It?s Never too Early to Start Investing!

Remember the old saying, "never too late to start"? Well, try this on for size: when it comes to investing, it's never too early to start. Time really is of the essence here. Those of us who find ourselves between the ages of twenty and forty should make investing for retirement a key priority on our list of things to do.

Your average, middle-aged, two-income American family lives paycheck-to-paycheck. And, life expectancies are increasing. So how do you expect to be prepared for a retirement that could potentially span twenty, maybe thirty years? How do you keep your welfare in mind as well as the welfare of your family, especially that of your children, when choosing your investment(s)?

Ladies and Gentlemen, may we present the Roth IRA account.

Sure, it's easy to think: that's nice, but the economy is in the pits. I have a hard time dealing with the present as it is. And now you want me to think of investing for retirement or for my kids?

Fair enough. But let's get out of Personal Budget-Crisis mode for a moment and consider: just $2000 invested in a Roth IRA for a child when s/he is born is worth about 2 to 3 million dollars when that child reaches the age of 65! And you don't have to add another cent to the principal amount! Astounding, you say, how is that possible? That, my dear Watson, is the beauty of compound interest at work. Roth IRA's are a perfect investment tool for this situation.

Imagine the results if funds are added over the same number of years. Depending on your income, age, and tax bracket, the Roth IRA now allows an initial investment of $4000, and additional investments of up to $4000 annually. And, profits can be taken absolutely tax-free when you're 59 years young! The potential for returns blows away the idea of simply holding money in a savings account or a traditional bank Certificate of Deposit (CD).

At the risk of sounding like a bad infomercial, DON'T WAIT?INVEST NOW! But before you tune us out, we understand that you may have concerns like I don't have time or I don't know how.

In fact, all is takes is one 15-minute phone call. Talk to someone at a brokerage firm, or to your financial advisor, to set up a Roth IRA account for yourself and your kids. A good financial advisor will explain your options without the need of a "Investments-to-English" dictionary. Take advantage of this basic service. Surely you can spare 15 minutes, especially if it's to turn $2000 into 2 or 3 million dollars!

Still in college, or recently graduated and fighting off student loans? Believe it or not, it is possible to save a little money and invest for the future. A college professor heard the true story of a janitor who earned about $15,000 a year working at a school for underprivileged children. In the 1970's that janitor, who had never graduated high school, donated $1 million to the school. Deeply inspired, the professor followed the janitor's investment example and donated $8 million to a university?on a professor's salary.

Moral of the story: Don't determine what you have by what you earn, but by what you save. Both men understood the power of investing just a small portion of his earnings. The results were remarkable donations on seriously unremarkable incomes.

Everyday, young investors are taking advantage of this great system, and planning for their futures. Think of one good reason why you shouldn't do the same for yourself, and for your family. Go ahead, we dare you.

Scott Pearson is an investment advisor, writer, editor, instructor, and business leader. As President and Chief Investment Officer of Value View Financial Corp., he offers investment management services to a wide variety of clients. His own newsletter, Investor's Value View, is distributed worldwide and provides general money tips and investment advice to readers both internationally, and in the U.S.

For further information about starting a Roth IRA account or another investment for the future, Scott Pearson can be reached directly at Scott@valueview.net or by visiting http://www.valueview.net


AddThis Social Bookmark Button


In The News:


Blue Chip America Minting Money as Bigger Dividends Must Bow to Investment
Bloomberg
“There's a lot of pressure on companies to ramp up the revenue line,” said John Carey, 61, a Boston-based money manager at Pioneer Investment Management, ...

and more »

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Announces 195th Consecutive Quarterly ...
MarketWatch (press release)
WRIT is a self-administered, self-managed, equity real estate investment trust investing in income-producing properties in the greater Washington metro ...

and more »

Perkins Investment Management and Janus Launch Income-Focused Balanced Strategy
MarketWatch (press release)
Perkins Value Plus Income Fund will strive to provide investors current income with the potential for additional capital appreciation by investing in a ...

and more »

The Guardian

Cameron pitches for Indian investment
Telegraph.co.uk
Investing in Britain is extremely straight-forward." If the Coalition should fail, at least Mr Cameron will be welcomed back to his old profession with open ...
PM urges India to invest in the UK10 Downing Street
Indo-UK trade More scope to liberalise banking says UK PMMoneycontrol.com
Prime Minister David Cameron Launches UK India Future Leaders Network With ...PR Web (press release)
Sify
all 3,369 news articles »

Angelo, Gordon Wins $100 Million Oregon Investment for Asian Property Fund
Bloomberg
The Oregon Investment Council, which oversees about $65 billion in retirement accounts for state workers, voted today to invest in the $600 million AG Asia ...

and more »

Reuters

Gary Shilling: Investing Advice for a Deflationary Economy
DailyFinance
James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, is warning that the risk of ...
Don't miss these top money and investing columns:MarketWatch

all 464 news articles »

Albanian Minerals is investing in ArcelorMittal steel and Gazprom natural gas ...
Wall Street Journal
Demand and prices will grow for oil, natural gas, steel, cooper, aluminum, gold, silver, iron ore, uranium, chrome ore and other metals". ...

and more »

Munger: Li Lu's Future at Berkshire Hathaway a 'Foregone Conclusion'
Seeking Alpha (blog)
But there is far more to successful long term investing than brains and performance that has recently been good. Why did it take more than three years ...
From Tiananmen Square to Possible Buffett SuccessorWall Street Journal
WSJ: From Tiananmen Square to Possible Buffett SuccessorGuruFocus.com
Li Lu, Hedge Fund Manager, May Help Berkshire Find Deals AbroadBusinessWeek

all 13 news articles »

The Business Insider

Steven Romick Explains Why His Style Of Investing Is Like "Free Range Chicken"
The Business Insider
This morning we posted about the mutual fund manager, Steven Romick, who described his style of investing to Bloomberg as being like "free range chicken. ...
Steven Romick: My Style Of Investing Is Like "Free Range Chicken"The Business Insider

all 6 news articles »

House to take up bill encouraging foreign investment in US real estate
The Hill (blog)
The House is slated to vote on legislation later Thursday that encourages foreign investment in US real estate by ...
Tanya Marchiol, Real Estate Guru and CEO of TEAM Investments Announces Dates ...PR-USA.net (press release)
Free Webinar Replays with Than Merrill: Learn What's Working In Today's Real ...RealEstateRama (press release)

all 5 news articles »
Google News

__________

Games at Buy.com

Kingston, Sandisk, Viewsonic, Canon, Toshiba

Evaluating A Money Manager

Scams and frauds are designed to take your money through false promises and phony claims. Money management is supposedly designed to increase your net worth. Sometimes these... Read More

Value Investing

By definition, value investing is the process of selecting stocks that trade for less than their intrinsic value. A value investor typically selects stocks with lower than... Read More

Economic Survival in the 21st Century - the Three Key Questions to Ask

In this "special report", I want to pose a few important "philosophical questions" to my readers. Firstly -- our Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, addressed the effects... Read More

How To Create Wealth In The Stock Market

First and foremost, an opportunistic strategy for creating wealth in the stock market is needed. And the opportunistic strategy for creating wealth in the stock market must... Read More

Why the Rich Keep Getting Richer

Rich people: fortunate, lucky, selfish, and arrogant? Or highly educated, caring, brilliant individuals? Becoming rich isn't hard, but it does require a bit of time and knowledge.... Read More

Investors: Avoid These 5 Common Tax Mistakes

For many investors, and even some tax professionals, sorting through the complex IRS rules on investment taxes can be a nightmare. Pitfalls abound, and the penalties for... Read More

5 Ways To Protect Your Bond Portfolio From Rising Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve recently raised its target federal funds rate for the first time since March 2000. This could be just the tip of the iceberg, though,... Read More

IF - The Wonders of Investing

If it seems as if all investors are selling, who is buying?... Read More

Lobster Trapping for Investment Ideas

Recently, my family and I took a trip to Maine to visit relatives. During our stay, we toured the rocky shore lines and took in the beautiful... Read More

Tyranosaurus Rex

Everyone knows T Rex was the most fearsome of all dinosaurs. He could and did kill everything in his path for food or maybe stupid meanness. His... Read More

Is a SEP Plan Right For Your Business

A SEP is a special type of IRA. Under a SEP plan the employer creates an IRA account for each eligible employee, hence the name SEP-IRA. A... Read More

How to Analyze the Veracity of Investment Newsletters

When trying to analyze whether a promotional ad for an investment newsletter or a market timing investment trading system is worthy of investigation, the following questions should... Read More

Wit and Wisdom on Money, Wall Street and Success - Part #1

I love to collect quotes as they concisely promote a philosophy which is readily understandable.In my 25+ years of investing I have collected hundreds of quotes related... Read More

Wit and Wisdom on Money, Wall Street and Success - Part #2

Here are ten more WISDOM packed GEMS that ooffer very unqiue insights to the world of trading and investing.These quotes promote a philosophy which is readily understandable... Read More

Wit and Wisdom on Money, Wall Street and Success - Part #4

Can you concisely summarize your investment philosophy in a few sentences? My experience is that most people can't. The quotes that follow are diamonds that offer a... Read More

Options Education : Opinion versus Fact!

The most basic aspect of trading is learning to differentiate between what is FACTUAL and what is OPINION. If you stay interested in the financial markets long... Read More

Investing 101: Risk Terminology - BETA

About thirty years ago, statisticians armed with all of their statistical theories began to confront the financial markets. A handful of useful tools emerged that the average... Read More

Options Education: Financing the Calendar!

As a trader, one of the key things that I try to consciously do is to cultivate my instincts by talking with other traders and investors as... Read More

Understanding The Real Rate of Return!

There is one indicator more than any other which determines the health of an economy and it is the Real Rate of Return. Furthermore this is the... Read More

Remembering TEOTWAWKI and Learning from It

Its only been about 5 years since we had major scares in the marketplace regarding Y2K. You might recall that many computer systems were not programmed to... Read More

Asset Allocation: Critical to Your Investment Success

Asset allocation is a critical component of investing success. Both research and academic studies show asset allocation to be single most significant factor in determining your financial... Read More

401(k) Plans

I've been in and interested in the stock market so long (one year shy of forty years) I can remember when the mutual fund pages in my... Read More

Investing Offshore for Retirement

As an expatriate you are in a privileged savings and investing position. Make the most of the options available to you while you can, consider investing offshore... Read More

Asset Location ? Increase Investing Returns & Reduce Your Taxes

Location ? Once the holy grail only for real estate investors is fast becoming the mantra for every stock, bond, and mutual fund investor. Experts and studies... Read More

Poll Names Coin Laundries Best Investment For 2005

According to Morton Pollack, CEO of PWS, The Laundry Company and editor of the newsletter, "Historically, laundry owners have been a quiet group. Knowing they are onto... Read More