It’s hard enough to plan for a financially comfortable retirement in light of the recession and the condition of the national and global economy, yet there are a lot of myths surrounding retirement investing that many Americans think to be true. Here are a few more misleading ideas that are barriers in the average worker’s path towards retirement security:
Don’t put your money in the market to preserve your wealth. The market may have been gloomy for the past few years (and hasn’t grown a lot in the past couple of decades) so some investors avoid it. However, the chances of making money by putting your cash in a personal savings account are slim to none. Common investment sense points to a diversified and well-allocated portfolio as the best way to grow, and not just preserve, your money for retirement.
Do-it-yourself investing is the way to go. Although this may be OK to some extent, only a tiny percentage of investors have enough knowledge and experience to make good money by beating the markets – this percentage includes investment professionals. You’ll earn better if you invest some of your money in mutual funds or indexed funds, which can be part of a balanced, well-performing portfolio.
Don’t invest for retirement until you’re totally free of debt. If this were true, a lot of people won’t be investing for their golden years as most people have some amount of debt. What you can do is diminish your debt and start from there. Prioritize erasing debt that incurs high amounts of interest first – personal loans or credit card debt are a couple of examples of this.Afterwards, try to invest a minimum amount so you’ll get matching employer contributions for your 401K, for example, while you’re still working towards eliminating what debt you’ve got left.
Making enough money to retire on isn’t easy, but it’s more likely if you unlearn any misconceptions such as these myths on retirement investing. Despite the presence of debt, relatively stagnant markets, and other factors, you can still earn decently and be able to put away money for a sizeable nest egg with proper investing and the right mindset.
Carina Smith is an author who specializes in financial topics concerning seniors. Puritan Financial Group gives seniors retirement planning tools and expert financial advice that steers clear of conventional retirement investing myths. For more information on how Puritan Financial Group can help you, please visit our website at http://www.puritanlife.com.