The Jig is Up

Dazed and confused? Perhaps you didn't inhale so you can't stop thinking about tomorrow, as it were.

Perhaps you are one of the many who find there's too much month left at the end of the money. And your problem isn't the way you ration your resources, it's that you don't get enough scoops to begin with. You do like your parents told you and you save for a rainy day only you're living in your own private Seattle and every day is a rainy one...

But the longer you delay saving the bigger impact it will have on how much you have when you are 65. Do you believe in social security? hah! There are economic principles like the "Rule of 72" (where you take the interest rate you are getting and multiply it by 72 to tell you how long it will take your savings to double). The effect of compound interest is amazing. The impact of postponing your savings for five years is stunning.

Options? Let's brainstorm shall we? You could stick your money in a bank where you'll get 2-3% interest. This is "safe" in that your money is insured and there is minimal risk of losing it all, but it's not much of an investment.

You might purchase a "whole life" insurance policy which includes a "forced savings" plan-but it has been shown to me those types of programs are wrought with consumer fraud.

You could do like some and become educated in the fine sport and thrills of equestrian wagering. Problem is even the best fail (as proven in prior issues of the newsletter) and to become knowledgeable enough takes a lot of time and studying. If you are willing to put that much effort into your investment, you might as well go for something a bit more secure.

You could go to one of our state's many fine casinos where you'll find many of our state's fine senior citizens, many of whom probably wish they were your age and had the opportunity to invest there money somewhere wise other than the land of screaming reptiles.

In the same line of thinking you could go to Vegas (sniff) and bet on sporting events: If even a Macalester alum like myself who hasn't seen more than 20 plays all season long can pick at a 70% accuracy rate, it can't be all that difficult. Problem is I've picked a lot of favorites and if I were actually betting, the odds and spreads probably would not have paid for my plane ride back home.

There are of course, many other options, like government bonds, the stock market, starting your own business, buying your own business, raising show bunnies, buying fine art, cars and all the other collectibles.

What I, your personal investment planner would suggest would be to look at a good solid mutual fund which would give you 10- 12 (an easily attainable figure) percent return on your investment. You may not become a millionaire, but with a little common sense you'll be better off. Which leads us to our final cliché of the day: let's yet your money working for you, rather than you just working for your money.