Investing Doesn’t Have To Be Scary
Thank you to Dave Ramsey’s ELP program for sponsoring this post. Check out who Dave recommends for investing help in your area!
Do you struggle with idea of investing in your future? Some people don’t know where to start and others feel like it’s a gamble. Maybe you’ve even gotten burned in the past by a bad investment.
In my case, I’d always felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. I remember my dad watching the stock numbers scroll along the bottom of the screen when I was a teen. I just stared with eyes glazed over wondering what all those guys were yelling and hopping around about. It wasn’t until I started listening to Dave Ramsey and following his “Baby Steps” that I got a clearer and more accurate understanding of investing in my real, everyday life. Here are 5 things I’ve learned that I hope will make investing in your future easier to take action on.
1. You need to start now.
A Roth IRA is a simple way to invest that doesn’t have age requirements and is tax-free when you follow the guidelines. Obviously, the earlier you start saving the more money you will have when you decide to retire.
2. Invest 15%
Delegating 15% of your monthly income to be invested in your future is a solid place to start. If your employer offers a 401(k) matching program, use it! Make sure you are putting enough into your 401(k) to maximize the match. Then you should invest the additional funds to get your total contributions toward retirement up to the 15% mark.
I’m a stay at home mom, so we invest an extra 15% of my husband’s income toward retirement to cover us both.
3. Ask for Help
The older I get the more I understand the concept of working smarter, not harder. In the case of investing, my husband and I got some advice from a professional rather than doing everything on our own. The trouble is, where do you find someone you can trust?
If you’ve ever listened to The Dave Ramsey Show, you know he often mentions his investing Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs). These ELPs are financial advisors who have earned Dave’s recommendation and help any type or level of investor. All I had to do was visit his investing ELP website and answer a few brief questions to find out who the investing ELP was in my area.
A few days later I was contacted by an investing advisor who worked not far from my house and we set up a meeting. It was really simple and they walked us through the whole process, giving us a better understanding of their services and how they could help us build our future nest egg.
If you want some help in making a plan for your future, I encourage you to meet with an ELP in your area and see how they might be able to help your money work smarter rather than harder.
4. Divide & Conquer
Keep it simple. If you are the “set it and forget it” type, then mutual funds might appeal to you. A mutual fund is a simple way to grow your money over time. Dave Ramsey encourages his listeners and readers to work with an investor to equally divide their 15% investment into four categories: Growth, Growth and Income, Aggressive Growth and International.
5. Ride the Waves
The one thing about investing is markets fluctuate—a lot… It’s just the way it works. There isn’t much you can do about it since you can’t see the future. Since you have little control over the ups and downs, it’s best just to ride them out. Invest your money in the wisest way you can and let it grow over time. When the time comes for you to tap into that money, you’ll be glad you did.
Investing in your future doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. It’s simply another aspect of bossing your money around. Whether you are retiring in 30 years or 5, it’s never too late to start saving money for the days ahead. You don’t know what tomorrow holds and relying on an inheritance or Social Security to get you through the golden years just isn’t wise. Start today and your future self will thank you.
The content and opinions expressed in this post are all my own based on my own experiences with Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider program.
Kim Anderson is the organized chaos loving author behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. She helps other people who thrive in organized chaos to stress less, remember more and feel in control of their time, money, and home. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more!