Millennials get a bad financial rap. The assumption is that this age group is notorious for throwing money away on non-essential items as opposed to putting it toward their nest egg.
So what’s the truth about millennials? Arielle O’Shea of Forbes cites research from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies indicating that about 75 percent of millennials are, in fact, saving for retirement. What’s more interesting is that millennials began saving at an earlier age compared to previous generations.
Investing, on the other hand, is a completely different story. While a sizable percentage of millennials might be saving, the vast majority aren’t allowing their money to work for them via stocks and bonds.
Here at Tactical Wealth, we want to help you take your initial plunge into the investing world. Here are some investing tips to consider:
Educate yourself
Raise your hand if you had any sort of money management class as a student. Unfortunately, millennials usually receive lessons in finances the hard way: through real-life trial and error. That’s why we recommend finding online resources that are dedicated to investing and taking it upon yourself to learn.
The last thing you want is to be 40 years old and have no idea what a diversified investment portfolio entails. We invite you to check out the following blog posts related to investing:
Take some risk
You’ve probably heard the phrase, ‘high-risk, high-reward.’ What does it mean in terms of investments? Well, with stocks and bonds at least, you must be willing to take on some risk.
Granted, there’s always the possibility of losing money and never collecting that high reward. But you can’t lose sight of the fact that investing is a long-term approach.
Now is the time when you can afford to take some risks with investments. Whereas soon-to-be-retirees prefer a more stable, consistent income (more on that in a bit), young professionals should have no problem rolling the financial dice a bit, so to speak.
Keep fees to a minimum
The stock market goes through more ups and downs than a roller coaster. What millennials will learn quickly is that you can’t control that volatility. What you can do, though, is minimize investing costs.
By investing costs, we’re talking about fees charged by your index funds, administrative fees in your 401(k), as well as transaction fees brought upon when you buy and sell investments. Pro tip: limit unnecessary trading and use a combination of commission-free and no-transaction-fee funds. Doing so keeps your returns at the healthiest amount possible.
Get started with a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k)
Some financial advisors turn the topic of ‘Roth 401(k) vs. traditional 401(k)’ into rocket science. It really is simpler than you think.
As an employee, you use pre-tax dollars to contribute to a traditional 401(k). So when you go to take distributions in retirement, you pay taxes.
A Roth 401(k) is a bit different. For one thing, you can take advantage of a lower tax rate if your income is lower now than it will be down the road. The major benefit of a Roth is because you aren’t getting a tax benefit now, you get to use those funds completely tax-free in retirement.
Think about a Fixed Income Fund
Just for fun, think about what your investment strategy might be like 10-20 years from now. By then, you have hopefully established yourself in a career and, in turn, have the financial means to build a diversified investment portfolio.
Perhaps you’ve seen moderate success with stocks, bonds, and annuities. What’s the next step? Three words: ‘high return investments.’
At Tactical Wealth, there’s no need to worry about investor fees, a lack of transparency, or even the constant movement of the stock market. Our Fixed Income Fund generates stable, consistent income by purchasing trust deed and mortgage loans according to strict underwriting criteria with a maximum Loan-to-Value ratio of 70 percent.
It’s time to consider risk-averse investments from Tactical Wealth. Call now to ask about our strategic income fund.
