In this topic area, we covered many topics, at a fairly high level. We cover investing in:
- Individual Stocks – Equities
- Mutual Funds & Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
- Leveraged Trading – Using Options/Futures/Margin to help your money work harder
- Bonds – Fixed Income Strategy for more conservative investing
- High Yield Savings/Money Market Accounts
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
- Commodities – Precious Metals, Agricultural Products, & Energy Products
- Real Estate – Passive or Active Investment through various avenues.
- Buying a Business – Businesses are for sale every day.
As you can see, the opportunities to invest in assets to put your money to work for you are almost limitless. However, each one comes with its own learning curve, risk/reward profile, and strategies. Start with a plan, learn all you can, stick to the plan, and prosper like you never dreamed possible!
To reiterate the overall philosophy:
- Get Your Debt Under Control – investing in a 7% bond when you are paying a credit card 29% is illogical.
- Build Your Emergency Fund – 3 to 6 months of liquid savings for the unexpected (medical, vehicle, home, or job loss) in life.
- Start investing – Diversify your holdings so that a few bad news items do not devastate your portfolio. If the stock market is where you envision investing a big portion of your funds, then while you are working on items 1 and 2 above, start Paper Trading to begin to understand the process better and maximize your success! We can help you analyze companies and trading trends to also improve your odds of making the returns you seek.
One final suggestion is to set up auto deposits into the investment vehicle of choice to help ensure you are paying yourself first. It is too easy to put off the deposit and hurt your compounding effect. You already have the emergency fund, there is no reason to alter your strategy in your investments.
We are here to help guide you through this process. Take advantage of all the free content to help you along your journey and as you become more savvy, take some of the more advanced topics to accelerate your growth! We look forward to hearing your success stories!