Making Money During Cramped Times

Many say that this is a time to save all that you can before the financial conditions get any worse. That is good advice for those who have no money to risk but it is not the best advice for those that do.

If you have some money to risk, the best thing to do now is invest some of those dollars in the stock market right now. That's right I said the stock market.

You might think I am crazy but this is great advice.

If you find quality companies that have a relatively low stock price right now, you should buy stock in those company. You must however look to hold the stock for the next 3 to 5 years though.

The stock market now is like giving birth to a premature baby. You will go crazy attempting to check the progress of the child everyday. Doctors say that progress of the premature child's growth should be evaluated from month to month. This holds true for your stock purchase, look at the month to month development of the stock.

Another bit of advice is to buy stocks that pay dividends. The idea here is to see yourself holding that stock for the next 3 to 5 years as well, but reinvest the dividend into purchasing more shares of the same stock.

Check up

I want you to think about something for a second. How do you know if the money you have authorized your employer to withhold from your check for retirement purposes is actually being invested in your retirement? Although against the law it is very possible for your employer to delay payment to your retirement account.

Let’s say your employer did make the payment to your retirement account in a timely manner. How do you know if the company holding your retirement account actually invested those funds correctly?

With the recent fall of Lehman Brothers and some of the other financial giants it is quite possible that some of your retirement funds were not invested properly and your retirement funds could be lost.

Although we trust that the financial institutions are doing the right thing, it is good to check up on them periodically. How do you do that you may ask? That is a very good question. The first line of defense is your statements showing the amount in your retirement account. The second line of defense is to sit down with a financial planner and have that professional look over your retirement assets as well. At the end of the day you don’t want to be surprised, you want to be informed. A periodic check will help you stay informed!