Where to Begin with Investing?

     I learned about investing when I was in college for my finance degree – but it felt like the more I learned, the more complicated it got.  When I began earning an income once I finished college and got married, I learned it wasn’t really as complicated as it seemed.  I wanted to figure out how I could take advantage of starting to invest at a young age – so I read some books, talked with wise people, and found out about the simple idea of“systematic” investing (also called "dollar cost averaging" from Benjamin Graham's book "The Intelligent Investor")

     Basically – having the discipline to set aside money each time you get a paycheck to be put into an investment account (some call it “paying yourself first”).  Discipline was the hard part – for the first time in my life, I was making my own money and paying my own bills, insurance, gas, repairs, taxes, etc. but living totally free of anyone else’s rules. All the "new money" made it really easy to go to any concert, vacation, excursion, friend’s wedding, or adventure we wanted to!  We wanted to be investing about 20% of my salary, but we had no idea how we would get there.

But discipline gave me a few ways to keep it all in check…this is how Amy and I decided to use our money to invest based on our learning:

1. 401(k) at work – Ask about a “company match.” <--(free money!) 

This is usually a potential of up to about 3% of your salary to begin your retirement savings.  

Example:

Salary: $40,000

401(k) contribution (taken out of your paycheck before taxes): $2,400 (or 6%)

Employer match: $1,200 (half of the amount you put in up to 6%)

(after maxing out the 401(k), we still have 14% to go!)

    2. IRA – Individual Retirement Arrangement (Traditional or Roth): Almost any mutual fund, stock, bond, or other investment can be put into this arrangement, depending on where you set it up.

a.       Money saved for retirement or other BIG purchases (like a house).

b.      Either before-tax (Traditional) or after-tax (Roth) – choosing one depends on what you think your tax % will be when you retire:

                                                               i.      Higher % at retirement than right now: use Roth IRA

                                                             ii.      Lower % at retirement than right now: use Traditional IRA

c.       Limited amounts allowed to be put in each year based on your income level

                                                               i.      Roth: up to $5,000 (basically)

                                                             ii.      Traditional: up to about $18,000

(This may get you up to your 20%, so you wouldn’t need to try to invest any more unless you happened upon some extra money you weren’t expecting!)

    3. If there’s still more left after those two are maxed out each year, I would look at finding a financial advisor to talk with you about your “portfolio.”  When things get past this step, they can get complicated and time-consuming.  Paying someone who knows what they’re doing is a great way to not have to spend tons of time on something you’re not an expert at.  It may cost in the beginning, but the value of their expertise and selection of investments pay off.  If you try it, but don’t like it – shop around and find another!

Does anyone else have other simple ways to invest?  Leave a comment and let us know about it!

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous." -Proverbs 13:22