If investing is simply a plan to meet your goals, the first step should be to figure out your goals. This goes way beyond guessing a quick number for how much you’ll need to retire.
Whether you plan on saving enough to cover the entire cost of attendance or just a portion, saving for college is something you need to build into your long-term investing plan.
Investing and saving isn’t just about retirement. It’s about having money for all your life goals. Having money to pay for living expenses in retirement is just one of those goals but shouldn’t be the only thing.
Adding in Basic Retirement Needs to Your Investment Plan
Adding in your basic retirement needs to your investment plan is easier than you may think. You can look through your current living expenses to get an idea of how much you’ll need in retirement.
Where to put your investment plan money doesn’t mean which stocks to buy or even which online brokerage to choose. An even more important decision is the type of account you use to invest.