Personal finances

Problem

People need to save for retirement. But how do we do that?

Conventional wisdom in the USA says that Social Security is your retirement fund.

There's no guarantee that will still be around when you retire, and it's entirely out of your hands. It maybe a good bonus, but possibly it isn't something to rely on.

So how do we do it?

They don't teach you this stuff in school

People say you should save for retirement, but they forget to say how.

Currently, there are two de facto methods of funding retirement in the USA:

social security: abstract, not guaranteed. Assumes you start contributing to ssn early

401k. abstract, indirect unless you take active role in tracking it. best if you start early.

In other countries, there may be significant alternatives. For instance, Kiwisaver in New Zealand.

These methods are OK, but difficult for you to interact with directly.

There are two direct levels of investment:

At your bank: CDs and mutual funds

Go to your bank, ask to invest in a mutual fund or Certificate of Deposit (CD)

Stock market: your local market and the US market

what: direct investment in "publically traded" (whatever that means) companies

how: http://etrade.com or http://fidelity.com

In other countries, look for brokers who will invest your money in local or international markets