| Feature
Article This article is part of the Missouri Saves Program |
 |
Millionaire!
Cynthia E. Crawford, Ph.D., Consumer & Family Economics Specialist, Saline County, University of Missouri Extension
Inheriting money, being a starter in the National
Basketball Association, and winning the lottery are ways
of getting rich. But these are not the ways most people
get rich in America, and it is a costly mistake to
believe they are.
In a survey conducted by AARP, most Americans say they would like to be
wealthy if given the chance. Why do they want to be
wealthy? Not because they consider earning a lot of
money a key measurement of a successful life, but
because they believe money can make possible many of the
things they value: providing for the needs of their
families, helping friends, contributing to worthy
causes, having freedom to live as they choose, reducing
stress and adding more excitement to life.
The survey analysis clustered respondents into five distinct groups:
- 6% feel Left Out. They are the most unhappy with their financial status and are highly pessimistic about the future. A high proportion of minorities are in this segment according to the study.
- 21% are American Dreamers. These are people that are in better financial shape than the first group but are still striving for more. Nearly two-thirds of this group are younger than age 45. They are trying to save; however, they have too much credit card debt to deal with first. The Dreamers also contain a high proportion of minorities.
- 24% of the population were labeled High Achievers. These are households that have much and want much more. While they have a current high level of economic satisfaction they also have a very positive outlook for the future. They want to be wealthy.
- 38% are Settled and Satisfied. "Comfortable and does not desire more" describes this group of the population.
- 11% are Wealth-averse. The Wealth-averse reject the importance of money and do not seek it.
To read more about this study, go to the web site
http://www.aarp.org/researchguide. This study
and many others suggest that people need effective
strategies for managing money and establishing and
increasing saving and investing. The personal
savings rate, for example, is at an all time low
since World War II.
Dr. Joyce Cavanagh, former consumer and family economics specialist,
offers several points about saving and investing:
- Estimate your retirement financial needs. The web site www.asec.org can help.
- The best day to start saving and investing is your first day of work. Better early than late. Better late than never.
- Tax exempt? Tax deferred? Immediately taxable? These are considerations when making saving and investing decisions.
- No matter how modest your income, you can save.
- Time is more important than timing when it comes to investments.
- Be careful about falling into "The American way of debt management " rather than managing long term saving and investing.
- Define your goals. Think 'em and ink 'em - but don't chisel them in stone.
University of Missouri Extension has developed a
4-lesson self-study course, "Saving
and Investing Basics." Lesson 1. Getting
started saving and investing. Finding money to
save. The financial planning process. Lesson 2.
Stocks Lesson 3. Bonds Lesson 4. Mutual funds.
Selecting professionals
There are no meetings to fit in your busy schedule and you can work on the self-study course at your convenience. Of course you'll receive high quality, unbiased information that you always expect from University of Missouri Extension. Our job is education. There are no sales pitches. The charge is $15. For details contact your local extension center.
 |
Site Administrator: |
|
|
|
Last update: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
