Shark Tank personality Kevin O’Leary has made many shrewd investments in his day. And he’s also helped many small businesses achieve success.
But he’s not only interested in building his own portfolio of profitable companies. Rather, O’Leary has often been generous with advice on how the average person can attain financial security. And he says these specific moves are the key to that.
1. Start investing
The cost of living tends to rise over time due to inflation. That’s just one reason it’s important to invest money you don’t need for immediate bills.
In this regard, you have options. You can open an IRA and set money aside specifically for retirement. Or, you can open a regular brokerage account and invest your money for any purpose.
A good bet is actually to do both. An IRA will give you a tax break on the money you put in, but then you’re barred from taking withdrawals until age 59 ½. A brokerage account will give you more flexibility, but there’s no tax break to enjoy. So you may want to split your investment dollars between the two accounts for the best of both worlds.
2. Commit to investing a set amount each week
O’Leary knows the stock market can be volatile, and that trying to time it can have disastrous results. That’s why he’s a fan of committing to investing the same amount of money each week. That way, stock market activity won’t influence your IRA or brokerage account contributions.
One thing you should know is that many accounts let you set up an automatic transfer so that you’re sticking to your investment goals every month. That’s a good way to stay on track — and avoid a scenario where impulse spending makes it so you can’t fund your IRA in a given month.
3. Make sure you and your partner are on the same page
If you’re married or in a long-term relationship where you and your partner are combining your finances, then O’Leary says it’s essential that you have discussions about your goals and sync up on them. If you want to retire early with a portfolio of investment properties and your spouse doesn’t care when they retire and barely wants to own a single house, you might struggle — and not just financially.
It’s also a good idea to sit down with your partner and come up with a spending budget you agree upon. That way, you’ll be less likely to resent each other for spending money on different things.
It’s an unfortunate fact that many relationships end up crumbling because of financial disagreements. And money tends to be a huge driver of divorce, which can be a stressful, financially destructive process. Talking about financial goals and money matters regularly can help you avoid all of that.
Everyone deserves to feel financially secure. If that’s an important thing to you, then it pays to listen to what O’Leary has to say — and take steps to invest regularly and get in sync with your spouse or partner.
