4 Rules for Successful Investing

We’ve talked a lot about saving money, but what about investing money?

These 2 things are quite different. When investing money, you want it to grow and not just accumulate. The biggest difference between saving and investing is the risk factor. That’s why we want you to make sure you are saving money before we start investing. That being said, investing is an important part of any financial strategy. We want to seek a high rate of return with low risk, which requires a more scientific approach to investing your money. This is where we make sure that your money is working efficiently for you, in all areas of your financial strategy. If you want to be successful in investing your money, there are 4 rules you should understand:

Rule #1: Understand wealth eroding factors.

Wealth eroding factors like taxes, fees, penalties, and market volatility; chip away at your money. These factors are powerful and the more money you make, the more these will affect you. When investing, you want to take the time to understand what is affecting your money, and how you can build a strategy that will protect you from wealth eroding factors. It’s not just about amassing dollars, it’s about having a strategy to help you build your wealth in an effective and efficient manner without taking on too much risk.

Rule #2: Don’t think objectively, think of the whole picture.

When investing, don’t think based on short term or long term singular need or objective. Select investments that will win for you long term, while minimizing those wealth eroding factors, and still building wealth for all of your lifetime needs. When you invest in something that has a dual purpose of offensive and defense, this will better meet changing circumstances.

Rule #3: Avoid excessive fees.

Fees are not only an immediate cost, but the money spent on these becomes a large lost-opportunity cost into your future. Taxes, inflation, and market fluctuation are hard enough to overcome without the added stress of fees adding up on top of that. Assess the value of the fee compared to the money you could lose. By avoiding unnecessary fees, many of your financial needs and goals can be easily met.

Rule #4: Have a strategy, not just a product.

Having the right strategy around your investments will maximize all of your financial opportunities. By making the motion of money work for you, rather than against you, the ability to use your money over and over again and get that multiplier effect of benefits is the key to sound investing. This is what we call “economic acceleration”. Economic acceleration is the integrated and coordinated movement of money that allows your money to have more uses and helps you save taxes, avoid lost opportunity cost, have more protection, and grow additional wealth potential.

With the right financial adviser, you can make sure that your investments are not only growing money, but making your entire financial strategy work better for you. By implementing these tips into your financial strategy, investing will be sane, sound, and simple.