It?s Never too Early to Start Investing!

Remember the old saying, "never too late to start"? Well, try this on for size: when it comes to investing, it's never too early to start. Time really is of the essence here. Those of us who find ourselves between the ages of twenty and forty should make investing for retirement a key priority on our list of things to do.

Your average, middle-aged, two-income American family lives paycheck-to-paycheck. And, life expectancies are increasing. So how do you expect to be prepared for a retirement that could potentially span twenty, maybe thirty years? How do you keep your welfare in mind as well as the welfare of your family, especially that of your children, when choosing your investment(s)?

Ladies and Gentlemen, may we present the Roth IRA account.

Sure, it's easy to think: that's nice, but the economy is in the pits. I have a hard time dealing with the present as it is. And now you want me to think of investing for retirement or for my kids?

Fair enough. But let's get out of Personal Budget-Crisis mode for a moment and consider: just $2000 invested in a Roth IRA for a child when s/he is born is worth about 2 to 3 million dollars when that child reaches the age of 65! And you don't have to add another cent to the principal amount! Astounding, you say, how is that possible? That, my dear Watson, is the beauty of compound interest at work. Roth IRA's are a perfect investment tool for this situation.

Imagine the results if funds are added over the same number of years. Depending on your income, age, and tax bracket, the Roth IRA now allows an initial investment of $4000, and additional investments of up to $4000 annually. And, profits can be taken absolutely tax-free when you're 59 ½ years young! The potential for returns blows away the idea of simply holding money in a savings account or a traditional bank Certificate of Deposit (CD).

At the risk of sounding like a bad infomercial, DON'T WAIT?INVEST NOW! But before you tune us out, we understand that you may have concerns like I don't have time or I don't know how.

In fact, all is takes is one 15-minute phone call. Talk to someone at a brokerage firm, or to your financial advisor, to set up a Roth IRA account for yourself and your kids. A good financial advisor will explain your options without the need of a "Investments-to-English" dictionary. Take advantage of this basic service. Surely you can spare 15 minutes, especially if it's to turn $2000 into 2 or 3 million dollars!

Still in college, or recently graduated and fighting off student loans? Believe it or not, it is possible to save a little money and invest for the future. A college professor heard the true story of a janitor who earned about $15,000 a year working at a school for underprivileged children. In the 1970's that janitor, who had never graduated high school, donated $1 million to the school. Deeply inspired, the professor followed the janitor's investment example and donated $8 million to a university?on a professor's salary.

Moral of the story: Don't determine what you have by what you earn, but by what you save. Both men understood the power of investing just a small portion of his earnings. The results were remarkable donations on seriously unremarkable incomes.

Everyday, young investors are taking advantage of this great system, and planning for their futures. Think of one good reason why you shouldn't do the same for yourself, and for your family. Go ahead, we dare you.

Scott Pearson is an investment advisor, writer, editor, instructor, and business leader. As President and Chief Investment Officer of Value View Financial Corp., he offers investment management services to a wide variety of clients. His own newsletter, Investor's Value View, is distributed worldwide and provides general money tips and investment advice to readers both internationally, and in the U.S.

For further information about starting a Roth IRA account or another investment for the future, Scott Pearson can be reached directly at Scott@valueview.net or by visiting http://www.valueview.net

Latest News


New York Times

Microsoft's Ballmer to CES: keep investing in tech despite ...
Scientific American - 10 hours ago
Las Vegas , NEV. -- In his first ever CES keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer yesterday acknowledged the tough economic times, but urged companies not to ...
Microsoft: the year ahead ComputerWeekly.com
Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008 R2 beta VNUNet.com
Windows 7 beta available worldwide on Friday AFP
TechFlash - G4 TV
all 1,233 news articles

Express from The Washington Post

The Best Investment Values in a Decade
Motley Fool - 9 hours ago
These days, we're presented with what Ron Muhlenkamp a few months ago called "the best investment values we've seen in a decade." Obviously, the market has ...
You Are About to Make a Bad Investment Motley Fool
The Flight to Safety Could Burn You Motley Fool
Wednesday's Biggest Stock Stars Motley Fool
Motley Fool - Motley Fool
all 146 news articles

Dividend.com

Billionaire investor places next supermarket bet
MarketWatch - 5 hours ago
Yucaipa's investment funds have been aggressive buyers of Whole Foods shares since Nov. 24, spending a net $98 million to amass the stake. ...
Activist shareholder buys 7 percent stake in Whole Foods Austin American-Statesman
Billionaire investor Burkle bets on Whole Foods MarketWatch
all 22 news articles

Wealth Bulletin

How to avoid a Madoff fund
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 1 hour ago
Feeder-funds (hedge funds or funds that do all their investing through another fund) and funds-of- funds sold investment services to individuals, ...
The Financial Services Industry’s Free Lunch Asia Sentinel
Fund-of-Hedge Funds Lacked Technology to Avoid Madoff Losses Advanced Trading
D Bank declined offers to invest with Madoff Financial Times
all 13 news articles

Thomas, McNerney & Partners Promotes Three Members of Its ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY - 7 hours ago
Thomas, McNerney & Partners is a health care venture capital firm with approximately $600 million under management, focused on investing in life science and ...

Markets Media News

Uma Thurman No Help to Arpad Busson in Madoff Fraud’s Nightmare
Bloomberg - 20 hours ago
In mid-December, EIM disclosed it was one of at least a dozen funds of funds caught up in the massive alleged fraud perpetrated by New York investment ...
Hedge funds' year is worst ever, and fall may continue Minneapolis Star Tribune
Blackstone To Rationalize Single Manager Hedge Funds Businesses In ... PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Hedge Funds Meet Their Match Barron's
all 54 news articles

Appleseed Fund Ranked by Lipper as Top Performing Midcap Value ...
CNNMoney.com - 12 hours ago
"Since the Appleseed Fund's inception, we've shown it's possible to outperform the market by investing in companies with strong sustainability records and ...

New T. Rowe Price mutual fund eyes global investment
Bizjournals.com, NC - Jan 7, 2009
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. is launching a new mutual fund seeking reward amid the risks of global fixed-income investing. The Strategic Income Fund will ...

Invesco Fund Loss Stirs Investor Fears
Wall Street Journal - 50 minutes ago
By DIYA GULLAPALLI 'Stable-value" investment funds have been one of the last havens in employee-retirement accounts. But one, advised by money manager ...

Orlando-based CNL Financial to launch real estate investment trust
Orlando Sentinel, FL - Jan 7, 2009
Orlando-based investment giant CNL Financial Group Inc. is planning to launch a new real estate investment trust investing in commercial property globally, ...
CNL, Macquarie Form New Global REIT GlobeSt. com
all 5 news articles

Resources