Can You Invest at Any Age? 5 Ways to Invest, Regardless of Life Stage

When you think about making an investment in your future, what comes to mind? It may seem like a daunting question, but it is quite simple: even the smallest investments set your future self up for more financial success. 

 Financially-driven life events, such as sending your kids to college, becoming empty nesters and even retirement take more than just 12 months of planning. The good news? No matter the stage of life you’re in, it’s always the right time to consider how you’re investing and saving to meet your future needs. 

Whether you’re looking to open a 401(k) for the first time, start a brokerage account, or simply have resolved to put more cash aside in your savings, it all starts with looking at what you are doing today to save for tomorrow, next week, next year and beyond.

You might ask yourself the basic question of whether or not you’re saving enough. While “enough” is certainly a subjective term, most financial professionals recommend that, generally speaking, by age 50 you should have saved six times your salary. So, if you’re 50 years old and you make $100K per year you would want to aim to have saved at least $600K. But if that seems far-fetched or out of reach, you’re in good company. The average American has about $110,000 saved by age 50.

But there are ways to catch up. Rockland Trust offers free financial planning tools to help you get a sense of your current financial picture, create goals and plan for how to reach the financial milestones that matter most to you and your family.

Below are five additional tips to help you take the reins on your saving and investing strategies, no matter your current situation.

• Map out your savings strategy based on life events: Turn those savings goals from just numbers into life moments. By looking at upcoming events such as college tuition, retirement, vacations, etc., you can design your savings strategies around preparing for each life moment. Pro tip: did you know you can name your bank accounts? Assigning your allocated funds a title, like ‘Tropical Vacation Fund,’ adds a great saving incentive. 

• Select savings areas that will make the greatest long-term impact: Savings strategies are a marathon, not a sprint, so take a long-term view of investments that you can make now that will have the highest pay off in the future. For example, focusing on investing for retirement over saving for college – you can take out loans for education, but you can’t fund your golden years on loans. Check out the Rockland Trust savings account quiz to find the best option for your situation. 

• Regardless of income levels, we can all be investors: A common reason to delay getting serious about investing in your future is around the amount of money we earn. In today’s investment market, it doesn’t matter if you make $50K a year or a million dollars a year, you can design customized strategies that are right for your current and future life goals. Read up on these common investment terms to get started. 

• Don’t go in blind: Investing in your financial future is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make because it often impacts so many other life moments. Can you buy a new car or home? What about setting up a trust for your children? Once you’re ready to get serious about investing in your financial future, make sure you do your homework and meet with an advisor. All of that input will help shape your financial strategy. 

• Stay the course, but don’t be afraid to adjust as situations change: While remaining committed to your investing strategy is critical to its success, don’t be afraid to adjust your approach as your life evolves. For example, savings strategies in place before your kids go to college will likely change after they graduate. Life can come at you fast so make sure your investment approach can change with you. 

Every financial strategy and investment journey is different. You can get started by talking to a financial advisor about strategies for your unique situation to gain clarity around hitting that next financial goal. Whatever road you decide on, just know there are resources out there to help guide you on the right path.