicer than it is in most retirement communities in the US. Taxes are lower. The cost of health care is lower. Food, prescription drugs and just about everything else here costs less. This can make a big difference in preserving your retirement savings.

If you have to retire now, you can wait out the economic downturn in the US and realize substantial savings while you’re here. When the economy brightens up, you can sell your luxury home here (likely for a substantial profit) and return to the US with more capital than you started with. I have to warn you though. Many people who come down here to live “part-time” end up staying here year-round!

Take a look at some of the investment opportunities here, especially in Puerto Vallarta real estate. You’ll find very few US investments that even compare. Come talk to us about making this work for you, not just as a living arrangement, but as a stellar investment, too.

Photo Credit: kris E. Michel