Throughout life, the way that you save, the returns that you can expect and the value of that investment at your retirement age will change. Many people fail to take this into consideration when planning for their own retirement, which is why an ongoing discussion with your financial planner throughout your life is always a good idea.
Generally the younger you are the more risk that you may be willing to take on in your investments. The greater the risk, of course, the greater the return, which is why high risk investments are so appealing to so many. With greater return comes the opportunity for retiring earlier, but only if you invest wisely and modify your strategy as you age.
• Risk – high risk investments can be long or short term, but the longer you hold on to a high risk investment the less of a risk it should be, at least theoretically. A start-up company with a new concept is a risk at first, but once it finds a target audience and becomes a mainstream item the risk diminishes.
• Return – the amount you can expect to return on the investment is going to depend on a variety of different factors. Most financial planners recommend that people diversify so that there is a good chance that if there is a decrease in return in one area there will be a chance of a corresponding increase in another.
• Retirement – knowing when you want to retire and how much you have to have banked to live comfortably is an important calculation. Everyone’s retirement needs will be different depending on what they want to do once they aren’t working.
• Getting Started – by talking to a financial planner you can get a complete picture of what you need to do with regards to investments, risk and your retirement.
It is never too late to start planning for your retirement and your future. If you are young then you have more options for investment while as you age your strategy will turn to solid, dependable options that you can trust.