Take this weekend for a short glance at your retirement portfolio.  I’m willing to bet that your domestic investments have gone down the tubes while your overseas investments are looking great.  This weekend would be a great time to reallocate your investment dollars.

I’m not at all suggesting to take profits overseas, the run against the dollar is hardly over.   I am suggesting that you get out of financials, out of home building and out of anything you see as borderline luxury.  Its time to go recession proof before the R word starts getting tossed around.

Many portfolios evade the commodities market.  In a time like this you want exposure to commodities that are actually hedges against the dollar.  Oil, gold and silver are a good place to start.  It might seem like these three markets are in a bubble, but you haven’t seen anything yet.  Silver is the best investment of the three as it still has a long way to run.  The short positions on silver are innumerable and the sticker shock won’t set in until a major move.

Go overseas.  Your next look should be to focus on international investments or companies that have done a significant amount of business overseas.  McDonalds and Coca-Cola are two stocks that stand to do well even in a cooling market.  Both McDonalds and Coke have a large marketshare all over the world.  Coke generates more in its overseas operations than domestically and McDonalds still has plenty of room to grow in the Asian market.  Both companies will prosper from a weakening dollar and economy here at home.

While homebuilders might be looking like a bottom, the supply of homes is seriously inflated.  Homebuilding will not pick up until the economy swings back into full momentum.  The lower rates and $200 Billion infusion has yet to make it to everyday people.  When it does, we might see a small increase in home ownership.  There is plenty of supply out there and very few buyers, if the credit crunch continues down its beaten path the amount of foreclosed homes will flood the market.

No CD’s,  no money market, none of that fixed income stuff.  Fixed income investments are destroyed by inflation.   As the Fed continues to print more money, inflation will rise to ultimately dwarf the returns on fixed income.  When deflation occurs, fixed income is the perfect investment.  A stacked money supply is dangerous to your fixed income.

Absolutely no cash.  There is no reason to be holding cash right now.  There are plenty of worthwhile investments here and abroad.  Consider taking some cash to invest in hard metals or other assets that are inflation proof.  Artwork, collectibles etc are likely to rise with the rate of inflation and can be used to make the house look great in the mean time.  Hard assets are important for any portfolio.

There are mainly two types of IRA (Individual Retirement Account) accounts – Traditional IRA and Roth IRA. Both these IRA accounts are aimed at providing financial security for the account holder and his/her family after retirement. IRA’s invest money in common stocks and mutual funds to earn more money so that you can retire comfortably. There has been a lot of controversy over the newer Roth IRA but it has been shown to be more beneficial than the traditional IRA. Let us have a look at some of the major differences between Roth IRA and Traditional IRA account.

The Roth IRA gives the holder the benefit of not paying any taxes on the withdrawals that you make. It can grow income tax free for as long as you own it, but it will not be tax deductible. On the other hand, the traditional IRA will be tax deductible as you will be paying taxes on any amount when you withdraw it.

It is better to have a Roth IRA if you are going to keep your account and keep putting money in it for a long period of time. The traditional IRA can be a better choice if you only have a short investment term. It is also possible to convert from your traditional IRA account to a Roth IRA even if it is half way through your term. You will have to pay taxes on that amount but the long term benefits will show the longer it is in there.

One should also take into account his/her retirement trusts regarding estates. Many people go into great detail about other aspects and do not spend enough time with their Roth IRA and other plans. By doing the research and consulting with professionals, your family can get far more money out in the event of your death.

Basically you have to assess the height of your income tax bracket to know if by choosing the traditional IRA you will make more money on the tax deductions than you will have initially paid tax on.