Saving · Budgeting · Long-term investing
Plain-English notes on saving, budgeting, and long-term investing.
Building a portfolio can be overwhelming. There are thousands of mutual funds, ETFs, and stocks to choose from. There are also various ways to allocate your money between stocks, bonds, real estate, gold, and other investments. But there is also a simple allocation that will work for most people and get their portfolio up and running.
Compounding interest is one of the core principles of long term investing. The basic is the more often your investment compounds, the greater your investment will become, and your investments will grow at a faster rate over time.
Cutting the cable TV cord was one of the best things I’ve done to save a lot of money and become more productive. I hate having to pay $100 per month for 200 channels, of which I’d maybe only watch 5. I also really hate watching commercials! I’m already paying for the cable TV service, why do I have to pay again by watching commercials?!
Defining your financial goals, creating a budget, and reducing expenses is the first step to becoming financially secure and investing in your future.
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading day. Most ETFs track an index, such as a stock index or bond index. ETFs may be attractive as investments because of their low costs, tax efficiency, and stock-like features.
