When I’m around 65 years old, I want to have the ability to quit working. I want, like almost all Americans want, to be able to retire. Well, the trouble with that is that I, and just about everyone else, probably won’t have enough money to be able to retire just from the saved income from our jobs and from social security. We’ll have to take the money we save from our earnings and try to make it grow. So the problem then lies in finding the best way to invest our savings so that it grows, like in this image, large enough, and crucially, safe enough, to be able to retire upon. I think, that the best way to grow our money large and safe enough is called an index fund. So today, I’m going to explain what index funds are, and why they’re better than our other investing options. Owning stocks in general is really pretty simple. In fact, it’s a lot like owning cows. You can spend all of your money on one cow that looks perfect, but then there’s a lot to worry about. For instance, you have to worry about that cow dying to disease or falling in a ravine or getting struck by lightening or getting lost. Or you can share an entire herd of cows with a few other investors. Think about how much safer you are! The likelihood of losing a whole herd to something is pretty small, and something really terrible would have to happen. How does that relate to stocks? Well individual stock picking is like owning one cow, while index funds are like owning the herd. And just like your cow could get
A Beginner’s Guide to Investing: How to Grow your Money the Smart and Easy Way
The stock market is a risky business. Investing can make you wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, in which only a few investors have found the formula. Otherwise making the wrong decision
Many professionals, young and old, are looking at investing their money in different areas. Some would choose investing on a start-up or banking it all on mutual funds. But there is one way people can invest their money for the “Betterment.”
The stock market is an ever changing, popular way for many Americans to invest their money somewhere other than a bank. The reason behind that is because the interest banks pay you for your money is incredibly low. Stocks, on the other hand, give an investor a chance to make a better return on their money. At a higher risk of course. Some may think buying stocks are like pulling the lever on a slot machine, putting your money in randomly and hoping for the best. That is not so, yes there is no guarantee of a return when buying stocks but there are many ratios that a potential investor can use to better their odds on making a profit.
Investment ambitions can be as uncomplicated as a few certificates of deposits, or as diverse as an abundant array of interests that make up a large portfolio. You can start as simple as an FDIC insured savings bond, evolving into mutual funds, ultimately building a massive stock portfolio.
Now that 401k and IRA plans are the sole form of retirement planning, it has become a problem for Americans to save anything. Employee sponsored 401k plans have become the status quo in retirement planning but not all employers are able to offer the benefit. The emergence of automated investment platforms aims to tackling this problem making them easily accessible for businesses of all sizes. While its effect wont be felt for another few years it’s a great first step to addressing the growing retirement
When people are asked how people will plan or rethink for retirement, the first thing that people will think about, is saving. There are some positive ways to save money, the author suggests to the readers to sign up for 401(k) plan. It is a plan help employees save for retirement, 401(k) should allow anyone to build up a nice nest egg. For example, “In Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, for instance, he gives us “Joe and Suzy Average” who invest $7,500 per year ($625 per month) using their tax-free retirement account. They do this from age 30 to 70, getting 12 percent interest per year. At the end, they have $7,588,545 to their names.” When people invest in 401(k) plan, it is safer and more money in retirement and it also has a benefit that you don’t need to pay for tax when you take the money out. Beside 401(k), people prefer to invest money in the stock market for retirement-plan. According to author “ During a recent 40- year period,
The terms saving and investing are often erroneously used by average people to describe the activity of building financial wealth. Knowing the variances between saving and investing, combined with the knowledge of how and when to use each one, is essential to prudent financial planning and for reaching specific financial goals and objectives ("Saving and Investing," 2016). Thus, saving money is a rather passive and safe action, while investing money involves a certain amount of risk; hence, there is a tradeoff between saving and investing, as investing affords the opportunity for increased financial growth ("SEC Questions," 2007). Saving money characteristically involves placing funds in secure places, in particular, bank savings accounts, money markets, and certificates of deposit ("SEC Questions," 2007), therefore, while saving, the overall financial objective is maintaining the security and liquidity of money, as well as preserving money’s initial nominal value ("Saving and Investing," 2016).
Retirement pensions provides a source of retirement income employees can draw on after they stop working, they have to invest for retirement while they are still on the job (Lightbulb Financial, 2013). To take advantage of the opportunity to accumulate tax-deferred earnings and in some cases defer taxes on their contributions as well, employees can participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans and invest in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that they set up on their own (Lightbulb Financial, 2013). This paper will propose several types of retirement plans that could be offered to employees. In addition, a
An annuity is an ideal option for many prospective retirees. A fixed index annuity provides a guaranteed income source that will be there for the employee's future. This insurance product pays out an income for investors who want a steady stream of income during their retirement. The investor just pays into the annuity and is able to collect payments in the future. They are able to determine the number of years that they can receive the payouts or set a defined time
Many do-it-yourself investors want solutions they can implement once, then leave alone. Can individual investors adopt a strategy that's so good it will meet their needs from age 21 to 91? In this article, FundAdvice.com Publisher Paul Merriman and Managing Editor Richard Buck tell why they think the answer is yes.
John C. Bogle is the founder and ex-CEO of Vanguard, known for its low cost and diversified index funds. He has written this book as a straightforward strategy for the average person to be able to match the market rate of growth
Mutual funds are an easy, convenient way to invest, without having to worry about choosing individual stocks. A mutual fund can be defined as a single portfolio of stocks, bonds, and/or cash managed by an investment company on behalf of many investors. The investment company manages the fund, and sells shares in the fund to individual investors. When one invests in a mutual fund, they become a part-owner of a large investment portfolio, along with all the other shareholders of the fund. The fund manager invests the contributions when shares are purchased, along with money from the other shareholders. Every day, the fund manager counts up the value of all the fund's holdings, figures out how many shares have been purchased by
Stocks (or shares), by definition, are shares of ownership in a company. By purchasing stocks in a company, the investor becomes a part owner, and thereby owns a percentage share of the company’s after tax profits. Stocks/shares have two key characteristics: 1) they can be issued in small denominations: an investor can purchase as many or as few shares in a company as he/ she wants, thereby becoming a
Imagine having saved enough money that you don’t need to work; you can live on just the interest your investments return each year. If you’re smart, you’ll live on just the interest, such that you could live this way indefinitely without drawing down your principal.