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Getting the Money Together
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Accumulating and allocating investment money is a key part
of your plan.
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With your financial plan in hand, you can turn your attention to getting the money
together to make the first investment, and the next one and the ones after that.
You don't need much money to open an investment account. And once it's opened
you can add to it easily, often as little as $50 at a time. You can have money directly
deposited from your paycheck or transferred from your checking account, or write
a check yourself. The sooner you start and the more regularly you add, the faster
the account will grow.
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KEEP IT SEPARATE If you're
building an investment account, it makes a lot of sense to keep it separate from
your checking account. It will pay off - even if it means another piece of paper
to keep track of - because you won't be as tempted to spend your investment
money on everyday expenses.
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Minimum opening deposit
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Minimum balance
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Costs and fees
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Average return
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Insurance
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REINVESTING YOUR EARNINGSOne of
the most reliable ways to build your
assets is to reinvest the money you earn from the investments
you already have. You do that automatically with tax-deferred accounts like
variable annuities, and you may be able to reinvest directly
in stocks
and mutual funds
you hold in taxable accounts. What you arrange to do is participate in the company's
reinvestment plan.
With bonds
and some stocks, the interest
or dividends
you earn is paid to you (or your brokerage account) directly, and you have to decide
how to invest it. That's where having a financial plan can make a big difference:
If you know what you want to do next, you can act promptly - for example, putting
the earnings into an investment account where you accumulate money for a bigger
purchase.
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