Good savings/retirement plan to start?

Question

My husband and I are both 25 and really need to start saving for retirement/future...what is/are some good (and stable) investments

Answer 1

If either of your employers offers a 401(k) with a matching contribution, that's an excellent way to start your retirement savings. It's basically like getting free money! If a Roth 401(k) is available, that's even better. Not too many employers are on board with that yet, but eventually more will be.

If the 401(k) isn't available, you may want to consider some of the "target date" retirement funds that are available through many mutual fund companies and brokers. Fidelity, Vanguard, T Rowe Price and Schwab all offer targe date retirement plans. Basically, what they do is allocate your money between stocks and bonds based on the number of years you have to invest before you retire. If you both want to retire at age 70 (boo hiss!), you would want a target date fund for 2051.

Also, why don't you try going onto Schwab's website and go into their retirement planner site? It will guide you through some of the basic issues you need to address about your retirement.

BTW, good for you for starting now. If you fully fund your IRAs for the next decade, you'll be well on your way to being millionaires by the time you retire.

Answer 2

I read all the previous responses and they all are candidate for best answer! I especially liked the one about buying a house. Good suggestion, but I would wait a year or so because I think the housing market will readjust. Ross IRA is a must, but once you put your money into it, there is a penalty if your remove it before 59 1/2, but the penalty is very complicated. Anyway you do not want to put all of your savings into a Ross IRA. Be certain that 3-6 mo of living expenses are where you can to at them readily.

All investments have risk, even a house. Stability is best achieved with a mix of diversified investments, but not guaranteed. Mutual funds and index funds give a good diversification with a small initial investment, but a mixture of mutual funds and index funds give even better diversification, especially across geographic and economic boundaries. Stability is also better achieved by a long term approach. That means you invest your money and continue to invest periodically and you leave it there for 30 years. The bad years and the good years average out over the long term barring a total collapse of the economy.

Answer 3

Actually, you might want to look for some investments a little more on the riskier side- like some of the more volatile stocks. You're young enough that you can ride out any rough patches in the coming years. You'll want to switch over to stabler investments as you approach retirement because if you start stable (remember, in investment, usually stable= poor return) you'll never get the kind of return that'll build you a nice nest egg in your future.

Right now, I love the stock market. It's been pretty low so you can pick up some good prospects for much less than you would in a good market. Over 40 years, they'll grow leaps and bounds and you should see some nice returns

Answer 4

I'm an accountant...Real Estate. If you are renting, buy a primary residence ASAP. Not only will you be building equity in your home, but it will most likely appreciate in value, while giving you a place to live as well. Not to mention the tax adavantages. Next, maximize you company's 401k match...It's free money. Also, make the maximum contribution every year to a Roth IRA. It's money that's already been taxed and any money you make is also tax free. After the Wall Street scandal in 2000, I stay away from stocks. You can't win a game that is fixed. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Whatever you get, you will likely want to set it up as a Roth IRA. (Your banker/broker/mutual fund company, etc. can help you with this.) You and your husband can each invest up to $4000 this year in investments designated as Roth IRA. The advantage is year-to-year gains are not taxed, and when you pull out the money at retirement, there is no tax on any of the gains. So, it's essentially tax-free investing. Like everything else, there are rules, and you can find them on finance.yahoo.com.

As for the investments themselves, if you are looking for stability, bank certificates of deposit are what you want. But when you avoid risk, you get lower expected returns.

Answer 6

Educate yourself with the many different financial instruments that are available to you. Invest in your company's 401K, you can also open an IRA or a Roth IRA, Mutual Funds are another option, along with Stocks (Sharebuilder.com) But the most important thing you guys should do is to educate yourselves and decide what's best for you guys. Good luck!!!!

Answer 7

Go to www.vanguard.com and go through some of their tutorials. They also have a risk tolerance questionnaire that can point you in the right direction. Vanguard has the lowest costs in the industry, no reason to pay a broker who won’t perform any better then what you can pick yourself. Their funds that I like the most are Star, Windsor 2 and their RIET fund.

Answer 8

You are on the right track thinking about your future.
and you could learn how to invest by yourself too.With the right information, you could do it by yourself. Control your spending, set aside 10-15% of your salary to 401k

Yes you could learn invest by yourself. it is your money, you should know how to do with it. for starter check this site out.

http://www.pathtoinvesting.org/index_fla...
http://www.stockcharts.com
http://www.streettalklive.com>... university. a lot amount of information. It will serve you well
I accumulate in good amount in 401k at the young age.I could share with you. when consider invest in stock market. you should consider basic 3 things:

fundamental analysis==(economic data,finincial health, management, business model, competetion)>>what to buy

technical analysis==(chart+indicator)>> when to buy

Sentiment/schycho analysis==>>mood of investor, Contrarian point of view.
Market cycle===>> check out book Trader Almanac by jeff hirsch will give you inside stuff
When you combine 3 thing, It is one of the powerful knowledge goinh with you for the rest of your live

At the age of 32. my 401k is amassed 73,000.00 and 30000.00 in taxble account. by follow simple rule