The Beginner’s Guide to Retirement Planning

There are many retirement plans out there today. Different organizations offer different terms on the retirement funds that you can set up with them. One of the most common retirement plans is the 401(k) that a lot of employers offer. This is definitely one of the better plans out there as you don’t have to worry about managing it too much. Everything is controlled for you by your company. All you need to do is choose the percentage of your monthly income that you would like deposited into the account. This is useful for the beginner who doesn’t know the first thing about managing a retirement account. However, once you have sufficient knowledge, it is always recommended to go for something with more control.

The IRA is the way to go

One of these is the IRA. The individual retirement account is one that is offered by a lot of financial institutions. It is the same as a traditional employer’s account, but offers a lot more in terms of control. You get to choose just about everything that happens to the funds in the account. This assures a higher chance of being able to retire early than a normal account. It is also independent of where the future retiree works, making it perfect for people who don’t plan on staying in the same company for a long time. However, there are variations offered in IRAs that can be very attractive to a lot of people. One of the best among these is investing in precious metals such as gold or silver. Banks are generally happy to give out information on a gold IRA account or its silver counterpart.

Precious metals are the stable option

One of the drawbacks of a normal cash IRA is that it is linked to the economy. If the market should destabilize (it is already struggling, as the Great Recession should remind people), the value of the funds in your IRA will dramatically reduce. You can still have the same amount of money in the account, but it will be worth a lot less. Getting a gold or silver IRA will eliminate the risk of this happening. It is a well-known fact that precious metals do not depreciate in value over time, no matter the state of the market. In fact, the value of silver is actually climbing because of the amount that it is used in manufacturing and tooling for companies.

If you already have an IRA or a 401(k) and you are wondering how to set-up a silver IRA rollover so that you can quickly transfer the unstable funds in these accounts to something that is far more secure from an economic standpoint, talk to your local financial institution. There are many options available, and all of them are pretty amazing. The best part is that these are physical assets you buy with the money in your retirement account, meaning you will be able to protect them far better from the market, as well as maintaining security by possessing something real.

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Three Simple Ways To Develop An Additional Stream Of Income

These days, many people are interested in earning more money so they can quit their traditional jobs or pursue some other goal. If this is your objective, it's important to know that there are several ways that you can develop an additional stream of income. Here are three:

1. Pursue Property Investment.

Investing in property is a great way to start earning additional money. To have success with this endeavor, it's important that you select a team of realty professionals who know the industry like the back of their hand. The best realty companies will possess all of the following attributes:

• stellar customer service
• a high quality Better Business Bureau rating
• excellent online reviews

When you start your search for the ideal property investment company, consider the professionals of Realty ONE Group. The company has established a strong reputation for helping people make excellent property decisions. Company representatives such as Kuba Jewgieniew are known for providing the cutting edge services and stellar customer service that entails high levels of customer satisfaction.

2. Develop An Online Business.

In addition to looking into property investment opportunities, be sure that you consider the value of developing an online business. In today's world, eCommerce is bigger than ever as people around the world log onto the Internet to buy and sell goods and services. There are millions of ways for you to make money online, one of which is the development of a monetized blog. You can also start a business selling a product such as eBooks. To make your online business successful, it's a good idea to have a trained digital firm working on your behalf. These professionals will typically utilize a wide range of proven internet marketing strategies to get your company growing. Some of the strategies internet marketing experts typically employ include

• social media optimization
• search engine marketing
• online reputation management
• content creation

3. Write A Book.

One final strategy you should definitely consider when you're looking for ways to accrue wealth is writing a book. Writing a book affords you the opportunity to build a brand and earn residual income that can help you retire early if you so desire. In the past, people have been discouraged from the book-writing process because opportunities for publication were slim. These days, however, social media channels and other forms of online advertising make it possible for people to self-publish books and then market them to build their brand and optimize conversion rates.

Conclusion
If you're ready to develop an additional stream of income so you can have more financial freedom, you should know that the strategies discussed here can help you. By pursuing property investment, developing an online business, or writing a book, you will likely find that your personal finances begin to grow!

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All You Need to Know About Mutual Funds: A Beginner's Guide

Mutual Funds 101: Investing for Dummies

Mutual funds are one of the most popular types of investments.  Mutual funds are managed by a company. They are a pool of money from multiple investors that is then used to invest in various securities. Mutual fund investments can range from stocks and bonds to more strategic investments such as short-term debts. Each person who contributes to the mutual fund shares a portion of its ownership. In short, it is a way of bringing a larger amount of money to an investment.

Types of Mutual Funds

There are numerous types of mutual funds available. The portfolio of the mutual fund is the combination of shares owned by the fund. It can be made up of various types of investments or a single type. This depends on the investment strategy in play. Various options exist for investors including:

• Money market mutual funds: In these mutual funds, the investments generally are higher quality stocks and bonds with less risk. They are short term investments from federal, state, and local governments. There is less risk involved, and, as a result, less potential for high, dramatic earnings. Nevertheless, they tend to be more reliable.

• Stock mutual funds: These are investments in corporate stock ownership. There are various sub-options here including growth mutual funds, income funds, and index funds. Income funds pay regular dividends to the owners. Growth funds don't pay dividends as often, but tend to offer higher returns in the long term. Index funds tend to follow the Standard & Poor 500 Index and range widely as a result of changes in the marketplace.

• Target date mutual funds: This type of mutual fund offers a combination of stocks and bonds as well as other types of investments. These are particularly useful in retirement planning. Although they can start out more aggressive with higher risk, the risk level tends to change and fall over time, as you get closer to retirement.

• Bond mutual funds: These are a common type of investment because they do carry a higher risk level than money market funds, but tend to provide a higher level of gains to owners. There are variations in the types and risk levels associated with these mutual funds.

With so many options, it can seem difficult to know which to choose. Generally speaking, most people choose mutual funds because of the various benefits they offer that can help to reduce some of these overwhelming decisions.

Key Advantages of Mutual Fund Investing

There are numerous benefits to investing in mutual funds. They may not be the best outright investment for some people, though. If you plan to invest money for retirement and don't need an immediate return, this is likely the investment for you. Other benefits include the following.

They Are Professionally Managed

One if the best reasons to turn to this type of fund is because they are professionally managed by a licensed investor. This provides a key benefit to the investor because there is a fund manager making decisions, handling the research into various securities, and overall monitoring the losses and gains of the investment. As a result, they can help to ensure performance on an ongoing basis.

They Allow for Ample Diversification

One of the keys to overcoming significant changes in market conditions is having an investment that allows you to diversify, or place your money into various companies or types of investments. This way, when one area drops in value, other areas may pick up. Diversification like this is one of the benefits of mutual funds since they allow you to invest in multiple stocks, bonds or other securities.

Overall Ease of Use

Mutual funds are fairly liquid. This means that you can redeem their value just about any time you need to do so. There are fees involved, but there is less restricted access to your money. Additionally, you do not have to invest a lot of money to get started. The initial investment amount differs based on the mutual fund and managers, but these initial investments and further investments tend to be much more affordable than other securities.

With mutual funds, you'll likely see payments in dividends on an on-going basis. You'll also find that buying and selling stocks is easier to do (someone else with ample experience can do this for you). And, you'll find that mutual funds are relatively safe investments for short and long term investing depending on the portfolio selected. These benefits are some of the reasons behind while mutual funds are so commonly used and so well respected for most investors today.

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