<h2 id="personal-finances">Personal finances</h2>
<h3 id="problem">Problem</h3>
<p>People need to save for retirement. But how do we do that?</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom in the USA says that Social Security is your retirement fund.</p>
<p>There's no guarantee that will still be around when you retire, and it's entirely out of your hands. It maybe a good bonus, but possibly it isn't something to rely on.</p>
<p>So how do we do it?</p>
<h3 id="they-dont-teach-you-this-stuff-in-school">They don't teach you this stuff in school</h3>
<p>People say you should save for retirement, but they forget to say <em>how</em>.</p>
<p>Currently, there are two de facto methods of funding retirement in the USA:</p>
<ul>
<li>social security: abstract, not guaranteed. Assumes you start contributing to ssn early</li>
<li>401k. abstract, indirect unless you take active role in tracking it. best if you start early.</li>
</ul>
<p>In other countries, there may be significant alternatives. For instance, Kiwisaver in New Zealand.</p>
<p>These methods are OK, but difficult for you to interact with directly.</p>
<h3 id="there-are-two-direct-levels-of-investment">There are two direct levels of investment:</h3>
<ol start="0" type="1">
<li>At your bank: CDs and mutual funds</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Go to your bank, ask to invest in a mutual fund or Certificate of Deposit (CD)</li>
</ul>
<ol type="1">
<li>Stock market: your local market and the US market</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>what: direct investment in &quot;publically traded&quot; (whatever that means) companies</li>
<li>how: <a href="https://etrade.com" class="uri">https://etrade.com</a> or <a href="https://fidelity.com" class="uri">https://fidelity.com</a></li>
<li>In other countries, look for brokers who will invest your money in local or international markets</li>
</ul>
