Getting ready to retire, one day
By Staff
Jason Cannon
As I have gotten a little older, and the thought of working for the rest of my life shakes me to my core, I've started paying more attention to funding my retirement.
About a year or so ago, we opened a retirement account at Edward Jones' local office with Mike Jones. In the true spirit of how our luck runs, the stock market soon thereafter hit the skids and hasn't been the same since.
As I've continued to fund the only thing that may keep me from passing away in my office, I've begun to follow a handful of funds and stocks and tracked their performance.
The whole stock trading experience fascinates me. How virtually nothing more than a piece of paper can be worth anywhere from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars boggles my mind.
With little more than the swoop and click of a mouse, and some banking information, you can be a shareholder in something like Microsoft, Apple or Clorox.
The price and value of this stock fluctuates from day to day, meaning you $50 on Friday may be worth $40 the following Monday or $55 a week from now.
I'm by no means market savvy, I think Mike Jones would be the first person to tell you that. He's always been polite and listens as I tell him how I see the "big picture" for some company no ones ever heard of but is trading for a few dollars a share.
I've got a stock watch folder with about 10-15 companies in it that I look at each night. I compare their performance against each other and others in their industry,
How two companies so similar can vary so much is amazing.
While I'm not looking to trade my press pass for a seat on the Exchange, this has become a hobby that I've come to enjoy.
People in their 20s are in a prime position to fund their retirement pretty well but very few of us take advantage of it.
It's hard to part with that money but if you take a look at it, that money in a retirement account will actually make you more money when you need it most.
If you take nothing else from reading this column I hope those of you who haven't will look into starting a retirement plan, regardless of your age.
You may just find that you have a new hobby, that one day may carry you into your Golden Years.
