Since the goal of investing is still to get the most from your savings, Where to Put Your Money NOW walks you through the most sensible options, covering everything from bank accounts, money markets, and CDs, including advice on buying CDs from a broker instead of shopping for rates at various banks. Revisit your options for security with savings bonds, treasuries and annuities. The book is also a good resource to learn about possible problems with reverse mortgages.
When you’ve got the basics down, you’re ready to take a fresh look at investing for real return, and of course, real risks. Why take risks? “The return on riskless investments is currently barely higher than the rate of inflation,” says Passell. The return after taxes may be less than zero because the government taxes income that does nothing more than offset the impact of inflation.
Passel lists several stock funds that use indexing to include the best and strongest stocks in your portfolio, along with targeted retirement funds, taxable and tax-exempt bonds, and specialty funds.
Passel believes real estate is still a good investment, if it suits your portfolio. He suggests several REITs, sort of a mutual fund of real estate investment trusts.
While you can easily read this book in one evening, odds are you’ll return to it again an again as your circumstances and finances change. Chapter Five: “Eyes on the Prize” goes deep into strategies to save for college and for retirement. Once housing recovers, Passell recommends revisiting housing as an investment. That’s a sure sign of optimism in the American economy, especially because tax laws are so favorable for a home investment compared to putting the same amount of money in CDs, which would be taxable.
Where to Put Your Money NOW ends with sound reference material for more financial information from almost thirty resources.
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