How Scanning the News Can Help with Investing

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Many companies provide retirement benefits such as a 401k. However, do you know what's in your 401k? What stocks did the broker select? You should receive a statement two times yearly that contains the breakdown. However, more than likely, you simply file it away. 

Investment Through your employer

Your 401k consists of many stocks, some high risk, and some low risk. Generally, the investment firm selects the stocks and bonds based on the direction of the company, your employer. In many cases, your employer will add a company match option that does not exceed 3-4 percent. This is an option that contributes 50 percent to your 401k, something that you should elect to do. However, the investment is relatively small, on average the combined total equals 6 percent of your salary.

Understanding the Stock Market

Unless you work at the New York Stock Exchange, understanding the stock market and the risks attached can be a bit overwhelming. For most people viewing the ticker that scrolls across the evening news is really just a mesh of symbols, letters, and numbers. You really don't need to understand what the numbers mean, that is unless you plan to invest on your own through a private broker or an online brokerage. The market index gives you a sense of how the market fares for the day or week. 

Researching Stocks

On some news programs, they give advice on upcoming stocks expected to perform well. In many cases, they come in low, affordable, and are a large risk. However, the bigger the risk, the larger the potential return on your investment. Preserving the listing of the stocks on news programs and online sites offering expert advice, such as Finviz, is easy with a website capture tool. A web clipper lets you save a page in its entirety in one of the files in your Evernote app. This way, when you have time to compare what several experts say about investing in certain stocks, you can pull up the articles and news page and review them.

Real Estate Investments

There are other investments like real estate that you can obtain valuable information about while scanning the news. For one, you'll know if it's a buyer or a seller's market. If you're looking to buy homes as an investment for your retirement, then you'll need to know this information. You may want to buy homes and use them as rental properties or buy homes to flip quickly and add the earned income to your retirement savings. You can also find information with regard to premium properties for sale using investment tools like Mashvisor's property finder. Just select the area of interest, add the amount you're willing to spend and the goals you want to achieve and let the program do the rest.

Collectibles

Sometimes while scanning the news of the day, you will come across an article where gold or silver is at an all-time high and that may spark your interest. Or, you hear about a broach or a collector's painting that sold for a ridiculous amount of money and you think "maybe I should collect something." Collectibles are tangible assets that, in most cases, achieve their value through the chain of supply and demand. Meanwhile, gold and silver, while tangible assets, run in pace with the stock market. Other collectibles such as antique furniture and jewelry can enhance their value through the years by maintaining them in good condition. Auction websites are a fantastic resource to find additional information on how to get started and which collectibles are most worth the investment.

Scanning the news each day can help keep you informed as to which investments are worth your money.