Monmouth U. students help create "New Army" gear

WEST LONG BRANCH — When Joe Gere wanted to create a business plan for a new clothing line, he didn't hire a bunch of high-powered experts. Instead, the Freehold resident went back to school.

Gere, who owns The Habana Co. — which offers what he described as "dock-to-dine" apparel — reached out to Monmouth University professor John Buzza and the students of his entrepreneurship class in the School of Business Management.

Buzza believes the way to teach entrepreneurship is by getting students involved in real projects. In other semesters, his students have developed their own pasta sauce, marketed gift bags and promoted concerts.

This semester, his students have been advising Gere about a new line of clothing he wants to create, which he has named New Army, which would target post-college-age men.

"Basically, at this point, we're learning the hands-on experience of what it is like to run a business," said Monmouth University senior Tiffany Mull, 33, of Bradley Beach. Among the topics the students have explored are public relations, Web design, sales and research and development, she said.

"We're learning the hands-on, but we're learning what we can use in the future to open our own businesses," she said.

The name New Army came about at the insistence of Gere, after students struggled for weeks to come up with a name for the new line. Gere, 44, said he chose the name — without apology to Old Navy — because when he looked at all the young people helping him launch the line, he realized that soon, they would be on their way to leading the next generation. They would be the "New Army."

While the students struggle with issues such as design and marketing, Gere hopes to attract more investors for his existing line. The Habana Co., which also goes by the name Habana Joe Trading Co., put its first clothing in stores three days before Memorial Day weekend 2005.

"It's not even two years old yet," he said of his company, which offers upscale resort wear for the ages-30-and-up crowd. "It is tastefully done casual wear" with a nautical feel, he said. "Basically, it was born out of a lifestyle. We go fishing, we go cruising, we hop off our boats and we go to the restaurant. It is casual enough to wear on the boat, yet it is fashionable enough (that) you can go into any restaurant and not be embarrassed."

Right now, Habana Co. gear is found in about 100 stores in New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, California, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The students, who meet with Gere twice a week, learned through their market research that there is a gap in available clothing for men ages 22 to 30.

"We believe the students have . . . better insight (into) what they want to wear, what they are comfortable wearing," Gere said outside the classroom in Bey Hall recently.

When they graduate, "they all don't want to wear a Brooks Brothers suit. They want to have a personality. . . . The kids are really helping to define this company."

Senior Patrick Codd, 21, a business marketing major from Holmdel, echoed the feelings of several students when he talked about the degree of rejection they've experienced in trying to market and sell the line.

"I've learned that it is very hard to get things going, to get your name out there, even though this stuff is very high quality," Codd said. "It is a matter of getting some hype out, some buzz, and I just realize it is a lot harder than it sounds."

Senior Tom Schaut, 23, a business management major from Haddonfield, said the class began with a list bearing 3,000 names of people to whom it could possibly market the product.

"We only got three or four people to listen to what we had to say," he said. "It takes a lot of work and a lot of time to make your business successful. It is not something that is going to happen overnight. You have to pour your heart and soul into it."

Buzza said Gere is benefiting from the "enthusiasm, creativity and ability" of class members "to think outside the box." Each student participates and each learns from the other. "It is really the ultimate learning concept," Buzza said.

As much as Gere is taking from the students, he also hopes he is giving something back.

"The roadblocks they're having with us transcend every single thing in life, from decisions about design, who pays and who doesn't pay and who wants to buy," Gere said. "None of them can go out of here into this world with rose-colored glasses. None of it is easy."

The New Army clothing line will be available next fall. Students are planning a fashion show at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Monmouth University's Anacon Hall.

Posted by the Asbury Park Press

BY CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER

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Jonathan Adler molds passion for clay into line of playful designs

GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

America "hearts" Jonathan Adler. The potter-turned-designer-turned-cheeky taste pooh-bah has become a national design mascot.

He can put breasts on a vase and we'll buy it; turn a giraffe into a lamp, and modern moms want it for the nursery; slap "Prozac" on a jar, sell it for $78, and we all sigh, "J'adore."

There's an affordable Adler line for the masses at Bed Bath & Beyond, a new Adlerized hotel for the upper design classes in Palm Springs, Calif., and Jonathan Adler scented candles.

His official aesthetic is "happy chic," and this means he has a bust of Michael Jackson in his New York apartment, puts Liza Minnelli on needlepoint throw pillows and believes passionately in the power of Krylon orange spray paint.

"My work, whatever the medium, is about making design that is unimpeachably chic but not off-putting or cold," Adler says via e-mail. "I want my stuff to make people feel good."

Joie de Jonathan

The Adler look is a wild melange of things he loves: from Pop Art and poodles to Palm Beach. It's 1972 and 1992 and 2002, all at the same time. It is iconically but irreverently modern. He offers prissy houndstooth pillows and platinum vases with the same vigor that he shows cushions covered with the seven deadly sins.

His inspirations include rap music, "The Shining," Madonna, Kiki de Montparnasse and "The Terminator."

"I am widely influenced," says Adler, 40. "I think snobbism can close one's eyes to some really great stuff. I think that a soupcon of vulgarity is a great thing — sort of like Diana Vreeland saying that bad taste is like a dash of paprika."

"Pothead'

Jonathan got his hands into clay at summer camp when he was 12. In 1979, for his bar mitzvah, he pleaded for a potter's wheel, and his parents obliged. The coolest thing about being a potter in high school, he jokes in his book "My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living" (Regan Books, 2005, $34.95), was that he got to make his own bongs.

(Now, his friends swear, he is a tea-drinking, lap-swimming, smoke-free health loon. They can't imagine that he'd ever need Prozac.)

Come college time, he officially studied art history and semiotics at Brown University in Providence, R.I., but, he says, often absconded to the nearby Rhode Island School of Design to play with clay. He also was told there that, officially, he had no talent.

So Adler tried the movie business: an assistant to "harpyish shrews," but after three years, he gave in to the call of the vase.

"I assumed I was sacrificing any hope of fame or fortune to pursue my passion for clay," he says. "I imagined a life hawking my wares at rain-soaked craft fairs, and that was fine. Finding an audience for my work was my idea of success."

It happened quickly: In 1994, he showed his creations to a buyer for Barneys New York and design minds across the country swooned.

In the beginning, Adler made everything himself. Pots and mugs bearing his fingerprints and signatures are collectors' items and "hoarded," Gordon says — you never see them on eBay.

When Adler decided he needed help, when his pieces were shown in magazines and everyone wanted more, more, more, he went to Aid to Artisans, a nonprofit organization that links designers with artisans in less fortunate countries. Soon enough, he was supporting a small village in Peru, where they throw his pots to this day in a workshop by the sea.

"He built this, and he built it on his own," says Rima Suqi, shopping editor for New York Magazine and a longtime design journalist. "And he doesn't really advertise it. He's not like, "Look at me, I'm so great, I'm doing this for these people in Peru.' But because of him, there are one or two towns that are kept alive by making his stuff. Though I do miss knowing he made the things himself and wrote funny things on the bottom."

Posted by the Ocean County Observer

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Putting Your Mortgage in Reverse To Supplement Retirement Funds

Federally insured reverse mortgages are gaining in popularity, and experts think they're poised to become an even bigger part of the lending industry in coming years.

The reason: More seniors are finding that traditional retirement tools, including IRAs, pensions and 401(k)s, are not providing enough income to help fund their living and health-care expenses, says Peter Bell, president of National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.

More importantly, new reverse mortgages could address one of the main concerns some seniors have about the loans -- their costs. "There are at least four new products in development," says Ken Scholen, director of the AARP Foundation's Reverse Mortgage Education Project.

With increased demand for reverse mortgages, there's been more competition and those applying a year from now could be pleasantly surprised by their lower costs. "If you don't need to do it in the next year or so, definitely wait and see," Mr. Scholen says.

The Federal Housing Administration insured 74,412 "home equity conversion" mortgages during the year ended Sept. 30, compared with 43,082 the previous year, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nearly half of all FHA reverse mortgages have been originated in the last two years.

A reverse mortgage is just what it sounds like -- instead of a homeowner making payments to the bank to pay off a mortgage, the bank pays the homeowner who has a significant amount of equity built up. The lender, in return, puts a lien on the property.

Borrowers receive money from a reverse mortgage in four ways: They can get a lump-sum payment, get a monthly cash stream, establish a line of credit or sign up for some combination of the three. To qualify for these loans, borrowers must be at least 62 years old.

But not all seniors are falling in love with this financial tool.

It wasn't right for John Lopez, 71, a Boca Raton, Fla., retiree who looked into a reverse mortgage so that he and his wife could live in their condo more comfortably.

After learning some of the costs and the adjustable interest rates associated with reverse mortgages, they decided against it. "The charges are horrendous," and the loans complex, he says. "I don't think the average person out here could handle some of these things without a lawyer."

Upfront Costs

According to the AARP, upfront and ongoing costs for a 74-year-old borrower in a $250,000 home in May 2006 could be about $25,000 -- not including interest. For that, the homeowner could draw about $1,000 in monthly payments.

Almost all lenders charge adjustable interest rates on home-equity-conversion loans. Other costs include origination fees, third-party closing costs, mortgage insurance premiums and servicing fees.

But Mr. Bell points out that most often the cost of the appraisal is the only one that may need to be paid at the outset. Remaining costs often get paid with loan proceeds.

Another worry prospective borrowers have is that they will lose control of their property by signing up for the loan, says Jim Mahoney, chief executive officer for Financial Freedom Senior Funding, a subsidiary of IndyMac Bancorp that specializes in reverse mortgages.

But that fear -- that "the bank takes the house" away from the owner -- is unfounded, he says.

The homeowner retains the home's title for the life of the reverse mortgage, he says. When the homeowner moves or dies, the loan comes due and must be paid off by the borrower or the heirs, which could be done by selling the house and using the proceeds. The borrower never has to pay back more than the value of the home; the FHA pays the excess amount if there is one. To ensure that borrowers know what they're getting into, they also must go through counseling before getting the loan.

Some reverse mortgages resemble annuities, with fixed monthly payments for life, even if equity is depleted. But unlike annuities, the borrower can't move and continue to receive the monthly income.

Equity Drops

One downside of reverse mortgages, however, is that as the equity in the home is diminished, less money is available for emergency purposes, says Jon Beyrer, a financial planner with Blankinship & Foster in Solana Beach, Calif.

On top of that, some consumers considering a reverse mortgage decide against it because they want to leave their house -- or the equity built up in it -- to their heirs.

Those considering a reverse mortgage should ask themselves five questions:

• Is downsizing a better option?

Homeowners should seriously look at selling and moving as a way to tap a home's equity, Mr. Scholen says. Those who do will sometimes find that they could get more for their home than they thought or that another living situation is more attractive.

• How long do you plan to stay in the house?

A reverse mortgage doesn't make sense, for example, for someone planning on moving two years in the future, Mr. Mahoney says.

• Might other loans be better?

If the mortgage is being considered to supplement a rainy-day fund, it might be best to consider a line of credit that can be tapped when it is needed, Mr. Mahoney says. If money is needed for a shorter period of time, maybe a home-equity loan is a better choice, Mr. Scholen says.

• How much could you get from a reverse mortgage?

Financial Freedom's Web site offers a calculator to help figure this out: www.financialfreedom.com/calculator/Input_new.asp.

• When do you need the loan?

In addition to waiting for less-expensive products in the pipeline, remember that homeowners are eligible for more money the older they are and the more their house is worth, Mr. Scholen says.

By Amy Hoak
From The Wall Street Journal Online

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Top Mistakes Of A Real Estate Business

At some point during your real estate investing endeavors, you might consider turning your money maker into a business. Many investors start their own real estate investing business after they have experience in real estate investing.

There are several benefits to creating a real estate investing business rather than doing investing as an individual. These benefits can only be received after dodging the pitfalls that plague many a real estate investing business.

Once you start a real estate investing business, it will be important for you to focus on the business just as much as you focus on the investing itself.

Too many times investors think that because they have received the incorporation for their real estate investing business that there is nothing left for them to do. On the contrary, there is more work to do.

You make your business grow into something more than a day in, day out task, you need to invest some work into it. The marketing side is just as important as the real estate side of your business.

Dont be to eager to take on a partner in your real estate investing business. Unless the two of you have been partners before the business, chances are it will be tough transitioning part of the work, responsibility, and equity to a person who hasnt been working with you from the beginning. If you feel the need to take on a partner because there is too much work, consider hiring some other real estate investors to help you.

Sure, starting a real estate investing business is a good idea, but you must keep in mind that the idea does not make the business successful. Only you and your employees can do this. You must focus on making your business and its offering better to ultimately make your real estate investing business better.

Price should never be the reason that your real estate investing business is better than someone elses. Too many other investing businesses have gone bankrupt because they tried to beat out the competitions prices. You should instead focus on improving your profit margin by lowering the costs you incur. This is a much better method for your real estate investing business than operating on little to no profit.

Do not, repeat, do not, try to cut corners by hiring cheap labor for your real estate investing business. Keep in mind always that you get what you pay for. Dont just hire the first person that comes along. Instead, interview a few people, and hire the person you feel is best suited for the job. You, and your real estate investing business, will appreciate it later.

Keep in mind that once you start a real estate business, there is more to focus on than finding and closing deals. You have to be concerned about the marketing, finances, administration, and operations components of your business equally. Paying too much attention to any one area can cause problems.

Starting a real estate business is not the easiest task to accomplish. Once you get over the hurdles that cause most start ups to fail, the task of running a business will become easier to accomplish.

By Gerald Mason

About the Author:
Claim a free e-book that will show you a system used to control $4.1million worth of real estate for just $22 - and you can follow this system to do the same. Comes with resale rights from: Free Real Estate Fortunes Ebook

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Learning Secrets Through A Real Estate Investing Seminar

If you are a real estate investor, beginner or experienced, it is important for you to learn about real estate investing. One of the ways you can learn about real estate investing is through a real estate investing seminar.

When many people first become interested in real estate investing, they think of it in the same way as investing in stocks and bonds.

Just as must as real estate investing is similar to other kinds of investments, it is also very much different from these traditional types of investments. In a real estate investing seminar you will learn about how you can invest in real estate and make a profit.

Before you attend a real estate investing seminar, you should be forewarned that sometimes these seminars are not what you would expect. In many cases, the seminars do not have a lot of funding for speakers.

In addition, real estate seminars do not operate for a profit. Because of this, speakers often are not paid. When you attending a real estate investing seminar you might notice that many of the speakers seem to be attempting to sell some kind of merchandise. Although this might not what you expected, keep in mind that even these seemingly salespeople also have a vast amount of experience that you can learn from.

Even though you might experience these sales pitches at some real estate investing seminars, this certainly doesnt take place at all seminars.

One of the things you will learn at a real estate investing seminar is current market trends. Speakers will tell you everything you need to know about the current real estate market.

In addition to market trends, you will also learn tactics and strategies that will be useful in your real estate investing endeavors.

You might hear of several different kinds of strategies depending on the speaker. Keep in mind that what worked for one investor might not necessarily work for all.

Still, it is good to take notes on what each speaker has to say. This way you get a full picture of strategies you might add to your investing portfolio.

Depending on the purpose of the real estate investing seminar, you might hear any of an assortment of different topics. There is much to the world of real estate investing, far more than can be covered in a few days or even a week.

Some topics at the real estate investing seminar might be covered in detail, while others might only be glossed over with a provision of high level concepts.

When you attend a real estate investing seminar, you should take the opportunity to network with other real estate investors. Unless you work for a real estate investing company, you might not get the chance to meet other investors.

Attending a real estate investing seminar gives you the chance to make contact with real estate investors that might be of some benefit to you in the future. While you might learn a lot during the real estate investing seminar, you can learn much more outside of a seminar type setting. The contacts you make at the seminar will serve as resources in the future.

If you have something that experienced real estate investors can gain from you, they will be more willing to pass on valuable information to you. Just going to the meeting will be stimulating and help give your business a boost.

By Gerald Mason

About the Author:
Claim a free e-book that will show you a system used to control $4.1million worth of real estate for just $22 - and you can follow this system to do the same. Comes with resale rights from: Free Real Estate Fortunes Ebook

Submitted at: Content-Articles.com - The Premier Web Site Content Article Directory

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What's the Deal with Interest Only Mortgages?

Have you heard that commercial about interest-only mortgages...the one where you're told about what a wonderful benefit it is to have a low, low mortgage payment and all the wonderful tax write-offs you will receive?

Before you decide to buy now and pay later, that is pay "big time" later, take a moment to enlighten yourself a bit more about these so-called "interest only mortgages." Think about it for a moment. If you just pay the interest on your home, will you ever start paying on principal and will you ever earn any equity into your property?

By definition, a mortgage is a temporary, conditional pledge of property to a creditor as security for performance of an obligation or repayment of a debt. Simplified, that means you borrow money from a financial institution and they essentially buy your house and you pay it back. How can this happen if you're just paying interest? More accurately, interest-only mortgages are a temporary reprieve for paying off a traditional mortgage. You may actually be prolonging the inevitable and eventually making it even more costly to pay off your mortgage.

Far too many people are in debt way over their heads because of interest-only mortgages. They took advantage of attractive offers to buy now and pay later. With an interest only payment you're keeping the principal at minimum value while continuing to pay interest at 100%. With a more conventional mortgage you'd be slowly dwindling down the total interest amount.

Most interest-only payment schedules are offered on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), but they can also be found on a fixed rate mortgage. Interest-only payment periods almost never run for the entire term of the loan which is typically 15 or 30 years. Depending on the terms of your contract, you could be expected to start paying on the principal in five, seven or ten years. Once the interest-only period ends, your monthly payment will go up because then you'll be paying on both principal and interest.

Conversely, interest-only mortgages can be a good thing for some people. For those people wanting to purchase a bigger/better home for a lower down payment AND who anticipate moving within seven years, the interest-only payment method may be the way to go. However, keep in-mind that in a "down" realestate market you generally won't be building equity and making money by doing it this way. The majority of the money made from investing in real estate comes from an increase in value to the home. The average person moves every seven years anyway. Gone are the days when people stay in a home thirty years. Hence, if you anticipate moving before you'll have to start paying on the principal, then an interest-only payment may be ideal for you.

There's a great deal of fine print to any mortgage. Evaluate your own goals; be vigilant when reviewing the terms on the loan you're considering before acting.

About the Author

Paulina Jenkins cheatle894@aim.com http://www.mytotalsite.com

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Top 7 Ways of Turning Land Into Wealth

Investing in land is easy to understand. Due to demand outstripping supply, land increases in value consistently. Because of this limited supply of land, developing houses on the land is seen as one of the smartest investment opportunities today. Here are seven ways to turn your land into wealth:

Obtain land at a discounted price and sell it for a profit immediately. If you find the right source, and sell to people in the correct region, you can easily make a couple thousand dollars in a few days.

After purchasing land, wait for prices to go up, than sell it. This is all about supply and demand: Because the supply of land is limited, the demand has and will always go up. This means that the value goes up too.

After purchasing land, wait for prices to go up, than develop a property to take advantage of raising land values. This can bring in over six figures if you are patient and can do it correctly.

Buy a piece of land and eventually leave it for your children to sell for a considerable profit. It really makes as a wonderful gift.

Obtain a piece of land; finance it to someone else for short-term monthly income. You'll make more money because of the interest.

Obtain a piece of land, build a house, and rent it out for long-term monthly income. This requires some start up capital and patient, but the rewards are well worth it.

And lastly, land is finite. This means there is only so much land in the world. Owning a finite commodity, as we all know, will bring in surprisingly lucrative opportunities!

Business Link- Buy Land and Lots at Low Prices- Silver Discount Properties

About the Author

Gregory Akerman is the author and editer at Silver Discount Properties and a full time political science major currently enrolled in Santa Monica Community College's Scholars program, awaiting transfer to UCLA.

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Lofts vs. Traditional Apartments

Do you desire a carefree sort of living situation in which immovable walls and preset distinctive rooms do not define your space for you? Do you feel the need to have every aspect of your life set into a pattern? Do you crave the wide-open floor plans of a loft style apartment, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing a full, panoramic view, or do you prefer the structured living style of a more traditional apartment? If you're unsure of the direction that your living arrangements are heading, continue reading to hear the best (and worst) of loft-style and traditional apartments.

To sum it up, a traditional apartment has definitive rooms separated by floor-to-ceiling walls and accessible through doorways with or without a door. The square footage of such a home varies upon the number of rooms, such as a one or two bedroom with or without a den or office. Bathrooms are always separate and are not included in the overall square footage.

On the other hand, a classic loft-style apartment is one grand space with an average living space of 1,000 to 2,000 square feet. High ceilings (with windows to match), worn wooden floors and exposed building elements such as brick, pipes, beams and duct-work with cavernous spaces beyond the reach of the average resident are just a few of the aspects that lure tenants to the city-life, industrial-chic abode.

The historic Soho district of New York City is the proud address of the creation of the loft apartment. Stuck with large manufacturing buildings that couldn't support modern technology, the building owners of the 1950's risked losing everything if these colossal buildings remained unoccupied. The art community of the area was struggling to find affordable studio space that was large enough to house their apparatus and spread it out so the atmosphere could compliment that necessary of an artist. The combined efforts lead to the loft-housing boom, as the artists couldn't afford both an apartment and a studio to work. A series of pulleys and trap doors were installed to hide any domicile items of the resident when a nosey landlord would come around, as it was slightly illegal to live in such a building.

Even though the classic loft apartment is converted from an old manufacturing or warehouse building, more and more contractors are actually meeting the growing demand of loft apartments by creating these buildings from the ground up. These new-fangled reproductions are referred to as "hybrids".

Both a traditional and loft apartment come in different shapes and attributes, with or without fireplaces and such details. Secured video entry, in-house fitness center and a pool are a just a few of the luxury items that may or may not come with your apartment, no matter which style you choose.

About the Author

Maria Hayden recommends that you visit http://www.lofts.com for more information on lofts.

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Relocating to Cheaper Housing

Moving to an area with lower housing costs often doesn't pay off for low-income Americans, according to a study to be released today by the Center for Housing Policy, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

The study, which looks at families with low to moderate incomes in 28 metropolitan areas, found that transportation costs in places with cheaper housing are often so high that they wipe out the savings from lower rent or mortgage payments. Such places tend to be farther from employers or short on public transportation, which makes commuting costlier.

The study found that housing and transportation costs combined eat up an average of 57% of annual income for "working" families, which the study defines as those with incomes of $20,000 to $50,000 a year. The combined costs ranged from 54% of income in Pittsburgh to 63% in San Francisco; in 25 of the 28 metro areas, the combined total was within three percentage points of the 57% average.

The findings contradict the common notion that many people would be better off financially if they moved from areas with high housing costs, such as California, to states like Texas or Georgia, where housing is much cheaper.

The median house price in San Diego, at $613,000, is four times that of Dallas. But the study found that working families in San Diego spend 59% of their income on housing and transportation, only slightly more than the 57% they spend in Dallas. Families in Dallas spent just 26% of their income on housing, compared with 31% in San Diego, but the Dallas families spent more on transport.

The study also found that moving to an inexpensive outer suburb, but continuing to work near a city center, often backfires. Typically, a move that adds more than about 12 miles to a one-way commute will result in a rise in transport costs that outweighs the savings on housing, the researchers found.

The data on housing and transport costs for working families come from the 2000 U.S. Census. Since then, both housing and transport costs have jumped, but Barbara J. Lipman, research director at the Center for Housing Policy, said the results are still valid. Housing and transport costs have grown by roughly similar amounts.

The center is an arm of the National Housing Conference, a nonprofit group that favors more spending on affordable-housing programs for low- and moderate-income people. The conference is funded by groups including the MacArthur Foundation and mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

By James R. Hagerty

From The Wall Street Journal Online

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Using Retirement Money Now

Over the summer, my wife and I began living part of our retirement dream: We bought a small house on a lake about an hour from where we live.

In doing so, we threw down a meaningful chunk of our liquid retirement savings for the down payment on this property.

We're not looking to retire anytime soon, mind you; I'll be 41 in January, and Amy, my wife, is only 39. But we also know that buying the property means we're trading what would likely be faster growth in the stock market over the next 25 years for slower growth in real estate. And that means that when the time does come to retire, we'll have a smaller bundle of cash to live on -- cash we could have used at that point to buy a lake house, and more.

So why did we do it? Sometimes, when you examine what you want

From as long ago as I can remember and up through high school, my grandfather and two of his brothers owned a small, rustic cabin at the same lake where Amy and I now have our getaway. I spent a great deal of time there learning to fish, swimming with my friends, exploring the wilderness and attending family gatherings. That lake is such a part of who I am that for years I've had recurring dreams about the place; if I hear the distinctive trill of a red-winged blackbird today, I am instantly 10 years old, sitting in a small fishing boat with my grandfather, watching the sun rise over the lake.

Amy knows the pull this lake has on me. I've talked about it often, and when we were dating in college I'd drive her there on occasion to show her a piece of my history and to reminisce about what I view as the happiest part of my childhood. For my 40th birthday this past January, she surprised me with a weekend at the small bed-and-breakfast directly across the lake from the cabin where I spent so much time as a kid.

Driving around the lake that weekend, we noticed "for sale" signs on a few empty lots and houses. That got us talking. Wouldn't it be nice to have a place there for the weekends? Somewhere to spend time with our kids. Teach them how to fish and water-ski. Where we can enjoy holidays with friends and family. I told her that this particular lake is where I could see myself spending a great deal of time in retirement.

A real-estate agent we contacted to check on prices in the area ultimately showed us the perfect property -- a two-bedroom house with a great deck and a long path leading down a leafy hill to a small boathouse on the water.

We bought it.

Of course, the process wasn't nearly that simple or quick. We spent months debating, sometimes agonizing, over whether our vision of "wouldn't it be nice..." was worth the cost.

To a certain degree, the decision to buy the lake house was debated on financial grounds. Real estate has value and will generally increase alongside the rate of inflation over time. So it's not like we're cracking our nest egg to spring for something ultimately worthless like a sports car or a tony vacation. Our retirement stash will continue to work for us, so that if we ever needed to raise money to live on, we have an asset that's worth something.

The financial downside: It's likely that the lake house will appreciate more slowly than other investments we could have made. So we'll either have to save more for our retirement, or resign ourselves to having less at retirement than we might have had otherwise.

But as I said, there's a family variable that, for us, overshadowed the finances.

Every day I watch my son and daughter grow, and it's like watching another grain in the hourglass fall. I see this lake house as a means for building memories with our children...and for our children. Sure, Amy and I could have waited until we actually reached retirement to buy our retirement home, and at that point we might have a decade, maybe longer, to enjoy the place. But it would be a decade largely alone, with the kids visiting on major holidays, but other than that having no real ties to that house or the lake.

Or, we could buy the house now, when we'll get three or four decades of use from it -- and, most important, it will become part of the fabric of our kids' lives. They will look back on their years at the lake with Mom and Dad as fondly as I recall those moments with my grandfather. My ultimate hope: that we never have to sell this house because our kids love it so much, and they'll want to keep it when we're either too old to use it or gone.

And then there's this: In the event that either of us dies young, I don't want our retirement-savings effort to have gone for naught. This way, we're living part of our retirement dream together, now.

To be clear, Amy and I aren't made of money. Neither of us is tapping into a family trust, and we didn't win the lottery. To make this purchase work, we had to dig deeply into our retirement money.

That money exists because through our years together we've been aggressively saving -- sometimes excessively, Amy says. We have done it by living in affordable houses, replacing our cars infrequently and not taking blowout vacations. In short, we've made trade-offs our entire career with an eye toward our future.

Still, buying the lake house required even more trade-offs that we spent long hours discussing.

Longtime readers of this column might recall that a few yeas ago I wrote about an exercise Amy and I went through, where we separately wrote a list of our individual dreams for retirement. We compared our lists to determine how close we are in our visions and where we need to try to build a path toward one another. One patch of common ground: We both wanted a small apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia, a city we've come to adore over the years and where we'd like to spend extended time in retirement.

That dream remains on the list, but it has lost its former prominence. We realized we'd be happier with a house that we can drive to at any moment rather than one requiring advanced planning and a day's air travel to reach.

We've also scaled back some annual vacation expectations, willing to spend those days, instead, with the family playing at the lake.

Buying your retirement home 25 years before you ever reach retirement may not be the way many savers want to invest their nest egg, and I understand that. But the way Amy and I calculate the numbers, there can be no finer return on investment than to see the value of this house grow...in our kids' hearts.

By Jeff Opdyke

From The Wall Street Journal Online

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