Key Points to Ponder Considering About Investing An Opinion by Dennis P Begley CLU ChFC Will Rogers - "I'm not as worried about the return ON my money as I am about the return OF my money." The best investment is the one that you actually put money into Diversify your risk and your investments The greater the potential return, the higher the risk. The lower the risk the lower the return. Diversify or at least seek the middle Buy them and hold Invest in products that allow you to sleep at night Make sure you can afford the risk Life Insurance is not an investment, but its cash can come in real handy You buy Life Insurance because you love someone Don't chase an investment Buy high and sell low is not a good investment policy You have not lost money on an investment until you sell it Dollar Cost Averaging works Start Investing when you are young It is not too late to start investing for your retirement Having money is better than not having money Buying lottery tickets is not retirement planning Make sure McDonald's or Walmart are not in your retirement future Pay your house off while you are working Yes, grasshopper, you may have to pay income taxes on your mutual fund even if it loses money for you Tax Deferred means you don't pay taxes during the accumulation period Tax Free means you don't pay taxes when you take the money out Tax Deductible means you can deduct the contributions from your income taxes. There is no investment that is tax deductible, tax deferred and tax free. The IRS gets their due eventually. "You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store" - Tennessee Ernie Ford- Sixteen Tons "One's sense of honor is the only thing that does not grow old, and the last pleasure, when one is worn out with age, is not, as the poet said, making money, but having the respect of one's fellow men." – Thucydides