Investing

It is beyond the scope of this site to teach the art and science of investing, but it is important to have a grasp of some investing fundamentals.

Investing involves both opportunity and risk. Investing is putting away funds now and expecting a future payoff. This page will not offer investing advice except to say

• Invest safely
• Invest within your budget
• and Don't invest what you can't afford

Investments may be short or long-term, may pay a fixed amount every period, may be relatively safe or very risky. Each type of investment has its own advantages and disadvantages.

• cash and cash equivalents are short-term assets
• stocks or equities which represent a share of ownership in a company
• bonds which are issued by companies to raise money for a company. In exchange, the company pays interest for the life of the bond.

The SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education, a not-for-profit organization promoting investor education, maintains a web site which includes articles, games, and quizzes. Use their compounding calculator to calculate your return on investment of $10,000 calculated before and after the adjustment for inflation.