23 Feb 2008 09:19:05 | Doug Beavers
Investing is one of the most overlooked yet important aspects of
human life. Many people put off investing or simply do not put
any of their money away their entire working life and when it
comes time to retire, there is nothing there for them. In this
world of uncertainty when it comes to Social Security, it is
imparitive that an individual invests some of thier income for
their future use and retirement. Putting off investing is one of
the most hurtful things you can do for your future. When it
comes to investing, time is your greatest ally. Time allows you
to earn compound interest on your bank accounts, own stocks
whose dividends are reinvested and whose shares split, as well
as own properties that continually increase in value.
There are many excuses for someone to put off investing. "I'm
too young, I'll start in a few years when I am making more
money." "I don't have the money right now, I have kids to raise,
I'll start when they move out." "If I don't have any money
saved, there will always be Social Security for me." Pretty
soon, someone finds themselves nearing the age of retirement
with little to no money waiting for them when they finally
retire. This is not a fun situation to be in. When most people
are retiring that individual is forced to stay in the workforce
to support themselves and make a futile effort to build some
kind of portfolio to allow them to retire before life gets the
best of them.
When many people think of investing, they think of the stock
market. Though this is a major part in investing, it is by no
means the only one. There is real estate, Bonds, and even banks.
You may wonder how a bank can be considered a good investment.
Though it may not make you much money on your money, they are a
place to build up your funds to invest other places. A bank can
be an important stepping stone on the road to a comfortable
retirement. It is also important not to tie all of your money up
in one place. Have a little bit in real estate, a little bit in
the stock market, a little bit in bonds, and yes a little bit in
a bank as a backup. This is kind of like a safety net. If one
part of your portfolio should underperform one year, the other
parts should pick up the slack. A correctly diversified
portfolio will always be making you money no matter what is
going on with the economy at any given moment.
You should always try to save a portion of you income. Set a
resonable percent and pay yourself first. Try not to touch that
money that you pay to yourself. If you are going to come up
short one week, try to find some other source for your money. It
is important to get this saving habit down early and to follow
it strictly. Right from your first adolescent job you should be
saving your money for your future. In fact, the years when you
still live at home are the prime years to get a good base in
your portfolio. An adolescent living at home has very little
expenses. Though they will most likely make minimum wage or
close to it, with the lack of expenses that go along with living
with ones parents, they can afford to invest much of the money
that they make. This comes hard to most teens living at home.
They get some money and they want to hurry up and spend it on
movie tickets or new cds. This fall back to the pay yourself
first method. If they take a portion of their check out right
when they first get it and forget about that portion, it forces
them to give up some of the unnecissary items or find some other
productive way to make some extra money to get them.
The bottom line is your biggest ally when it comes to investing
is time. You can never get time back and its powers to aid you
in having a comfortable and early retirement are priceless. DO
NOT put off investing. If you haven't started saving money, go
out today and open a bank account. It is very important to save
when you can so it is there for you when you wish to have it.
You must also remember that is wise to have a diversified
portfolio. The saying "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket"
rings true. Hopefully this website will be of some use in
helping you to decide how and where to invest your money. Take
your time and read all the articles, they are methods that I
feel are good ways to build a strong portfolio and to gain
financial freedom at an early age to allow you to enjoy your
family during the most important years of your life.
For more articles about investing, please visit
http://www.interestinginvesting.com
About Author :
Doug Beavers, Web Designer and Investor