There are two reasons for having some of your investment portfolio money in a money market fund.
Asset Allocation
One reason for having some of your investment funds in a money market fund is to hedge against declines in other asset classes. For example, if you thought there was a high probability of a stock market decline
Continue reading Trek III: Money Market Investing
The activity: Use a Health Savings Account (HSA) for medical expenses and retirement.
The trek: Build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth).
Difficulty rating: Moderate
Your employer may offer you the option to fund a Health Savings Account (HSA).
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are tax-deductible
Continue reading Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: Health Savings Account
The activity: Use a Health Savings Account (HSA) for medical expenses and retirement.
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Difficulty rating: Moderate
Your employer may offer you the option to fund a Health Savings Account (HSA).
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are tax-deductible savings plans that allow a taxpayer to save pre-tax dollars
Continue reading Net Worth: Save From Income: Health Savings Account
Investors that have high incomes and don’t qualify for a deductible IRA or a Roth IRA are allowed to open a nondeductible IRA instead. The earnings are tax-deferred – not tax-free as they are in a Roth.
A nondeductible IRA can make sense if you think you can convert the funds to a Roth IRA in
Continue reading Trek III: Invest in Traditional IRA
The activity: Saving for college with a college savings plan.
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Difficulty rating: Moderate
The cost of a college education continues to rise at a rate that exceeds the overall rate of inflation. It can be a huge expense, for a family, for parents,
Continue reading Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: College Savings Plan
The activity: Saving for college with a college savings plan.
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Difficulty rating: Moderate
The cost of a college education continues to rise at a rate that exceeds the overall rate of inflation. It can be a huge expense, for a family, for parents,
Continue reading Net Worth: Save From Income: College Savings Plan
The activity: Save for retirement by investing in the nonmatch portion of your 401(k).
The trek: Build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth).
Difficulty rating: Easy to moderate
Earlier in the trek we asked you to contribute to your employer’s 401(k) plan to get
Continue reading Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: Invest in Nonmatch Portion of 401(k)
The activity: Save for retirement by investing in the nonmatch portion of your 401(k).
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Difficulty rating: Easy to moderate
Earlier in the trek we asked you to contribute to your employer’s 401(k) plan to get the maximum employer match, if your employer offers a
Continue reading Net Worth: Save From Income: Invest in Nonmatch Portion of 401(k)
Investing in tax-sheltered accounts carries one disadvantage: you may not be able to get to your investment funds when you need them. The rules for tax-sheltered accounts can change with the whims and drifting priorities of Congress. That’s why you should have some money in taxable accounts – accounts that are unsheltered.
Earlier steps in the
Continue reading Trek III: Invest in Taxable Accounts
This step on your prosperity trek…
This is an informational step.
Here is Prosperity Concierge’s current asset allocation investment recommendation for your long-term portfolio.
Long-Term Investment Allocation
(for funds not needed for at least 5 years)
65% Emerging Markets (with a concentration in Brazil)
30% U.S. Large Cap (with a concentration in technology (hardware and software))
5% Energy and other Natural Resources
Asset Allocation Advice
Here is related
Continue reading Trek III: Wealth and Prosperity: Asset Accumulation: Long-Term Portfolio Recommendation
The activity: Invest in a Roth IRA to avoid and defer taxes.
The trek: Build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth).
Steps you should complete before beginning this step: Get the 401(k) match, Improve Your Credit Score
Difficulty rating: Moderate to difficult
Before you do
Continue reading Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: Invest in a Roth IRA
The activity: Invest in a Roth IRA to avoid and defer taxes.
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Steps you should complete before beginning this step: Get the 401(k) match, Improve Your Credit Score
Difficulty rating: Moderate to difficult
Before you do this activity there are two other activities to do
Continue reading Net Worth: Save From Income: Invest in a Roth IRA
You may think of bonds only as a way to earn income. Or maybe you turned to short-term CDs or money market funds for safety during the equity and credit market volatility last year. But fixed-income investments can also play an important role over the long term—they can help contribute return and reduce overall risk and volatility in a
Continue reading Trek III: Fixed Income Investing
Defensive investing gives you time to explore options and prepare for investment opportunities. When you invest defensively you’re taking money off the table, your planning your next moves, your studying and waiting.
Deleveraging is a defensive strategy. Reducing debt is a conservative approach that reduces risk.
A defensive strategy preserves principal and liquidity.
The ultimate defense has been investing in Treasury
Continue reading Defensive Strategies in Uncertain Investment Environment
When we refer to “equities” we are referring to stock in companies.
The first thing to recognize about equities is where their value comes from. Stocks are worth the present value of the future cash flows they will deliver to their owners. Since stocks do not have an expiration date and dividends grow over time, the
Continue reading Trek III: Equity Investing
Goal-based investing is having a focus on goals – rather than portfolio performance – to determine the annual income you’ll need for retirement or other goals.
As defined benefit plans fade into history, more American workers are confronting the fact that they will need to be much more active in deciding how to allocate their retirement
Continue reading Trek III: Goal-Based Investing
Asset classes have varying degrees of volatility.
Generally, the closer you are to your objective the more you should be invested in less volatile asset classes. This argument has merit for objectives such as college education or travel when a definite withdrawal from your investments is expected. It also has merit for a new retiree who
Continue reading Trek III: Know Your Time Horizon
Rebalancing is the periodic adjustment of a portfolio to restore the original asset allocation mix.
A common investment mistake is to not perform a periodic rebalancing of your portfolio. Many investors refuse to sell if they’ve lost money on an investment. Nor do they want to sell and take money off the table if they are
Continue reading Trek III: Portfolio Rebalancing
The activity: Get the 401(k) match from your employer if your employer offers a 401(k) and provides a matching contribution.
The trek: Build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth).
Difficulty rating: Easy to Moderate
If your employer offers a 401(k) plan and provides a
Continue reading Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: Get the 401(k) Match
The activity: Get the 401(k) match from your employer if your employer offers a 401(k) and provides a matching contribution.
The trek: Build net worth.
The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth).
Difficulty rating: Easy to Moderate
If your employer offers a 401(k) plan and provides a matching contribution up to a percentage of your
Continue reading Net Worth: Save From Income: Get the 401(k) Match
