Investing Basics – What Are Your Investment Goals

When it comes to investing, many first time investors want to jump right in with both feet. Unfortunately, very few of those investors are successful. Investing in anything requires some degree of skill. It is important to remember that few investments are a sure thing – there is the risk of losing your money!

Before you jump right in, it is better to not only find out more about investing and how it all works, but also to determine what your goals are. What do you hope to achieve with your investments? Will you be funding a college education? Buying a home? Retiring? Before you invest a single penny, really think about what you hope to achieve with that investment. Knowing what your goal is will help you make smarter investment decisions along the way!

Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight. This is possible – but it is also rare. It is usually a very bad idea to start investing with hopes of becoming rich overnight. It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a child’s education. However, if your investment goal is to get rich quick, you should learn as much about high-yield, short term investing as you possibly can before you invest.

You should strongly consider talking to a financial planner before making any investments. Your financial planner can help you determine what type of investing you must do to reach the financial goals that you have set. He or she can give you realistic information as to what kind of returns you can expect and how long it will take to reach your specific goals.

Again, remember that investing requires more than calling a broker and telling them that you want to buy stocks or bonds. It takes a certain amount of research and knowledge about the market if you hope to invest successfully.

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What Is Your Investment Style?

Knowing what your risk tolerance and investment style are will help you choose investments more wisely. While there are many different types of investments that one can make, there are really only three specific investment styles – and those three styles tie in with your risk tolerance. The three investment styles are conservative, moderate, and aggressive.

Naturally, if you find that you have a low tolerance for risk, your investment style will most likely be conservative or moderate at best. If you have a high tolerance for risk, you will most likely be a moderate or aggressive investor. At the same time, your financial goals will also determine what style of investing you use.

If you are saving for retirement in your early twenties, you should use a conservative or moderate style of investing – but if you are trying to get together the funds to buy a home in the next year or two, you would want to use an aggressive style.

Conservative investors want to maintain their initial investment. In other words, if they invest $5000 they want to be sure that they will get their initial $5000 back. This type of investor usually invests in common stocks and bonds and short term money market accounts.

An interest earning savings account is very common for conservative investors.

A moderate investor usually invests much like a conservative investor, but will use a portion of their investment funds for higher risk investments. Many moderate investors invest 50% of their investment funds in safe or conservative investments, and invest the remainder in riskier investments.

An aggressive investor is willing to take risks that other investors won’t take. They invest higher amounts of money in riskier ventures in the hopes of achieving larger returns – either over time or in a short amount of time. Aggressive investors often have all or most of their investment funds tied up in the stock market.

Again, determining what style of investing you will use will be determined by your financial goals and your risk tolerance. No matter what type of investing you do, however, you should carefully research that investment. Never invest without having all of the facts!

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Investment Strategy

Because investing is not a sure thing in most cases, it is much like a game – you don’t know the outcome until the game has been played and a winner has been declared. Anytime you play almost any type of game, you have a strategy. Investing isn’t any different – you need an investment strategy.

An investment strategy is basically a plan for investing your money in various types of investments that will help you meet your financial goals in a specific amount of time. Each type of investment contains individual investments that you must choose from. A clothing store sells clothes – but those clothes consist of shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, undergarments, etc. The stock market is a type of investment, but it contains different types of stocks, which all contain different companies that you can invest in.

If you haven’t done your research, it can quickly become very confusing – simply because there are so many different types of investments and individual investments to choose from. This is where your strategy, combined with your risk tolerance and investment style all come into play.

If you are new to investments, work closely with a financial planner before making any investments. They will help you develop an investment strategy that will not only fall within the bounds of your risk tolerance and your investment style, but will also help you achieve your financial goals.

Never invest money without having a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal! This is essential. Nobody hands their money over to anyone without knowing what that money is being used for and when they will get it back! If you don’t have a goal, a plan, or a strategy, that is essentially what you are doing! Always start with a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal!

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Auto Sound Systems are an Investment in your Car Make it Great

For those who love tunes and the ability to take them along wherever you may roam, there are some great auto sound systems that allow you to basically plug in your favorite tunes to play as you go. It doesn't really matter which style of MP3 player you use, most of the newer auto sound systems at least have the ability to read and translate the material from these players into great music for you to enjoy on your ride by simply plugging your MP3 player into the car stereo.

Many of us find that lugging around an MP3 player with all of our favorite tunes (or at least most of them-with up to 40 gigs of hard drive space it might take a while to fill completely) is much easier and more practical than attempting to lug around a huge case of CDs. It is also great for those of us who find ourselves disappointed when we purchase CDs only to find that we really only like one or two songs. Now we can simply download the songs we know and love while avoiding those we are uncertain about or at least waiting until more songs come out before deciding whether or not to purchase the entire collection of songs. Having an auto sound system that allows you to enjoy the convenience of simply plugging in either your MP3 player or a memory card or stick in order to have your favorite songs at your finger tips at all times is fantastic.

I don't know about you, but I am absolutely hooked on audio books. I love to read and find so little free time in which to get my feel of the latest and greatest best seller. Audio books allow me to hear the stories I've been eagerly awaiting at my convenience and in my SUV as I'm making my daily commute or running errands. These books are also a great way to enjoy long car trips. You can even check your local library in order to find an excellent selection.

I typically try to find stories that might interest the children on long car rides as well (such as the Harry Potter books or The Polar Express). This instills a love of reading in them and I don't have to worry about the stray 'grown up' word that some audio books contain. Good auto sound systems not only play great music but also sound wonderful when it comes to the spoken word as well. This is not only true when it comes to books on tape, CD, or MP3 but also talk radio and national news stations as well.

When you begin your search for your next auto sound system make sure you consider all the possible features you may wish to include. You can find sound systems today that include GPS, DVD players, navigational tools, CD players, MP3 players, satellite radio receivers and countless other nifty features. Choose the auto sound system that will suit your needs and interests best and enjoy it for as long as you can. A good sound system is something that will stay with your car, truck, or SUV so it is best to make that particular investment long before you plan to trade your vehicle in on another. At the same time a good auto sound system can be an excellent incentive to hold onto your vehicle a little while longer.