Basic Investment Template

Photo By: karindalziel

My next several posts will be attempting to define a basic investment template.  Basically I’d like to develop a checklist to help anyone figure out where and how their money should be invested.  Most investment advice I read is very vague.  While most contain good advice it is usually in a vacuum.  You’d have to read hundreds of these articles to develop a coherent strategy and you still might miss a key point.  I will update this post as I create each installment and may reorder and edit them based on your input and questions.  I will also be posting much more frequently until the template starts to take shape.  Please feel free to start putting any questions below and I will attempt to answer them as I go.

Investing Prerequisites

• Step 1: Dealing With Debt
• Step 2: Your Expanded Emergency Fund
• Step 3: Goals and Time Horizon

Tax-Deferred Accounts

• Step 4: Tax-Advantaged Overview
• Step 5: Retirement Accounts
• Step 6: College Saving Accounts
• Step 7: Homeownership Accounts
• Step 8: Health Spending Accounts

Implementation

• Step 9: Allocation
• Step 10: Techniques