Dear Clients and Investors,

Patch of Land, Inc and its team was acquired in July of 2021. As part of our continuing efforts to wind down legacy operations, we have discontinued the legacy online portal as of August 15th, 2023

If you require legacy records or have any questions regarding past investment projects, please contact us at this address: [email protected]. Tax statements will still be timely delivered to the client addresses we have on file.

The Patch of Land Blog

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5 Tips to Boost Your Retirement Savings You Can Start Right Now!

With all the talk about the real estate crowdfunding and online real estate investing, it has to make you think of your own retirement and whether you are saving enough to live the lifestyle you want when it is time for you to retire.

We’ve put together the following tips that you can start right now to boost your retirement savings. What combination of strategies will you employ to ensure you live out your golden years without financial worry?

#1: Start early, start now, do it often.

It is very important that you take the first step and start saving today. Focus on saving as much as you can now to help build your nest egg for later. It is always a good starting point to set a goal. Knowing how much you will need can make the process of saving and investing a lot easier. Consider making a habit to spend less money, hold onto extra funds, set up your accounts to automatically put money into a separate savings account each paycheck or even something as easy as creating a personal budget to keep yourself in check. Maybe instead of eating lunch out every day, you pack a lunch a few times a week. This could save you hundreds for the year!

#2: Set up and contribute to your retirement savings.

If your employer offers a traditional 401(k) plan, it can be a significant advantage to you since it allows you to contribute pre-tax money and you cannot touch it without paying a penalty. This means that the money that goes into your 401(k) is automatically contributed prior to taxes being assessed. This allows you to invest more of your income without feeling the strain on your monthly budget. If your employer offers to match a percentage of your contribution, you should really take advantage of this. Some employers do not offer matching and some offer a various levels of matching. For example, some employers will match 50%, meaning they will contribute 50 cents for every dollar you place into your retirement. There is a limit of 6% per year of your gross salary; however, if you do not have a 401(k) or if you do not contribute to it, you will not receive anything, period.

Another option to consider is setting up an IRA. You can choose to contribute to a traditional IRA, which allows you to invest pre-tax dollars and pay the taxes when you withdraw the money or to a Roth IRA, which allows you to invest after-tax dollars and you pay no taxes when you withdraw. The question here is whether you want to pay taxes now or pay them later. You can set up an IRA with a broker, bank, mutual fund company, employer or any other financial institution. There may be commissions or varying fees. The money you contribute is invested and can be applied to many different types: stocks, mutual finds, or index funds.

When meeting with your financial institution or representative, consider some of these questions to ask:

  • Is there a minimum or initial investment?
  • Is there a minimum contribution?
  • What are the fees? Are there commissions?
  • How reputable is the provider?
  • Can you invest in stocks? Mutual funds? Real estate?

Whichever route you choose, choose the one that is right for you and start saving now.

#3: Where to invest and how to diversify.

Investing money can be risky, especially if you do not know how to do it. One way to lower your risk is to diversify your portfolio. Diversification isn’t complicated it simply reduces risk. It allows you to spread your money around so that you are not totally dependent on any one stock, bond or mutual fund.

Let’s talk about the difference in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and alternative investments.

Stocks: A stock is basically ownership in a company. If the company does well, so do you. On the other hand, if the company does badly, so do you. Historically, stocks have an average return of 10.8%, but with more return comes more risk. Investing in stock means that you have to be able to handle the extra risk involved.

Bonds: Think of bonds like a loan. You give or loan your money to the government or a company, and in return they pay you interest for the term of the loan. Bonds are traditionally considered more conservative because as the “lender” you can choose the length and term of the bond. The advantage to this is knowing how much money you will get back once the bond matures.

Mutual Funds: Mutual funds are just another way to invest in stocks, bonds or cash alternatives. Along with other investors, the money is pooled into a fund to invest in certain securities. Since the fund can include a few to a few hundred securities, it does provide you with instant diversification and convenience.

Alternative investments: There are other ways to invest your money for retirement. How about crowdfunding? Investing in real estate via a crowdfunding platform like Patch of Land (we like to call it a Peer-to-Real-Estate lending marketplace), you can earn 10-18% monthly on your investment. In turn, you can use this profit for some of the investments we mentioned above, or you can reinvest in other real estate projects. We’ve created 2-Minute Explainer Video that explains our peer-to-real estate lending marketplace.

#4: Consider delaying social security.

For every year you can delay receiving your social security payment before you reach the age of 70, your monthly benefit will increase which may boost your social security income during your retirement years. This might not be the best option for people who are counting down the days, hours, and seconds before they get to call it quits. However, if you're reaching that milestone and still love what you do, then holding off for another year or two might be a great way to boost your retirement savings.

#5: Get involved.

Whatever you decide to do to help reach your retirement goals, it is always important that you actively monitor your investments. If something isn’t working, move it, change it. Don’t sit there a pray that things will work out. Do your best to stay ahead of the curve and in the game. It’s never too late to start saving, but why wait, start now.

We encourage you to learn more about all of your investment options; particularly the emerging trends in crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending that you may be unfamiliar with. Feel free to browse our FAQ section to learn more and read our recent blog series on “How to Participate in Real Estate Crowdfunding” to gain a better understanding.

Still have questions? Connect with our team today! We’re just a phone call or ping away and look forward to hearing from you soon.



If you want to learn more, take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions we receive about real estate crowdfunding on a daily basis and find out why so many people are crowdfunding real estate projects across the country with Patch of Land.
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If you still want to know how Patch of Land works for professional real estate developers and accredited investors, please visit Patch of Land’s FAQ section and learn more today.

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