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Ensuring a Secure Retirement
Dear Jeff:
I'm in my early 30s and want to plan for my retirement. Please direct me to a source so that I can effectively manage my money. I currently earn around 30K a year, will initially invest $3,000 in something (i.e., mutual fund), and contribute around $6,000 per year to this initial investment. What do you suggest I do?
Thank you for your time and attention. Hany Jeff Says:
I strongly recommend you find a financial consultant to assist you in this process. A consultant can help you with an analysis of your retirement goals, determine how much you will need based on today's objectives, and tell you what you need to do to accomplish your goals. Your advisor will also help you determine your risk tolerance level and develop an appropriate investment strategy. He or she could also point out factors about which you may not be aware. For example, with the amount you intend to save every year, should you consider investing a portion of that in your company's retirement plan, a Roth IRA, or both? Do you need to minimize income taxes? How likely is it you will actually need these funds prior to retirement? Please, please, please don't make the mistake of underestimating the value of working with a competent advisor.
However, if you choose to do this yourself, there are numerous places to go for information. After all, this is the information age! The obvious place to start is the Internet. Comprehensive data can be found on the Net if you have patience. There are many good sites, including Yahoo Finance, for starters.
With the popularity of the Internet and the ease with which we can sort through information with just a few clicks, we tend to forget about the public library. I started there nearly 15 years ago, reading every book about investing and financial planning I could find. Look where it got me!
You can make your own decisions and work without an advisor if you have the time, patience, and willingness to learn. If you lack any of these, consider my first recommendation.
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