How should I invest for retirement? (divorce, long-term, state, years)

[Metrix1234]

I am in my early 20s. What would be the best investment opportunity for someone like me who has a good 30-40 years before retiring?

[livecontent]

Invest in education. It cannot be lost; It cannot be taken away from you; it will cost more in the future.

Invest now in yourself. Delay your desire to mate and procreate.There will be time latter to invest in a family.

Invest in your body and start a maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. That will give you the ultimate dividends.

Invest in the concept of living a simple and more economically sustainable life. You will then become freer from the demands of wants and desires.

And all these investments cannot be taxed, no matter how much they accrue in value.

livecontent

[Tightwad]

Originally Posted by Metrix1234

I am in my early 20s. What would be the best investment opportunity for someone like me who has a good 30-40 years before retiring?

First , and most important, PAY YOURSELF FIRST!! Yep get a savings book and pay yourself a fixed amount everyweek......without fail!!!!!

Then put your investments wherever you want to. You might get lucky and get really rich but if you follow my advice you will never be flat broke.

[GLS]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Invest in education. It cannot be lost; It cannot be taken away from you; it will cost more in the future.

Invest now in yourself. Delay your desire to mate and procreate.There will be time latter to invest in a family.

Invest in your body and start a maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. That will give you the ultimate dividends.

Invest in the concept of living a simple and more economically sustainable life. You will then become freer from the demands of wants and desires.

And all these investments cannot be taxed, no matter how much they accrue in value.

livecontent

Sage advice! Where were you when I was younger?

[AnotherBravesFan]

Do it early and often. Time is one thing you have on your side now and can never get back later. Max out your contributions to any employer-sponsored retirement plan. Also, contribute to a Roth IRA. Start an auto-investment plan with any leftover money. I have one with Vanguard; they've debited my checking acct $100/month EVERY month for almost 20 years. Once you start, you won't miss the money, and it really adds up over time. If you can save only a little, even $20/month, do it anyway. Whenever you get a raise, you can increase the amount you set aside. Diversify your holdings across stocks, real estate, long-term vs. short-term cash, etc. Now, get going...the clock is ticking!

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by GLS

Sage advice! Where were you when I was younger?

I was just as lost as the next young person; trying to find the meaning of life and the best way to live. Today, I am older and wiser but the youth will not listen, as I would not listen; and for the old, it is too late.

Livecontent

[Lakewooder]

Max out 401K and a Roth each year. Then buy a home on a 15-year mortgage. Drive a used car till it dies. If you do that you will not have to worry much about your other spending.

[mathjak107]

while funding things to the max is great merly flinging money into stock funds is not a plan by itself...

you need to look seriously at the risk level you can tolerate without losing sleep or worrying about your 401k to the point it makes you react and do things you shouldnt like bail out exactly at the wrong time....

then you need lots of diversification covering all asset classes...

then you need points to rebalance so your always selling what went up and buying whats awaiting its turn in the sun...

equities havent gone up much in 10 years but lots of other asset classes took off. treasuries, commodities, gold , even reits had their day in the sun .....

even a plan that forced you to rebalance at or near our march lows would have had a major rise at this point....

all this constitues a plan, to bad most just fling money into a hodge podge of stuff in their 401k without rhyme or reason

[StealthRabbit]

1st take full advantage of any employer matching, into a diversified fund, WITH low expenses. then;

curb the bleeding (Cash outflows that do not lead to a more beneficial financial situation)

set a budget and some rough and realistic goals,

Invest in some financial economics education, even if it is just a few classes to augment your abilities. You want to be able to plan, and know when someone is pulling wool (Lots of sharks out there), and how to conduct business (prepare / plan taxes, contracts and housing / credit...) Business Law was a decent 'value' course. As is Accounting and Macro economics.

Hang out on some investment websites, like bogleheads, and listen to some sage moneyshows (like Bob Brinker's Moneytalk ... 6 hrs / weekend, need to sort out the fluff / rants) There is a decent reading list on his site.

Learn some primary investment rules, like know what you are buying, and what your exit strategy is, and set some mental (or physical) sell stops on both ends.

Realize you NEED to sell sometimes (and take a loss), rather than ride a dead horse.
Realize it is better to take gains and pay taxes than to ride an investment to the ground.

consider your future and insurance needs.

live within your budget (and better, below).

Stay single and w/o kids,

[Raisuli]

Avoid the Four Deadly "D's"

Drink, Drugs, Divorce & Debt