The Do-It-Yourself Pension

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.

Intro to Building Wealth with $50

There is a lot of information on television and the internet about investing and let’s face it, most of it is confusing to the average person. This book is written for the independent investor looking for a little straight forward information about investing in stocks. We have all been taught that the stock market is risky and you need thousands of dollars and a financial advisor to invest. Where can an investor turn to buy stocks with smaller dollar amounts? Typically, independent investors will put their money in low risk government bonds, savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs); usually these investments produce low returns. Well, there is another option. Dividend stocks have historically produced higher returns than most other investments over the long term. An investor can purchase individual dividend stocks with Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPPs); that is buying stocks directly without a broker using small dollar amounts. This is an excellent way to invest in stocks with as little as $50. These investment plans offer a steady way for investors to acquire large amounts of shares over time and are good for the long term investor looking to maximize every dollar.

This book is meant to be a starting point and a guide for investing in stocks. Providing detailed information about DSPPs, such as how to open an account, how often shares are purchased and what fees are charged. This book will also discuss in detail which companies offer the opportunity to start investing with $50. Now, $50 doesn’t sound like enough money to start an investment or wealth building plan and most financial advisors would tell you that at least $2,000 is needed.

But consider this, $50 invested at 6% every month over 30 years is over $50,000. Investing small amounts can quickly add up over time. Investing in high quality companies with good records of paying consistent dividends, strong financial growth and reinvesting all the dividends into more shares are the keys to building wealth. Buying stock directly from a company can be as easy as opening a bank account. Also, most plans have either no or low fees. The opportunity to invest in companies like McDonalds, Nike and The Coca-Cola Company with investments as small as $50 is made possible with Direct Stock Purchase Plans.

This book also discusses investing in the stock market and explains that investing is not as difficult as the experts in the media would have you believe. Investing based on research and with a proper understanding of the fundamentals of finance are the keys to successful investing.

Investing doesn't have to be complicated, it can even be fun. Remember, you have to invest money to have money; invest $50 today, because your future is your present.