Are real estate investments really beneficial?

[Phineas]

My Regards to the community, I am working in a private firm and really want to secure my future by doing some investments as I can’t be so dependent on my current job forever for all my basic needs. . Can somebody help me, to make me decide that where should I invest my money to get long term profits?

[Russ]

That is very interesting, I was watching a news program today and they were talking about a new debit card that takes money from your 401(k).  The expert said that this was the dumbest possible idea anyone could have, basically taking money that you will need to buy bread when you are 80 to pay for your non-essential needs today.  The only reason to take money from your retirement funds, according to the expert, was if you were bankrupt or faced imprisonment for back taxes. 

So your comment is point the same way, you can't rely on your job forever even if you wanted to.  Everyone who is looking for a comfortable future must live within your means and put money aside in a balanced portfolio.  Real estate can be a good part of that portfolio, you will need a roof over your head in any case and with a slack market this is a good time to buy if you were previously not able to afford it.

Cash, stocks, gold, and bonds are also good areas to spread your investments in. 

For tax purposes, real estate in Costa Rica is treated the same as real estate in the U.S., if that is where you are based.  Since you are taxed on your worldwide income your deductions and investments may be world wide. 

[frettless]

If you are withdrawing anything from any retirement account such as a traditional IRA or 401K before the allowable age to do so you will have to pay a 20% penalty for doing so plus pay income tax on what you withdraw since you didn't pay income tax on the amount when you made your contribution. On a Roth you are paying the income tax on the from end and then contributing so I think you would only need to pay the early withdrawal penalty.

If you are eligible to withdraw from a retirement fund and living in CR the debit card might not be a bad idea. I've found that when I'm on vacation it's an easy way to get cash from my US account, I can control it via The Web and the fees are relatively small least with the bank that I use.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, the US Embassy will only receive Social Security checks for Veterans and you have to pick them up.