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18 Min Read | Mar 18, 2024
Watching the news in 2024 can seem like a wild ride on one of those sketchy roller coasters at the county fair. The economy? Uncertain. The housing market? Anything but normal. The stock market? Who knows . . .
You might feel like it’s a bad time to start investing for retirement or your toddler’s future education (especially if you believe everything the media tells you), but hear us out: The best time to get control of your finances, build an emergency fund, and start saving for the future is today!
Once you’ve got a solid financial foundation, steadily investing your money over time is where real, lasting wealth comes from. Simply put, the best way to get rich quick is to get rich slow.
First things first. Before you start investing, you need to work your way through the first three of Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps. That means saving $1,000 for a starter emergency fund, paying off all your debt except your mortgage using the debt snowball method, and then saving a fully funded emergency fund of 3–6 months of expenses.
If you’re new to the 7 Baby Steps, no problem! Simply put, it’s a plan millions of people have followed to get out of debt and start building wealth for retirement. Let’s break it down:
Here’s the deal—your income is your most important wealth-building tool. And as long as it’s tied up in monthly debt payments, you can’t build wealth. It’s like trying to fill a bucket with water when there’s a hole in the bottom—it just doesn’t work.
Tackle Baby Steps 1–3 in order—put all your focus and energy on one financial goal at a time. Then when you reach Baby Steps 4, 5 and 6, you can invest in retirement, save for college, and pay off your mortgage all at the same time. Why? Because you crushed your debt and freed up your income! And now you’re on the road to building real wealth.
By building a debt-free foundation and stashing a good chunk of savings in the bank, you’re setting yourself up to build wealth the right way.
In fact, there’s a whole group of millionaires called Baby Steps Millionaires who’ve followed the 7 Baby Steps to hit the million-dollar mark. On average, they paid off all their debt and reached a million-dollar net worth in about 20 years.1
Starting anything new can be intimidating—especially when it’s something that can have long-term effects on your finances—but don’t give up. Anyone can invest . . . including you. And it’s okay if you have a ton of questions. Here are six easy-to-follow steps to help you get started.
We’ve always said one of the keys to following the 7 Baby Steps and getting out of debt is knowing your why. Why are you getting out of debt? What’s the big, specific goal you have that’s driving you to kick debt to curb? Having a definite reason for getting out of debt gives you a finish line to look forward to in your race to financial freedom.
Market chaos, inflation, your future—work with a pro to navigate this stuff.
That’s also true for investing—a key to starting your investing journey on the right foot is being clear about your goals. Why do you want to start investing? Is it to build your retirement? To pay for your kids’ or grandkids’ college? To save a down payment for your first house?
Getting clear on why you want to invest your hard-earned money will help you with the next step, which is to . . .
It’s time to look at exactly how much of that hard-earned money is going to work hard for you. Your investment goals will determine how much you put in every month. For example, when you reach Baby Step 4, we recommend putting 15% of your household income into tax-advantaged retirement accounts (we’ll break down those options in a moment).
Your personal savings rate makes a huge difference in your retirement savings, and research shows it’s the most important factor in successfully saving for retirement.2 Think about it: If you invest 15% of your income every year for 30 years (assuming an average 11% return rate), that adds up to literally millions of dollars because of the miracle of compound growth. Pretty neat, huh?
And with your income freed up from debt payments, you’ll be able to throw that 15% at your retirement without blinking an eye. Just program your paycheck to remove that 15% automatically and you won’t even miss it.
Before you dive into investing, it’s important to take a step back and look at all your options—aka investing vehicles in financial speak.
Different types of investing vehicles (like IRAs or 529 college savings funds) are made for different investing goals. You’ll also have different types of investments (like stocks, bonds or mutual funds) to choose from for those accounts.
So, check out these common types of investing accounts for long-term savings (like building retirement) and short-term savings (like saving for a down payment on a house) and see which one might work for you.
Whether you’re self-employed, a small-business owner, or you work for an employer who offers a retirement plan as part of their benefits package, there are plenty of investing accounts to help you start saving for retirement. These are the highlights of each type, but always talk to an investing pro to get all the details:
Many employers offer their employees either a traditional 401(k) or Roth 401(k) as part of their benefits package. They’re both retirement savings plans, but there’s one major difference: how they’re taxed.
With a traditional 401(k), your money goes in tax-deferred. In other words, you’ll get a tax break now, but you will owe the IRS taxes once you start using the money in retirement. That also includes taxes on any employer contributions and—you guessed it—taxes on all the growth of your contributions as well.
With a Roth 401(k), your contributions are taxed up front. But when you start withdrawing at retirement, you won’t owe Uncle Sam any taxes on those contributions or their growth. The only thing you’ll still owe taxes on is any employer contributions. Sweet!
An individual retirement account (IRA) is similar to a 401(k) because it lets you invest for retirement with some special tax advantages—either a tax deduction now with tax-deferred growth (a traditional IRA), or tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement (a Roth IRA, the rock star of retirement accounts).
But unlike a 401(k), an IRA isn’t sponsored by your employer. And that’s a good thing! That means you usually have thousands more options when it comes to choosing your mutual fund investments.
If you’re a small-business owner, a SIMPLE IRA plan makes it easy to save for your own retirement while also contributing to your employees’ retirement savings.
As of 2024, employees can save up to $16,000 in the plan per year (anyone age 50 and older can put in an extra $3,500 as a catch-up contribution), and the employer usually has to offer up to a 3% match for their employees every year.3
A Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA) is another retirement plan option for small-business owners or self-employed people that offers many of the major tax advantages of a traditional IRA.
Unlike a SIMPLE IRA, which lets employers and employees contribute to the plan, only employers are allowed to contribute to SEP IRAs on behalf of their employees. For 2024, employer contributions to an employee’s SEP IRA can add up to the equivalent of 25% of what the employee earned that year—up to a total contribution of $69,000.4
Learn Dave’s strategies for 401(k)s, mutual funds and real estate and build an investing plan with confidence.
Once you’re investing 15% of your income for retirement, you’re ready to start saving for your children’s college fund. Remember, your retirement comes first.
Let’s take a look at your investing options for college savings and why we recommend them (or not):
Named after its section in the IRS code, a 529 plan is a state-run tax-advantaged account that lets you set aside money for educational expenses. It’s a great option if your investing goal is to save for your child or grandchild’s future college.
There are lots of 529 plans, but the two most common are savings plans and prepaid plans. Stay away from a prepaid plan. They have a lot of restrictions, including how you can use the money (expensive textbooks or housing is off the table).
A 529 savings plan, on the other hand, is a great choice for college savings. There’s no age limit for contributions or distributions. If your 30-year-old decides to go back to school, they can still use the money in the account. And thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act, you can roll over any unused money from a 529 savings plan into a Roth IRA for the plan’s beneficiary (if you meet several qualifications).5
An ESA (sometimes called a Coverdell ESA) is a trust or custodial account that lets you invest money to pay for someone else’s education.
ESAs are different from 529 plans in a few important ways—first, ESAs have a contribution limit of $2,000 per child per year, while there’s virtually no limit on 529 plan contributions. And with an ESA, you can choose almost any kind of investment, including stocks, bonds, and our number one recommendation, mutual funds. Having more control over your investments while saving so your kiddos don’t have to take out student loans? Sounds like a win-win to us!
Before deciding on an ESA or 529 plan for your college savings, talk with an investing pro who can answer any questions you have about tax implications, rollover rules, and income and age qualifications for you as the investor and for the students you’re saving for.
If you’ve started putting 15% of your household income into retirement and are looking for ways to save money short-term, here are some of your best options:
Index funds are a type of mutual fund designed to mirror a market index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. That makes them relatively low risk and predictable.
Index funds will give you an average rate of return based on stock market conditions. But like with all investing, the longer you keep your money in an index fund, the more likely you are to see growth. That makes them a great option for growing your savings for a down payment or buying your first rental property, as long as you’re not planning to use that money for at least five years.
A money market account (MMA), also known as a money market deposit account or money market savings account, is a great option for low-risk, short-term savings.
An MMA usually pays a better interest rate than you’d get with a regular savings account, and another perk of an MMA is its liquidity (that’s banker-speak for easy access to your money). You can use the money in an MMA to pay for things with checks or a debit card.
But there are some downsides to an MMA: The bank limits the number of times you can withdraw your MMA money in a month (usually only six times). Plus, there’s a higher minimum balance compared to typical accounts, and you’ll get slapped with a wonderful account maintenance fee if you don’t maintain that balance.
Keep in mind, this is a place for money like your emergency fund or savings you plan to use in five years or less. The interest you’ll earn likely won’t keep up with inflation, so that makes it a bad choice for a long-term investment.
Those are just some of the most common types of investing and savings accounts, and which one you should choose depends on your investing goal and whether you’re investing for the long term or saving for the short term. It’s never a bad idea to talk with a financial advisor so they can answer any questions you have before opening an account.
Let’s talk about the most common types of investments and why we always recommend mutual funds for long-term investing.
A bond is a kind of loan between an investor and a corporate or government borrower that promises to repay the money with interest. On the plus side, they’re easy to set up and relatively low risk, but often low reward.
Bonds have a reputation for being “lower-risk” investments because they don’t fluctuate as wildly as stocks. But lower risk doesn’t mean no risk. When interest rates rise, like they have been lately, bond values fall. And even in “good” times for bonds, the returns just aren’t that impressive (especially when compared to mutual funds) because they barely outpace inflation. Remember, you want to beat the market so you can build wealth.
Stocks are basically tiny pieces, or shares, of a company. When a company goes public, they sell shares of the company to investors to fund future company growth. Picture a pizza cut up into tiny slices. If you buy a slice, you actually become a part owner of the company.
When you invest in single stocks, you’re putting all your money into one particular company, and that’s extremely risky. It’s better to diversify your money, especially if you’re just getting started in investing.
Once you’re full steam ahead with Baby Step 4, then you can consider single stocks in addition to your mutual fund investments. But stocks should never make up more than 10% of your portfolio—and be prepared to lose money if the company you’re invested in takes a nosedive.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are similar to index funds. They invest in stocks from the companies included on a particular index, but here’s the twist—they’re bought and sold like single stocks.
ETFs and index funds are passive investments, meaning no one is managing your investments for you. That can mean lower fees, but the trade-off is that you’re on your own. Wait to invest in low turnover ETFs in a taxable investment account after you’ve maxed out your retirement accounts.
The best way to invest for long-term, consistent growth is to put your money into good growth stock mutual funds. A mutual fund is an investment that pools money from a group of people to buy stocks in different companies.
Unlike ETFs and index funds, mutual funds are actively managed, meaning an investment professional makes decisions about how to invest the fund’s money. Also, there are thousands of mutual funds, which means you can choose funds that have a long history of outperforming other funds in their category.
What types of mutual funds should you pick? Great question. Let’s talk about how to build your investment strategy with mutual funds.
Like we said earlier, good growth stock mutual funds are the best way to invest for long-term, consistent growth. Why is that? Because they let you spread your investment among many companies—from the largest and most stable to the newest and fastest growing. Spreading your money around like this is an important investing principle called diversification, and it helps you avoid the risks that come with buying single stocks.
Ever heard the expression, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket?” Well, mutual funds put your eggs in many different baskets. And we recommend spreading those eggs out even more by investing in four types of mutual funds:
One of the biggest myths out there is that millionaires take big risks with their money to become wealthy. That couldn’t be further from the truth!
The Ramsey Solutions research team conducted the largest survey of millionaires ever done, called The National Study of Millionaires. Our team talked to more than 10,000 millionaires so we could finally get a clear picture of what a real millionaire looks like and how they built their seven-figure net worth.
Guess how many of them said single stocks were one of their top-three wealth-building tools. Zero. Not a single one!
Once you reach Baby Step 4, you’re ready to start investing for retirement. So where do you start? It’s pretty simple:
It’s super easy to start investing in your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Here’s how to open an account:
Opening a Roth IRA is just as easy:
Your investing professional can also help you open an account and choose your investments to save for your kid’s college. And once your house is paid off, you can max out your tax-advantaged retirement accounts, and even open a taxable investing account if you’re interested in investing in more mutual funds, stocks or ETFs.
The last step to set yourself up for investing success is to actually start investing. Don’t let the economy or the scary, exaggerated news about everything that’s wrong with the stock market or the housing market keep you from getting on board. Instead, get with an investing expert who can give you real knowledge and guidance about starting your investing journey.
You’ll have lots of questions—it’s a given. “Which are the best funds to choose?” “How do I manage my 401(k) or set up a Roth IRA?” Your investment professional can show you how to start investing and answer all your questions so you can make the best decisions possible for your retirement savings.
The right investment professional will:
As you start investing and working with a pro, keep this in mind: Never invest in anything you don’t understand. It’s your money! Ask as many questions as you need to and take charge of your own investing education.
Ready to find an investment pro who can answer your questions so you can start investing with confidence? Then try our SmartVestor program. It’s a free and easy way to find investing advisors in your area. Find a SmartVestor Pro today.
One of the biggest myths out there is that you need a lot of money to start investing. Wrong! The great news is, you don’t need a big chunk of money to open an account or start investing in your workplace plan.
But you do need to pay off your consumer debt and save 3–6 months of expenses saved before you start investing. Working Baby Steps 1–3 in order, one at a time, with hyperfocused intensity will set you up for investing success.
Then you can hit Baby Step 4 and invest 15% of your household income in tax-advantaged retirement accounts with the peace of mind that comes from having no monthly debt payments. Can you imagine having no debt, money in the bank, and watching your retirement grow each month? It’s possible! You can do it. Just like the millions of other people who have followed the 7 Baby Steps.
Regardless of your age, you want to be financially ready to invest as soon as you can. That’s because the sooner you begin investing, the more time your money has to grow.
Take Jane, for example. Let’s say Jane is debt-free, has a full emergency fund in place, and is ready to start investing 15% of her income for retirement.
If she started investing $500 a month ($6,000 per year) at the age of 25, she could have $4.3 million by the time she’s 65 based on a 11% rate of return.1 Now if Jane waits until she’s 35 to start investing that $500 a month, she could have $1.4 million at age 65. Waiting 10 years could cost you millions of dollars at retirement!
And don’t get hung up on rate of return here. Even with a 7% return, Jane could have a $1.3 million nest egg by 65 if she starts investing at age 25. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Remember, time and compound growth are your friends. Make the most of them!
Curious what your nest egg could grow to? Try out our investment calculator.
This article provides general guidelines about investing topics. Your situation may be unique. If you have questions, connect with a SmartVestor Pro. Ramsey Solutions is a paid, non-client promoter of participating Pros.
About the author
Ramsey
Ramsey Solutions has been committed to helping people regain control of their money, build wealth, grow their leadership skills, and enhance their lives through personal development since 1992. Millions of people have used our financial advice through 22 books (including 12 national bestsellers) published by Ramsey Press, as well as two syndicated radio shows and 10 podcasts, which have over 17 million weekly listeners. Learn More.
The debt snowball method is the fastest way to pay off your debt. You’ll pay off the smallest debt while making the minimum payment on all your other debts, and gain momentum as each one gets paid off.
Dave always says to choose “good growth stock mutual funds.” But with so many choices, how do you know which ones fit the bill?
Diversification is the strategy of spreading out your money into different types of investments, which reduces risk while still allowing your money to grow. Learn how to build a strong portfolio!
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