subject: Creating Your Baltimore Investments Plans [print this page] Nothing great ever was created or accomplished without a plan. If you wish to build wealth for you and your family, you'll need to create an investment plan to do so.
Baltimore and other Maryland residents may wish to contact a reputable Baltimore investments firm for help in creating a plan. Or you can do the work yourself.
Here are some tips to help you build your investment plan:
1) Decide how long you'll be building your Baltimore investments. Do you have 40 years until retirement? Twenty? Ten? Are you looking to save money for three-five years for a down payment on a home? Are you saving for your children's college education? You'll need to know the answers to these questions so that you'll know what kind of Baltimore investments are best for you.
If saving for retirement, your age also will play a factor. The older you are, the less of your nest egg should be invested in the stock market -- too much risk. If the stocks in your Baltimore investments tank just a few years before your planned retirement date, you could stand to lose a lot of your retirement income.
With retirement on a near horizon, your investment firm may recommend that you invest in low-risk, capital preservation stocks and/or mutual funds.
You'll also need to prioritize your goals for your Baltimore investments. For example, it's probably best that make saving for your retirement a priority over saving for your child's college education. After all, your son or daughter can take out loans for college, if necessary; there's still no scholarships, grants or loans for your retirement.
2) With that in mind, you'll also have to decide how much risk you're willing to tolerate. Are you able to weather some gut wrenching downward moves in the stock market, or do you prefer the safer -- but liable to bring you less money -- returns inherent in the bond market.
3) Come up with an investment profile in which you feel comfortable. You'll often create Baltimore investments such as these based on your timeline. For example, if you're setting aside investments for retirement and your timeline has you retiring in 30 or more years, you'll probably want to invest in stocks and funds in an "aggressive growth" portfolio. Twenty years out, change your Baltimore investments to a portfolio geared for "growth," and 10 years later, mover to a portfolio offering "conservative growth." Five years out, you and your Baltimore investments advisor probably will have you moving to a "capital preservation" portfolio.
4) Make the commitment to fund your Baltimore investments. This may require that you cut back on nonessential expenses -- or even essential expenses, such as housing and food. Could you move to a smaller home, pocketing the proceeds and paying less each month on your mortgage and utilities? Cutting back a little now so that you can live comfortably in your retirement -- or even quite comfortably, if you craft a good Baltimore investments plan -- is worth giving up a few of life's nonessentials.
