How to pay your bills and invest, too!
Have you ever wanted to start an investment program or add to the investments you’ve already made, but wondered how to get started with the reality of mortgage payments, car loans, credit card balances, and other demands on your hard earned money?
It is important to know that there are ways to find “hidden” dollars to cover an investment program that can help you realize your dreams for the future. A personal cash flow analysis and comprehensive financial plan may create the right solution for you.
Debt consolidation can increase your ability to invest
“Debt consolidation simply means paying off a number of higher interest rate loans or other high-cost debt by taking out a single loan at a lower interest rate for a consolidated overall lower monthly payment,” says Jane Olshewski, Senior Specialist, Financial Planning Programs at Investors Group. “You can choose to consolidate debts as car loans, education loans, credit cards or lines of credit and benefit through a single, more affordable monthly payment that is lower than the sum of the many monthly payments you were making previously.”
If you own a home, you may also consider consolidating your debt using a home equity loan. Your loan is secured by your home at a lower interest rate than you currently pay on your retail credit cards, which can range from 19 percent to over 28 percent. By paying less interest monthly, you've created additional cash flow that can be used toward other financial goals.
Of course, your financial health is dependant on maintaining your new course of action and staying focused on your long term goals. To make sure you continue to move forward, you’ll need to use debt wisely and avoid ramping up more expensive credit card balances.
Dollar Cost Averaging
Once you've got your debt under control, it's time to fill the gaps in your financial plan. An easy way to do that while enjoying significant long-term returns is through dollar cost averaging. This simply means making regularly scheduled investments for a set amount of dollars. It's a trouble-free investment plan that in the right circumstances delivers some powerful benefits:
- Your investments are automatic - you choose an amount that is deducted from your bank account and invested on your behalf on a regular basis, such as monthly.
- You are free from scrambling to buy lump sum investments at irregular intervals in an attempt to 'buy low and sell high' because your investments are automatic.
- You are able to acquire a greater number of securities (such as mutual fund units) when the price is lower and a lesser number of securities when the price is higher.
- Your average cost per unit over the long term should be lower than if you had made lump sum investments at the end of the period (assuming the cost of securities is rising). In turn, this means that your overall returns will usually be higher.
For example, imagine if over the course of a year, you contributed $750 per quarter into a mutual fund.
| Quarter | Quarterly Investment |
Fund Price | Your Adjusted Cost/Unit; |
Number of Units Purchased |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750.00 | $13.00 | $13.00 | 57.69 |
| 2 | $750.00 | $15.00 | $13.93 | 50.00 |
| 3 | $750.00 | $18.00 | $15.06 | 41.67 |
| 4 | $750.00 | $21.00 | $16.21 | 35.71 |
| Total number of units purchased using dollar cost averaging | 185.07 | |||
| Total number of units purchased by making a lump sum payment at the end of the year | 142.86 | |||
If you were to have made a lump sum investment at the end of the year you would have paid $21.00 per share. By making a regularly scheduled investment you paid an average of only $16.21 per share and were able to purchase 42.21 more units of the mutual fund.
Dollar cost averaging is a great way to ramp up your investment nest egg - and, along with debt consolidation, is one of the many personal financial solutions that can make your dreams for tomorrow realistically achievable through the actions you're taking today. Your Investors Group Consultant can help you gain control of your financial life and improve your prospects for the future.
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This article, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc., is presented as a general source of information only and is not intended as a solicitation to buy or sell investments, nor is it intended to provide professional advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice. For more information on this topic or on any other investment or financial matters, please contact your Investors Group Consultant.
Please note that mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Accordingly, results will vary depending on mutual fund price movements, so the average cost may increase if prices are trending downward.
© Copyright 2007 Investors Group. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without the express written consent of Investors Group
