Summer is on the down slope. I hope as you read this, you’ve had the opportunity to feel a crisp breeze and in some way, enjoy a summer vacation. Currently, I am writing from just outside Breckenridge, Colorado on the edge of the Arkansas River. It is a beautiful day. One of those days that pioneers used to coin the term “Big Sky.” Blue with patches of white mist dotting the horizon, today Arkansas looks to have some promise and the chance to catch some big brown trout. I made the trek to Colorado because my college roommate, Ryan, has started a career in commercial real estate in the mile high city, and I never pass up the chance at unexplored wilderness.
It never ceases to amaze when a great conversation presents itself. I wanted to get it on the page and share it. After a fifteen-minute knock down drag out with a monster brown trout, Ryan posed a thought; what makes a healthy river and why, oh why, are the trout here so big? I wanted to share this comment because I laughed immediately. On the surface everyone can rationalize why something gets big. The reason trout get big is because they eat until they are bigger than anything around. Although most Americans don’t see the food they eat as the key to survival of the fittest, what if we applied the logic of survival and living in a healthy river to loosening our financial belt buckles as we age. Which financial tools can you use to make sure your finances are bigger than anything around?
The first thought that came to mind is a healthy balance between personal savings and retirement savings. When talking about saving for retirement, most know that Individual Retirement Accounts were created in 1975, but Traditional and Roth IRAs are just the surface of your opportunity to defer taxes on your investments. If you have a self-employed business, with or without employees, the opportunity to secure a max $49,000 in savings versus $5,000 within a Traditional or Roth IRA is at the tip of your pen.
As our day grew long, Ryan and I became tired on the Arkansas. We decided it was time to stretch our altitude legs and drive to 13,000 feet on the side of one of Colorado’s largest peaks. Wheezing our way along a mountain creek, I found the most stunning trout I caught in Colorado. This fish, for all its mite, was only 6 inches long. It was stunning, with blue and yellow spots as vivid as the stars, a red under belly and a green back that would make most ocean fish cry in a beauty pageant. This Brook Trout is one of two native trout to America. In an age of hybrids and efficiency, this trout has not changed in that creek for hundreds of years.
With age comes growth. Just as a little fish takes a chance on a big meal coming from the river; make sure your paying attention to opportunities to create a healthy financial future. At the Innovative Alternative Investment Conference in Chicago last week, Jon Corzine, CEO of MFGlobal and former governor of New Jersey, mentioned to advisors and money managers that an Automatic IRA deduction from self-employed companies with more than 10 employees was not far off. At Entrust IRA Administration, our mission is to provide resources on retirement and tax-deferred savings vehicles. Stay tuned to our website in August and September to make sure you’re the big fish in a small pond.
Chris Krupchak leads the development of business relationships in the Futures, Forex and Commodities industry. To help all parties become experts on the process and tax advantages of holding futures/commodities inside retirement plans, Chris presents regularly to Introducing Brokers (IB), Futures Commission Merchants (FCM) and prospective investors. Prior to joining Entrust, Chris taught English Grammar in Central Europe and has a robust background in education and language. Chris is a graduate of Butler University. Chris can be reached at 312-235-3200 or chris@entrustcompany.com.