Investing

Everyone knows of the typical asset: stocks. From hiring a financial advisor to doing it on your own investing, stocks are the specific investment vehicle for most retail investors. Have you ever thought about diversifying your investment income with other high-quality asset types? The new hype these days in the 21st century is cryptocurrency. Another great asset class are commodities such as gold or future contracts. No matter what situation you are in, diversifying your income is the primary key to substantial wealth and comfortable retirement if done correctly and strategically. In this article, I will go over other asset classes to help you build your wealth in the long term. I will also cover which asset classes to pick, depending on your risk tolerance.

One of the first lessons I learned out of college was this- college didn’t prepare me for anything that actually mattered. With a large number of college grads struggling to enter the workplace year after year as well as the rate of student debt skyrocketing, the need to develop new skills may matter more now than ever before. These are seven online courses available throughout the internet that will help you develop yourself into a more marketable individual as a result.

Taking real, intentional steps towards being responsible for your finances and financial future is a true test of maturity. Far too many Americans let their money lead them astray, instead of taking full command over how their money is utilized. I made many financial mistakes as a young person and going into adulthood, but luckily once I started making a full-time income, I started down the path to financial recovery and eventually towards financial prosperity.

There are two predictable things in this world- death and taxes. The one thing that no one seems to be predicting right now is the incredibly strange behavior by the stock market. One day we’re looking at Great Depression level drops, the next day we’re seeing all-time-high recoveries. In the midst of incredibly high levels of unemployment, we’re also seeing an investor field day. So for your everyday, middle-class investor, how should you feel about what’s going on? Fearful? Brave?

If you’ve heard it once you’ve heard it a million times, but things aren’t getting any easier- that doesn’t mean things will get worse long term though. As my father and I rode together in my car to get takeout, donning our facemasks, asking one another if we each brought hand sanitizer, things for a moment seemed silly.

Now is the time to either freak out or take a sigh of relief when looking at your emergency savings. Reports from over the last couple of years have shown that 2 out of 3 Americans don’t have at least $1,000 dollars in savings. Now those who did not prepare are feeling the pain as we end the eleven-year bull market and face a very unpredictable recession.

By the time you read this, almost 6.6 million Americans will have filed for unemployment benefits. This number is larger than that of those on unemployment during the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, and now, after four years of low unemployment and a bull market, even people in relatively secure jobs are uncertain as to what the future holds. For some people reading this, even maybe you, the fears of losing your job has become a reality.

Whenever there is a massive drop in the stock market, you immediately have two types of people- those who panic sell, and those who buy thinking they are investing in a big future at a very low point in the present.

As Social Security among young people is treated as a pipe dream and more and more Americans nearing retirement age don’t seem to see a financial rainbow at the end of career tunnel, many conservative spenders and savers across the nation wonder why they haven’t seen the wealth accumulation from years of hard work result in something larger. So what gives? CNBC’s Jill Cornfield explains exactly why you’re so far off from the retirement track of your dreams, and the answer why is pretty obvious. “Savings alone can’t get you there,” writes Cornfield, “investing can.”