Читать книгу Mutual Funds For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 60

Only you know what’s really most important to you and how to prioritize your goals. And prioritize you must — because your desires probably outstrip your ability to save and accomplish your goals. Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t fulfill your objectives and dreams. With an average income, you can, with proper planning, achieve most of the financial goals identified throughout this chapter. But you do have to be realistic about how many balls you can juggle at any one time.

That may mean, for example, that you have to reduce your retirement plan contributions while you save for a down payment on a home. Or that you have to downscale the size of your dream house a bit if you really want Junior to attend a pricey, private college.

Again, you’re the best person to decide what trade-offs to make. However, because of the tax breaks that come with retirement account contributions, retirement funding should always be near the top of your priority list. Remember: Making retirement account contributions reduces your tax bill, effectively giving you more dollars with which to accomplish your various goals.

And, as suggested by its name, your emergency reserve fund should always be a top priority, especially if your income is unstable and/or you have no family to fall back on. On the other hand, if you have a steady job and at least a few solvent family members, you can probably afford to build up this fund more slowly and in conjunction with other savings goals.

Some investors make the common mistake of neglecting to take advantage of retirement accounts in their enthusiasm to invest in nonretirement accounts. Doing so can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. Fund companies are happy to encourage this financially detrimental behavior, too. They lure you into their funds without educating you about using your employer’s retirement plan first because the more you invest through your employer’s plan, the less you have available to separately invest in their funds.