Unless you are already retired, you are currently looking forward to the time when you will be able to retire. No matter how close or how far off in the distance that time may be, you have at least one choice to make. That choice should be made sooner rather than later.  Having a Self-Directed IRA may be the right choice for your future.

Chances are that you, along with most people, have not thought about it like this. You can either plan for your eventual retirement, or you can become stressed out thinking about it. If you have the right plan in place or can develop the “right” plan for yourself, you will reduce, if not eliminate, the stress part.

And, yes, having a Self-Directed IRA in place can be an important cog in your plan. We do not have the choice of having each day bring us one more day closer to retirement.

The recent study by the American Psychological Association, based on more than 3,400 interviews, shows that more than 62% of Americans are stressed about money. What we do not know is how many of those have a plan for retirement already in the works.

Those that have a higher stress level, whether money related or not, tend to have more health issues and/or might not be able to perform to their capabilities.  This is where a Self-Directed IRA can help reduce stress levels when it comes to thinking about your retirement.

Merely having a Traditional IRA or 401K in place might not be the entire solution for you. Even with the benefit of employer matching, the majority of these plans only allow investments which are approved by the entity which manages your plan. It is likely that you have a broker or a representative designated to handle your account along with potentially hundreds of others in the same way. They help all of their clients to gradually grow their portfolio with limited choices.

You no longer have to rely on a broker assigned to you for your retirement decisions.

It is easy for a lot of us to set aside important tasks which do not have to be acted upon right away, especially one that we perceive as not being important until many years from now.

When it comes to your retirement planning, an important step you can take right away is to treat it as an immediate task.

Suppose you set aside one hour this week to devote to your retirement planning. One hour at any time of the day or night. You do not need to hire or consult with a broker or trader or go anywhere beyond your front door.

Starting or focusing on your own Self-Directed IRA is your first step. The beginning process generally takes no more than 30 days. Your funding can come from an existing IRA or 401K or can be started from contributions from your personal cash on hand.

Your personal retirement plan should be based on factors such as number of years before your anticipated retirement and your personal interests or expertise.

Having your Self-Directed IRA allows you to invest in everything from real estate to precious metals to private equity as you see fit.

Suppose you have at least 20 years before your likely planned retirement age.

The first step you take is to stop thinking that you do not have to worry about this for at least 10 years. Instead, start planning how much you plan to grow your retirement funds over the next 10 years. Think about what you need to do over the next 10 years in order to not have to work another 10 years after that.

If this is your situation, you have the ability to explore long term opportunities in an area you are knowledgeable about and/or have experience in, such as real estate.

Perhaps you could explore investing in a rental property or residential or commercial land. You can take the time to research and find one or more property deal which has long term potential.

Establishing a positive cash flow from a rental property is a path to being able to acquire more rental properties, such as one each year. If you were to accomplish this with your first rental in the next two years, it would mean that 12 years from now you would own at least 10 rental properties, each of them generating monthly cash into your Self-Directed IRA.

Suppose you only have five years before your planned retirement age. Using the same strategy, you could research to find a property to “flip” using your Self-Directed IRA. This is where you purchase at a discount and are able to sell at a much higher price. You could then take at least a portion of your profit and invest in another “flip”, potentially growing your funds more quickly than the “one rental property per year” strategy.

Either way, by utilizing this method, you are taking control of your retirement income and working toward a goal of not having to wait as long as you first thought.

This changes your perspective on “20 years from now”. At the same time, it significantly reduces your overall stress level. It begins with your Self-Directed IRA.

Interested in learning more about Self-Directed IRAs?  Contact American IRA, LLC at 866-7500-IRA (472) for a free consultation.  Download our free guides or visit us online at www.AmericanIRA.com.