Organizing Your
Investments
by: Janet L. Hall
After reviewing your
retirement plan, or lack of one,
you might have had a huge eye opener to the type of life you might have
to endure after retirement. Did it become apparent that you HAVE to
change your lifestyle NOW so you can enjoy your future? Did it become
apparent that you better start learning about investing and start
investing NOW?
 TIP:
Before you begin to invest you should also educate yourself into the
vast arena of investing. You should have a game plan, know what your
expectations are for investing, and your needs for now and the future.
The Internet has made
it easier then every to start investing; at least you can sit in the
privacy of your home or office and click away your money. BUT are you
investing wisely? OR does the whole idea of investing have you so
confused or scared that you don’t even think about it?
Let me tell you right
up front, there are no PERFECT investments. Very few people (if any)
get rich overnight by investing. Investing is more like a long-term
savings plan, but hopefully with much better returns.
To make intelligent and
wise investments, you should know and understand the economic
conditions; not only of the US or country you live in, BUT the world
economy as a whole. Stop, learn, and understand how inflation, interest
rates, and taxes will affect your investments.
Once you have some
understanding of economics and how it will affect your investments then
you need to know and understand the different types of investment
opportunities that are available and how your age and possibly even your
health plays into those investments.
The 5 W’s of
Investing:
~~ WHO do I use as my
broker or do I go at it alone?
You can do most of your
investing yourself but if you need or want advice, hire a planner or
broker; you DO NOT have to be rich to hire a planner. Just remember,
bottom line, it’s your money, not theirs, and it’s your life!
~~ WHAT type of
investments should I make?
A lot of things come
into play here – your age, income, available monies, your health, and
your expectations. I’ve listed several types of investments for you.
It’s your job to find out which is best suited for you.
Types of Investments:
For a small amount of
money you can invest in many stocks by investing in MUTUAL FUNDS.
Under Mutual Funds you
have:
Growth Funds, Income
Funds, Bond Funds, Money Market Funds, Sector Funds, International
Funds.
There are * open-ended
* and * closed-ended * funds, * fund families *, and * big * funds and *
small * funds (Isn’t this FUN!).
INDIVIDUAL STOCKS are
publicly traded stocks that are over-the-counter and listed.
Under Stocks you have:
Common Stock, Preferred
Stock, Cumulative Preferred, Stock Dividends, and Penny Stock.
IOU a BOND, which is
what a bond is.
Under Bonds you have:
T-Bonds, T-Bills,
Savings Bonds, Municipal Bonds, Corporate Bonds, and Stripped Bonds.
You can also invest in
Real Estate, Art, Collectibles, Utilities, and Commodities.
There are Low Risk/Low
Effort and High Effort, Medium Risk/Low Effort and High Effort, and High
Risk/Low Effort and High Effort
~~ WHEN do I start
investing?
If you’ve been doing
your homework the last couple of months in OverHall IT! You should have
a working budget in place, cut out needless or wasteful spending, and
your financial area should be more in balance. The next suggested step
before you begin investing is to build an emergency fund of three to six
months’ salary. After all these tasks are completed, then and ONLY then
should you think about investing.
TIP: You should only
invest money that you can afford to * put away * for at least five years
or longer. This means you must take a very close look at other things
in your life, such as is your job secure, is your transportation
reliable, are you in good health, is your business profitable and
steady, and many, many other areas and things in your life before you
start investing your hard earned money, because you want to make a
profit, right?
~~ WHERE do I invest?
Only you can answer
this AFTER you’ve done your homework!
~~ WHY do I want or
need to invest?
Do you want to build an
estate to leave to your loved ones or do you need extra money now? Are
you investing to supplement your income or for your child’s future?
~~ HOW do I invest?
Invest the time in
learning about investing your money, it’s your MONEY and your FUTURE.
If you’ve already started investing, schedule a meeting with yourself or
planner/broker and review your portfolio to make certain your
investments are or will be meeting your needs. Make it a habit to
review your portfolio at least yearly and especially when you have a *
life * change.
As you can see, there
is a lot more to investing then just * picking something * and laying
out your hard earned cash!
How much time are you
willing to invest in your investments?
The mantra for
Investing is * Educate, Select, Monitor, and Review *!
TIP: Try playing *
pretend investing * while you are learning. E-TRADE offers a * PLAY *
area to do such a thing at
http://www.etrade.virtualstockexchange.com
Here’s hoping you
invest wisely and make the monies that you need or want!
Disclaimer: I am not a
financial advisor. Always check with your advisor before making any
changes or investments.
==============
Janet is a Certified Professional Organizer, Certified Pyramid Feng Shui
Practitioner, Speaker, and Author and can help you regain control of
your life, your time, your stuff, and your environment. FREE newsletter,
OverHall IT! at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
Copyright (c) 2000-2008 OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or
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