New year, new investing strategy?
Sorry, but that isnt what youll find here.
Investing doesnt really change from year to year.
It requires patience, consistency and a focus on long-term results.
Thats why our best investing tips for 2024 look familiar.
Then sit back and watch that nest egg grow.
Investing while you have debt?
Heres how to prioritize.
You dont have to wait until youre debt-free to start investing.
But sometimes it does make sense to focus on paying off debt first.
Heres how to prioritize:
2.
Start with low-cost index funds.
With a single purchase, youll get adiversified portfolio, representing about 80% of the U.S. stock market.
Lets acknowledge the obvious, which is that 2022 was a terrible year for stocks.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
But when youre building a nest egg, its long-term performance that counts.
In an average year, an S&P 500 index fund yields returns of about 10%.
If youre willing to hold through the bad years, those returns can translate to serious wealth over time.
Minimize your investment fees.
Look for funds with an expense ratio below 0.1%.
That means less than $1 of every $1,000 goes toward fees.
Invest no matter what the stock market is doing.
Take some risks (but do it the smart way).
But for your money to grow, taking some risk is unavoidable.
When youre abeginning investor, its important toinvest in stocksmostly and that involves short-term risk.
Fortunately, the stock market has a proven track record of recovering over time.
As you get closer to retirement, youll reduce your risk byinvesting in bondsmore and in stocks less.
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6.
Let a robot make your investment decisions.
So why not outsource the task to the robots?
They usually deliver superior results compared to their human counterparts, and theyre a lot cheaper.
Never invest your emergency fund.
Remember the early days of the pandemic, when millions of Americans became unemployed within a few weeks?
Keep it in asavings account,high-yield savings account,money market accountorcertificate of deposit (CD).
Because these areFDIC-insured accounts, you know your money will be there no matter what.
The bright side of these low-risk investments is that interest rates are rising.
Avoid super cheap stocks.
When you see a stock that costs a couple bucks or less, dont mistake it for a bargain.
Those stocks are often super cheap because they may soon be worthless.
The companies that issuepenny stocksusually have no history of profitability, and many turn out to be scams.
Investing in the stock of a bankruptcy is a bad move, even if the company was once profitable.
In bankruptcy proceedings, common stock usually winds up being worthless.
Understand the difference between investing and speculating.
The world cant get enough ofrisky stock trading moves.
The GameStop and AMC short squeezes of 2021 are a good example.
Short-term trading is basically gambling.
Youre betting on the daily whims of the market.
Investing is about leaving your money to grow for five to 10 years or longer.
If you want to risk money on day trading, go ahead.
But treat it like slot machine money: Only invest what youre OK with losing.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
