beginning investing
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright Policy - Send FeedbackCopyright 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright Policy - Send FeedbackUSA TODAY financial markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a new question every weekday at money.usatoday.com.Every Friday,get a week's worth of USA TODAY's personal finance news and columns. Sign up now. It's free. Q: I just started my first job about six months ago. What are the best long-term and short-term investing options I should be looking into?A: Your instinct to start investing is right on. Since you've just entered the workforce and I'm assuming you're young, you have a huge advantage in investing that can't be overstated. As a young investor, you can afford to take greater risk than older investors. And that added risk, if history is any guide, should result in a exponentially greater returns over time. But before you take on long-term risk, you need to make sure you have a buffer to handle short-term cash crunches. Many financial planners advise having enough cash to cover all your expenses for three months. But from an investment standpoint, I recommend having six months' worth of cash in a money market account that you can easily tap. That cushion will let you resist the temptation to dip into your long-term investments if there's a disruption in your income. Once that's done, consider investing in any retirement savings plan offered by your employer. Many offer to match contributions you make to tax-advantaged 401(k) plans. I don't care if you're an expert stock picker: You shouldn't miss out on this benefit. The match is basically free money. Next, be sure to put money into a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs don't give you a tax break now, but they pay off huge in the future because you don't pay tax on the earnings as they accrue, or when you withdraw them, if they've been in the account at least five years. This is one of the best bets anywhere.Within the Roth, and probably in your employer's 401(k) plan, you choose the investments, so you can consider investing in a stock index mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the broad stock market.You'll notice we haven't started talking about individual stocks yet. Before you fire up your brokerage website, you need to take advantage of all the free-money advantages you can and make sure you are diversified, by using index funds that own hundreds of stocks. Only then does it make sense to open a taxable brokerage account and start picking individual stocks. When you get to this
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Health care is one investment that definitely pays
MLive.com, MI -
There's nothing like preventive care -- beginning with employees having a face-to-face appointment with their doctor. This gets them involved in their ...
Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc. Announces Results for the First ...
MarketWatch -
This was after paying down $US2.1 million in debt, buying back shares for $US 0.4 million and investing $1.7 million in plant and equipment and $ 3.1 ...
CVE:UME
US Foreclosures Index Shows More Than 107500 Homes Lost in September
MarketWatch -
"Savvy homeowners and investors also are beginning to recognize that today's housing market woes translate into opportunities for buyers. ...
Retail investment takes a hit as sensex continues to plummet
Indian Express, India -
“Compared to the beginning of the year, when there was a huge waiting list of newcomers getting their demat accounts opened, the requests to open accounts ...
Kayne Anderson Energy Development Company Announces Results for ...
CNNMoney.com -
"We believe the sale of Millennium Midstream Partners on October 1st validates our strategy of investing in quality private midstream companies. ...
Kayne Anderson Energy Development Company F3Q08 (Qtr End 08/31/08 ... KED
Politicians, lobbyists shielded financiers
Seattle Post Intelligencer -
Beginning in the 1990s, Wall Street financiers have increasingly sold investment packages known as mortgage-backed securities, which contained thousands of ...
Will Paulson's Bank Plan Finally Unfreeze Credit?
TIME -
Directly investing in the banks allows Paulson to get the money where it is needed the fastest, which would then allow well-capitalized banks to loosen the ...
Undernews For October 4, 2008
Warren Buffett's Priceless Investment Advice
MSNBC -
Before they can capture Buffett-like returns, beginning investors will need to develop their skills in identifying profitable companies and determining ...
Analysis: Who in the Arab world benefits from crisis?
Jerusalem Post, Israel -
Instead of investing in education, especially in cutting-edge fields such as information technology, and in industry, money has been gambled on the stock ...
Biomet Announces Financial Results for First Quarter of Fiscal ...
MarketWatch -
LVB Acquisition, Inc. is indirectly owned by investment partnerships directly or indirectly advised or managed by The Blackstone Group LP, Goldman Sachs& ...
RPM Reports Record First-Quarter Fiscal 2009 Results
Robbins & Myers Reports Strong Finish to Record Year
Richardson Electronics Reports Increased Sales and Earnings Per ... RBN - OTC:GHII - RPM
