The guarantee retirement in America is gone. Just like the VCR and the cassette player, pension plans for most Americans are a thing of the past. Even if you have a pension plan at your job, many are under funded to the tune of hundreds of millions. That’s the bad news; the good news is all is not lost. The reality is that you have to set up our own retirement fund if you except to have enough money to retire with. Most people preparing for retirement, not including the plans at your job, invest money an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and all of us will receive some amount in the form of a U.S. Social Security check. However; both of these plans alone may not be enough for a comfortable life after our working days are behind us. You can take control of your own financial future by investing and saving your money on your own. This is the first step to a secure financial future. This may appear to be a difficult task. What to invest in? This is the question you have to ask yourself before you can get started.
First, decide how much money can you afford each month to put towards investing for retirement $50, $100, etc. whatever it is just do something. Next, determine which investments are right for you. Stocks, bonds and CDs are the most popular among today’s investors. However, investing in stocks over the long term has produced the highest returns for the buck. Investing in large consumer driven stocks with good dividend yields has been the closest thing you can get to a safe stock investment in the past few years. Companies like Coca-Cola (KO), Clorox (CLX) and Nike (NKE) are consumer staples that are giants in their industries. Even with the US economic on the decline these companies do well because people will not stop buying their products. These companies and many others that pay dividends will provide income to you in retirement and is the key to the Do-it-Yourself Pension.
The best way to invest in dividend stocks is by enrolling in Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPPs) that is buying stocks without a broker. After you decide which company to invest in log on the company website and find out if they offer a Direct Stock Purchase Plan. Enrolling in the plan will be explained on the website. Investing $50-$100 a month in 5 stocks each, is the way to diversify your portfolio with stock paying a dividend and reinvesting the dividends into more shares is the foundation for building your portfolio. These plans are a good deal for investors both small and large a like. If your investment time to retirement is 10 to 30 years, then investing in DSPPs will help you reach your retirement goals.
