Odds are that most Millennials and Gen Zers have been told that Social Security may not be around when they are their parents' or grandparents' age. And in a world where the stock market is losing on a fairly regular basis, what advice is there for young people who are starting to invest?
AFN sought some words of wisdom from Rob West, host of MoneyWise, a live radio broadcast that provides biblical wisdom on a variety of financial topics.
"Social Security was never intended to cover more than 40% of your pre-retirement income," West explains. "A lot of folks depend far more heavily on that than they should."
In terms of what people should do about it, West says it's "pretty simple": live within your means. "We have to avoid debt, we have to set long-term goals, we have to have some margin, and we have to give generously," he advises.
According to West, monthly spending is the biggest deterrent to one's ability to save for the long-term.
"As we dial back our spending and have margin, we have to be systematic and diligent in contributing for the long-term," he shares. "And I would say still the very best place is through a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio with some allocation of precious metals and, if you can, some real estate – but we have to be diligent in that. Compounding works most effectively over time."
Editor's note: MoneyWise with Rob West airs weekdays at 9 a.m. CST on American Family Radio. AFR is a division of the American Family Association, the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
