Investing involves decision-making. But not making those investing decisions can be a more costly move in itself.
Choosing to invest your money in the stock market is like picking your first tattoo. The stakes are high and all the available options can seem overwhelming to your senses. Thankfully, there is an an abundant amount of good financial services, resources and advice available to help you avoid making a mistake mistake and to get you started.
There is truly no time like the present to start investing. Because the sooner you start, the more time your money has to grow and the more potential you have to earn, because of the power of compound interest. This is when your money earns money on itself and grows exponentially.
But, growth isn’t always guaranteed. Investing means taking in a certain amount of risk since the market moves in cycles. Although investing comes with some risk, it doesn’t have to feel like a high-stakes gamble.
Rest assured, historically, stocks have bounced back from every downturn in history. And, then continued to climb. Investing consistently overtime can make it easier to ride out the market volatility, the ups and downs.
The first step is determining what you want your future to look like financially in retirement. Retirement is probably your most important and expensive goal, and a good place to start.
It’s important to build a portfolio based on your time horizon, how you want to invest, how comfortable you’re with risk and what you plan to use your investment earnings are for. But, you must get started.
Ready, set, go(als).
Investing could help you owe the IRS less during tax time. For example, you have until the tax filing deadline each year to open and fund an IRA, which could help you claim an extra deduction.
Harvesting losses in your brokerage account could help you reduce your capital gains taxes for the year.
If you want more control over your investment portfolio, self-directed investing is the way to go. Self-directed investing is for people at all experience levels.
However, if you prefer a hands-off approach, financial advisors or automated robo-advisors can help you capture your financial goals and tailor an investment portfolio to achieve your financial goals, complete with regular rebalancing.
But, before you jump headfirst into investing your money, it’s wise to assess your present financial status first (your cash flow and net worth) and make sure you’ve got a solid savings foundation to build on.
Finding a balance between saving your money and building wealth through investing for your future is not rocket science. It is simple to build savings and help take the fear and uncertainty out of investing.
References:
- https://taskandpurpose.com/from-our-partners/set-your-future-up-for-success-save-and-invest/
- https://www.brighthousefinancial.com/education/retirement-planning/covering-everyday-expenses-in-retirement/