We grew up in a world where stories about the failure of Social Security were almost as regular as news about HMO failures. We all know that many people who are currently paying into the social security system will never receive the money they have contributed. These funds are unlikely to return to us, at the very least. This means we’ll have to look for alternative possibilities and cease counting on the government to provide us with a comfortable retirement, which doesn’t appear to be on the horizon.
As a result, a growing number of people in their twenties and thirties are taking matters into their own hands and investing not only for their retirements and the days when we are no longer able to work, but also for those days when things go wrong and we need to fix broken houses, buy new cars, or pay large insurance deductibles for medical care. We invest for a variety of reasons, and only a few of them would ever be considered inappropriate. The question remains: are you prepared to invest, considering the large number of people who have yet to do so and the numerous reasons for doing so?
If you don’t think you’re ready to invest, examine the following circumstances before deciding whether you are.
If you have children and a job that doesn’t offer a pension plan or a matching retirement fund, it’s generally a good idea to invest on your own. Even if your employer does not allow contributions, there are alternative options, such as Roth IRAs, that will provide you with a tax credit for investing some of your money while also supporting you with retirement planning.
If you have children who may need dental work, medical care, or a college education in the future, now is the time to start saving. Again, there are tax-deferred and tax-free options, and saving now will save you so much money later that it is worth making a few sacrifices now to preserve your children’s future.
You should begin planning, saving, and investing for your daughter’s wedding around ten years before she is born. Weddings are expensive, and you’ll need to save aside a significant sum of money if you want to give her the fairy tale wedding she deserves.
Finally, if you want your retirement to be a pleasurable experience rather than one spent in the closet of your future daughter-in-law, you must be willing to begin investing now. Time is running out, life expectancies are higher than they’ve ever been, and living costs are rising at an alarming rate. If you aren’t ready to invest yet, you must first figure out why and then fix the problem so that you can start investing soon.
Investing in your financial future is by far the best gift you can give yourself. If you’re unsure where to begin or how to get started, it may be time to seek the advice of a professional financial advisor. His advice could be invaluable, and it could lead to a far brighter future than you could have imagined if left to your own devices.
