Smart Saving and Investing provides resources and helpful information for everyone who is interested in saving and investing their money.
It’s for Joe and Jane Saver and Investor. People who work, save their money, and want to retire with financial stability.
It’s for the folks who don’t know what the heck is in their company’s investment plan or what choices they should make in those plans.
The topics range from saving money, frugal living, investing money, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, credit cards, debt, investing lingo, and more.
Getting Started Saving and Investing
No matter what the current economic environment is or what your personal financial situation is, Saving and Investing over a long period of time allows you to face your financial future with confidence.
Saving and investing your money is no small task. It’s important at every stage of life.
With a savings plan and an investment plan over an extended period of time, you can reach your financial goals.
One of the best ways to do that is to connect with a financial adviser or financial planner who will make the best financial decisions that will be right for you, instead of making financial decisions that are right for himself, herself or the company they work for.
One of the best types of advisers is the fee-based adviser. The fee-based adviser is not trying to sell you something. They are there to advise you on your financial affairs based on your needs.
I’ve outlined three steps for you to start saving and investing. This is not the only way to do it, but it is a start and for some people, starting is the hardest part. So here are the three steps to get you moving in the right direction.
1. Save Money
Simple to say but hard to do, saving money for a rainy day.
Start an online savings account or any other federally insured savings account at a bank or credit union for those times when you need it.
You can’t really rely on credit cards for emergency funds given the recent credit squeeze and it’s just not a good practice.
Opening an online savings account will allow you to save automatically without even knowing it. And that is one of the most important moves you can make.
You can make automatic deposits on a monthly basis or whatever time interval works for your situation.
Shortly after doing this you’ll discover you’ve got more than you know in savings.
This alone can cause you to feel the relief that comes from knowing there’s money saved for the surprises in your life. That’s the feeling of financial security.
Enjoy The Feeling!
2. Retirement Plan
If you work, and your employer has a retirement plan you can invest in, then most likely it will be worth participating in.
When you participate in your employer’s retirement plan there could be matching contributions of some sort where you contribute x amount of dollars and your employer either matches that or even exceeds that contribution.
Check with your employer for the details. You might be able to participate right away in their retirement plan or you might have to wait a while before you can.
Either way, when you do participate in your employer’s retirement and they match your contribution, it’s like getting free money, and everybody likes free money.
3. Roth IRA
To really ramp up your retirement efforts, open a Roth IRA if it makes sense for you.
There are so many advantages to opening a Roth IRA including selecting what investments you want to invest in, to various tax advantages and much more, that it makes it a no-brainer to invest in a Roth IRA.
Smart Saving and Investing will dig into the details of a Roth IRA and show you how it can help bring financial stability to your financial future.
And finally, always be thinking about the future. Consider reviewing your savings, investments and financial goals at least once a year with a financial adviser. A good time to do that is around tax time every year. It’s easy to remember and with taxes being a required event, you might as well make a review of your personal finances a requirement as well.
Smart Saving and investing is a long, steady road to your financial success. With time, patience and ongoing review of your finances, you will make your future a more financially safe and secure place to look forward to.
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