Maybe your goal is to retire with $1 million to your name. Or maybe you want to reach that milestone a lot sooner — say, by age 40, or 45.
It’s no secret that to accumulate wealth, you’ll need to spend less than you earn and bank the difference. But saving money isn’t enough. You’ll also need to put your money to work by investing it. And here are a few smart ways to do that.
1. Load up on index funds
Index funds are passively managed funds that track different market indexes. An S&P 500 index fund, for example, will aim to match the performance of the S&P 500 itself.
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Index funds are a good bet for building wealth because they allow you to benefit from broad market gains without having to put in the time to research stocks individually. They also offer the protection that comes with having a diverse portfolio.
2. Invest in dividend stocks
Dividend stocks can be an important tool on the road to building wealth. Not only do dividend stocks have the potential to gain value over time but, as the name implies, they share the wealth via quarterly payments that you’ll then have the option to reinvest.
3. Look at real estate
Investing in physical properties isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you want to become wealthy, it’s a smart thing to consider. An income property could work very similarly to dividend stocks in that you’ll have the potential for that asset…
