young adults out there (17-21) have the spirit to become successful in personal investing?
I am very interested in investing and personal finance. I just finished Rich Dad Poor Dad and loved it, and have since purchsed books on beating the stock market, as well as Real Estate tips. I am just trying to get some resources, maybe you have heard of sites or programs to help kids our age become successful in finance.
the first site i offer up: sharebuilder.com a great resource for learning the basics of investing, i received the sharebuilder lessons by e-mail and they were very informative.
I don’t think it’s a positive thing to get young adults excited about beating the market. Very few people, and even very few mutual funds (run by professional investors) do that over the long run.
The trick about investing is that you have the long run. You can easily become a millionairre… multimillionairre with a little discipline and a lot of time.
The market has averaged over 12%/year for the past 85 years. The first S&P 500 fund created (Vanguard) in 1976 has averaged over 12%/year since its inception. The market seems to make a 12% rate in the long run.
At a 12% rate, your money will double ever 6 years. A single $2,000 investment at age 19 will become $512,000 at age 67. Now imagine if you invest $2,000 every year from age 19 to 67 at 12%… that would be $3,800,000! All that from just $2,000/year, most people are capable of much more than that. And by putting that in a ROTH IRA, that ivestment can all be tax free when you withdraw it.
Invest smart, don’t invest to beat the market… you don’t need to. All you have to do is flow with the market and make your millions that way. I plan on retiring at age 43. I make an above average amount of money, but nothing spectacular. I don’t live extravegantly, so I’m able to max out both my 401k and ROTH IRA and also and ESA to fund a kid’s education. I think almost anyone who starts in their early 20s can retire before 50 with some discipline, it doesn’t require beating the market at all, just be satisfied with the market because the market is amazing.
I don’t think it’s a positive thing to get young adults excited about beating the market. Very few people, and even very few mutual funds (run by professional investors) do that over the long run.
The trick about investing is that you have the long run. You can easily become a millionairre… multimillionairre with a little discipline and a lot of time.
The market has averaged over 12%/year for the past 85 years. The first S&P 500 fund created (Vanguard) in 1976 has averaged over 12%/year since its inception. The market seems to make a 12% rate in the long run.
At a 12% rate, your money will double ever 6 years. A single $2,000 investment at age 19 will become $512,000 at age 67. Now imagine if you invest $2,000 every year from age 19 to 67 at 12%… that would be $3,800,000! All that from just $2,000/year, most people are capable of much more than that. And by putting that in a ROTH IRA, that ivestment can all be tax free when you withdraw it.
Invest smart, don’t invest to beat the market… you don’t need to. All you have to do is flow with the market and make your millions that way. I plan on retiring at age 43. I make an above average amount of money, but nothing spectacular. I don’t live extravegantly, so I’m able to max out both my 401k and ROTH IRA and also and ESA to fund a kid’s education. I think almost anyone who starts in their early 20s can retire before 50 with some discipline, it doesn’t require beating the market at all, just be satisfied with the market because the market is amazing.
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