Up & Coming Weekly

June 30, 2015

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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JULY 1-7, 2015 UCW 17 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM It 's almost t he Four t h of July — t ime for f irework s, picnics and a ref lect ion on all t he liber t ies we possess in t his count r y. But if you're going to enjoy t he f reedom to do t he t hings you want, especially dur- ing your ret irement years, you'll want to t ake t he steps necessar y to achieve your ow n "Financial Independence Day." Here are a few suggest ions for helping you reach t hat goal: Liberate yourself from debt . For most of us, a cer t ain amount of debt is unavoidable. But t he g reater cont rol you c an gain over your debt s, t he bet ter of f you w ill be, bec ause any dollars not spent in pay- ing debt s c an be used to save and invest for your f ut ure. So look for ways to c ut dow n on your spending and t hink about post poning some purchases unt il you c an pay for t hem in c ash. It may not be eas y, but it 's possible. A nd by put t ing t his " found money " to work immediately in qua lit y invest ment s, you may mot ivate your- self to keep a lid on your debt level. Unlock t he power of time. A lber t Einstein once said, "The most powerf ul force in t he universe is compound interest ." Einstein, who k new a t hing or t wo about t he nat ure of t ime, clearly recognized it s impor t ance in invest ing. In fac t , as an investor, t ime may be your g reat- est a lly. T he more years in which you invest , t he more dollars you'll put in, and t he longer you'll have for your invest- ment s to potent ia lly g row. Even if you're just st ar t ing out in your c areer and c an only invest a sma ll amount each mont h, you'll be st ar t ing to acc umulate t he amount you'll event ually need to enjoy t he ret irement lifest yle you've env isioned. Release your investment s' grow t h potential. To at t ain f inancial f reedom during your ret irement years, you w ill need to invest for grow t h — it 's t hat simple. So include an appropriate amount of grow t h- oriented vehicles in your overall invest ment mix. Ult imately, t his mix should be based on your risk tolerance, t ime horizon and specif ic long- term goals. Free your investment s from "clustering." In t he invest ment world, as in many ot her arenas of life, you c an have "too much of a good t hing." For ex ample, if you ow n a par t ic ular invest ment , such as a stock , t hat has done well, you might t hink t hat it 's a good idea to ow n more of t he same t y pe of stock . But when invest ing , duplic at ion c an be dangerous, bec ause if a market dow nt ur n af fec t s one asset class par t ic ularly hard, and much of your por t folio is t ied up in t hat asset class, you could t a ke a big hit . Instead of "cluster ing " your dollars around a single asset or t wo, you could diversif y your holdings by ow ning a mi x of stock s, bonds, gover nment sec ur it ies and ot her vehi- cles. W hile diversif ic at ion c an potent ia lly help you reduce t he impac t of volat ilit y on your holdings, a diversif ied por t folio c an't g uarantee a prof it or protec t you f rom loss. Achiev ing any t y pe of f reedom, in any k ind of endeavor, t akes t ime and ef for t . That 's cer t ainly t he case w it h f inancial f reedom — you w ill need to consistent ly make t he right moves, over a period of many years, before you can f inally declare your f iscal independence. But once you reach t hat point, you w ill likely conclude t hat your diligence and dedicat ion were well wor t h it . Work Toward Your Own Financial Independence Day by STEV E McDAV ID General Admission Adults $7.00 - Children $6.00 Military & Senior Discounts Available JULY 1 SOCIAL MEDIA NIGHT JULY 3 FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA! Honoring America Fireworks Tribute Presented by Hendrick Chrysler Jeep Fiat, USAA & Disaster One JULY 6 COLLEGE RIVALRY NIGHT! first pitch at 7:05 pm Gates open at 6:00 pm JULY 7 SUPERHERO & VILLAIN NIGHT! STEVE McDAVID, Edward Jones Financial Advisor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Take the necessary steps to achieve your financial freedom.

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