Investing can seem scary and confusing. In fact is can be so scary that it becomes easy to avoid investing because it brings up so many uncomfortable feelings. We know that we should start but find it easier to avoid the issue than to take action. So how do you get over those feelings and begin investing for your future?
Below is a four step plan for you to eliminate the fear and get started saving for your future.
- When you are doing something new it naturally comes with fear. Without having a good enough reason for starting the new activity you will continue to avoid it. Instead of hiding discover why you want to build a financially secure future. Create a detailed vision of exactly what you want from life. What do you want to do and have? What does your retirement look like? Do you want to travel? Spoil your kids and grandkids? Be able to donate more to charity? Get specific with what you want to do, the more details the better. Understanding what you want to gain can help you move beyond the initial fear; otherwise the reason for investing is all hypothetical and you have no reason to move beyond that fear.
- Once you know what you want, you need to determine exactly what it is going to require financially for you to make this happen. Let’s say you want to purchase a beach house during retirement. Research what it would cost to do that today in your desired location, then add on for inflation. Maybe it is something simpler to figure out such as having $50,000 a year to live off of in retirement. Whatever your goal is try to put as accurate a dollar amount to it as possible. (Yet don’t stress about having the perfect number as your life and everything around you will adjust as you grow older. This is simply an estimate to get you headed the right direction.)
- The next step is to figure out exactly how much money you need to save to achieve your goal. Luckily you don’t have to be a math whiz to figure this out. There are plenty of good financial calculators on the web. Simply type in retirement calculator and lots of options will pop up. One that I like because of its simplicity is the Bankrate retirement nest egg calculator. It allows you to play with a variety of factors all on one page to figure out how much you need to save!
- Now that you know why you want to save and how much you need to save hopefully you are more motivated and ready to get started investing. The easiest way to get started is to participate in your 401k. You can start with a small percentage contribution and slowly increase the amount until you reach your desired savings amount. This allows you to get used to living on less than you make each year and saving more. If you don’t have access to a 401K you can begin to save with an IRA on your own. While it is more complicated to get started without the use of a 401K, it is not as hard as you may think and it is worth the extra effort. For help with detailed step by step help on you can visit the Smart Step How to Invest series designed for beginners that have as little as $25 to $50 a month to get started investing with.
Now that you have overcome the investing fear and are investing, sit back and enjoy watching your dreams become a reality!
Andrea Travillian has loved personal finance from an early age; her first stock purchase was in 6th grade! Deciding to make a career of it she got her BBA and MBA in finance. She currently covers personal finance topics including investing, debt and money emotions on her site Take a Smart Step.
Andrea is the Chief Chick of Smart Money Chicks. After filing BK twice (once because she panicked, second time because the pro messed the first time up), she realized that it all could have been avoided if she understood more about how her Finances worked and the options available. At that point, she wanted to help as many as she could never make the same mistakes again. Our Promise is that all the content you read on here is created or edited by Andrea
FAQs
Revenue. The amount of money a business makes within a specific time period typically a month.
Why use a savings account everfi answers? ›
Savings accounts pay interest on the money you deposit. Savings accounts limit the number of withdrawals that can be made each month. Savings accounts don't usually require a minimum balance. Savings accounts are best used to store money for longer-term goals.
What is premium everfi? ›
Premium. The amount you pay the insurance company for coverage, typically paid each month. Deductible. The amount of money you will pay on an insurance claim before insurance coverage begins to pay you. Copay.
What best describes deflation in Everfi? ›
AI-generated answer
The best description of deflation is: B. A decrease in the cost of goods and services.
What does the W-2 form tell you about the everfi answer? ›
Your W-2 form shows how much you earned which is known as your compensation, including wages and tips for the year.
What is total revenue ___________________? ›
What does total revenue mean? Total revenue is the total of all sales of products or services before expenses are taken out. It is calculated by multiplying the price of the products or services by the number of units sold.
How are simple interest and compound interest different in EverFi Vault? ›
What's the difference between simple and compound interest? » Simple interest is money added as a percentage of the initial amount you put in or the principal. » Compound interest is money added as a percentage of the initial amount plus the interest you've already earned.
Which savings account will earn you the least money everfi quizlet? ›
Which savings account will earn you the least money? One that earns simple interest monthly.
What is interest everfi? ›
Interest is the fee someone pays to be able to borrow money. You either pay interest on money you borrow (like when you take out a loan to buy a car) or you make interest on the money you save (like when a bank pays you interest on money you put into a savings account).
What is the $500 Janine must pay called? ›
The $500 Janine must pay is called the: Deductible.
Opportunity Cost. The loss or potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.
Why should you purchase insurance on everfi quizlet? ›
-If you don't have health insurance, you pay all costs for healthcare and medical emergencies. the amount you owe before insurance will cover the rest of the bill. Insurance can cover you or your property in case of an accident, theft, or another unpredictable event.
What best describes what an opportunity cost is everfi? ›
What you give up as a result of choosing one option versus another; a trade-off.
What does inflation represent ______________ while deflation represents ______________? ›
Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is measured as the rate of change of those prices. Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can also fall (a situation called deflation).
What factor has the biggest impact on a credit score in EverFi? ›
Your payment history and your amount of debt has the largest impact on your credit score.
What is revenue in answer? ›
What Is Revenue? Revenue is the money generated from normal business operations, calculated as the average sales price times the number of units sold. It is the top line (or gross income) figure from which costs are subtracted to determine net income. Revenue is also known as sales on the income statement.
What is revenue defined as _____? ›
The basic revenue definition is the total amount of money brought in by a company's operations, measured over a set amount of time. A business's revenue is its gross income before subtracting any expenses. Profits and total earnings define revenue—it is the financial gain through sales and/or services rendered.
What is a revenue quizlet? ›
Revenue is the income earned by a business over a period of time, eg one month. The amount of revenue earned depends on two things - the number of items sold and their selling price. In short, revenue = price x quantity. Other words for revenue.
What is total revenue quizlet? ›
What is total revenue? All the money received by a firm from selling its total output.
Investing can seem scary and confusing. In fact is can be so scary that it becomes easy to avoid investing because it brings up so many uncomfortable feelings. We know that we should start but find it easier to avoid the issue than to take action. So how do you get over those feelings and begin investing for your future?
