Get Yourself Motivated to Start Investing For Retirement and College

If you’re new to investing and don’t know where to start perhaps some of these recommendations will get you thinking and motivated to do something today.

I’ve been investing since I was in college and wish I would have started sooner. The compounding power of time is the best tool anyone has when it comes to saving for retirement. The other advantage is actually have the gumption to do it. If you just think about it and never do anything then all your good plans are useless.

Start with a basic assortment of mutual funds (or even just one) in a Roth IRA. If you have a 401k option at work, especially if there’s a company match option, definitely do that first. Company match means free money for you. Don’t pass on that. After the 401k you’ll want to open a Roth IRA. The advantage of a Roth is that the money grows tax free and you can take it out tax free when you retire. That alone means a savings of tens of thousands of dollars, if not much more. Some consider the Roth to be almost miraculous in the financial world and can’t believe the government would let us have one.

So how do you start? Find a local financial representative in your town. Edward Jones are popular because of all the hand holding they provide. However, there are other options. You can even do it all online these days. Ask a friend or family member if they have a mutual fund doing well for them. Of course, there’s no guarantee of stellar returns in the future, but at least it’s something.

Even just $50-$100 a month will get the ball rolling. Imagine the look in your kids eyes if they graduate you have tell them there’s no money for college. If you want your kids to have great opportunities in life, give them a head start, even if it’s just a semester that you help pay for.

Don’t neglect your own retirement while trying to pay for college. Experts would tell you to fully fund your own future before working on your kids. I agree with that, however, I do put money away for school for them because my parents did it for me and it was a huge help in my early married life to have so little school debt.

Do what you can. Don’t be afraid of it. Doing nothing is far scarier.

The author enjoys writing about a variety of topics about the household, including preformed pond liners and septic tank problems.