When you think about the best way to put money away for retirement, you have a laundry list of options to consider. Many folks pay someone to figure out what to do with their retirement investments- and in most cases that may be the smartest thing to do. Everyone feels differently about saving for retirement- and on a list of priorities it often doesn't fall where it should. If you can't pay your current bills or are racking up credit card debt like Antoine Walker at the mall, you probably aren't maxing out your annual Roth IRA contribution. My parents always emphasized saving and investing, maybe even to a fault at times, but their strategy paid major DIVIDENDS after my dads career was cut short by a stroke. If you're not exactly sure what a dividend is, chances are you don't understand your retirement strategy in the slightest, if you even have one. Hands off and clueless might just be the best strategy for investing in your long term financial stability. Investment advising is big business because it pays to know what you're doing with your nest egg- and a good advisor should accomplish solid growth and returns. That being said, it is your responsibility and yours only to put some money away each month or year or even week to save for a rainy day, your kids college- or retirement.
I don't pretend to be a pro at investing, stocks and bonds or any financial category- but I have a fairly broad (albeit shallow) understanding of the world of money, finances and markets. Much to the chagrin of my bankers, financial advisors, insurance agents and librarians- I feel the need to understand the value of their products. Some would call it being a savvy consumer, and hopefully it is, but in large part I'm just curious and I know understanding what my money pays for will pay dividends.
It is very cool that every one of us can become an owner of most any large company in the world. "Occupy Wall Street" and the so called 99% villanizes the owners of big corporations that suck profits out of companies and control the world- but what they don't mention is that you can join the ranks of owners for a reasonable price. Own a piece of Bank of America for $6.50, Google for around $630, Microsoft for less than $30 and even Ray Lewis' Under Armor for $76.27. Many fantastic advisors will urge you to have it your way and buy some McDonalds in the form of MCD instead of on the dollar menu. I know the buttons on my pants would appreciate it. Personally, I like to buy companies that are employers of friends of mine. Not only do I think these companies employ some pretty solid people, but it's also kind of cool to be my friends boss, even if in a far fetched way. Some recent acquisitions I have made in my brokerage account in part as a result of employing friends (consider with caution): CSCO, WFC, GM, CBKN, FCNCA and F. I want to add CAT to the list soon, possibly GT and maybe even good ol' Mickey D's. Unlike the list of bank stocks I own, two of these potential newbies actually pay a decent dividend.
If by now you are still not sure about the meaning of dividend, I recommend looking it up. It will be a great place to start on your quest towards understanding your strategy, and maybe one day retiring- if you'd like.
Go Heels Go America. com
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