Investing Throughout Your Life

Investing your assets isn’t something that you should just do once and then never again. No, on the contrary, it is something that you should do throughout your life. And, as you age, you will find that your investment needs and abilities change, so it just makes sense that your investment strategies should also change through each phase of your life.   

 The best course of action to help you and your investments change and grow as they should is to work with a financial adviser who you can trust to guide you through each stage of life and of investing. And, in addition, you should also be aware of where you should ideally be at each stage of life so that you can constantly check in with yourself and your investment strategies and see how you’re stacking up.

When You’re 25 to 35....

In this stage of the game, your concerns are probably things like paying off old debt, like college debt; saving up to buy a home; saving to put your kids or future kids through college; and even starting to plan for retirement.

At this stage of the game, at least 10% of your income should be going toward retirement, and it’s also a good idea to start investing in an employer sponsored 401(k) or an individual retirement account (IRA). While retirement might seem very far off, and real life and its demands might seem more pressing, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by getting a jumpstart on retirement planning and savings.

When You’re 35 to 55....

In this “middle age” stage, it’s time to up the ante on your savings.After all, you’re probably making more money and you’re probably also getting more serious about paying for your children’s college education and saving up for retirement. At this point in the game, you should aim to have at least 20% of your income going toward retirement, and you should also focus on diversifying your investment portfolio so that you have a lot of different investments “in the works” and working for you and your future.

When You’re 55 and Older....

Once you hit 55, it’s time to start getting very serious about saving for retirement and protecting your assets. It might be wise to put a lot of your assets into fixed-income securities, mutual funds, bond funds, annuities, and other investment options that can help you to achieve stability.

Hopefully, by the time you do reach retirement, if you have followed these tips and worked closely with a financial adviser, you will be ready to retire and to just plain enjoy those retirement years without a worry in sight!