It’s little wonder the average person doesn’t invest. The whole process is made to seem so complicated you start to get a headache just trying to understand the very basics. I am still in the process of researching IRAs trying to understand the concepts behind the definitions. It’s easy to read the words that tell you what an IRA is as related to money and investing (the acronym IRA stands for many other things), and how many types of IRA plans exist an so on, but if you don’t actually understand what you’re reading it all amounts to nothing. Being able to say that an IRA is an individual retirement account and being able to explain what is an individual retirement account, how having such an account benefits you, and how to manage such an account are two completely different things.

The obvious seems to be that an individual retirement account helps you save for your retirement; but you can save for your retirement any number of ways so why invest in an IRA plan?

On their website leggmason.com, the company Legg Mason, a global asset management firm headquartered in Baltimore Maryland answer the “Why invest in an IRA?” question in their IRA center. Check out their website for their list of benefits that come with IRA investment.

Most of us are more concerned with having money now. The bills don’t wait until we can come up with the money to pay them after all; but there’s something else that doesn’t wait, and that’s time. Without doubt it’s difficult to save money when you’re living hand to mouth, but if you take stock of your spending you might be surprised to discover how much even you, who have no money, manage to spend on things you don’t particularly need every day.

Whenever I go to the store, for example, I pick up a pack of gum for $1.09. Sometimes I pick up 2 packs of gum. Sometimes I go for altoid chewing gum which costs $2.00 at my local publix.  Almost every day in my household we’re spending up to $20 in the grocery store separate and apart from the regular grocery shopping. At the end of the month that’s $600 spent buying things that served no purpose beyond filling us up with sugar, fat and other substances that do nothing to enhance our lives.  And we’re low on the economic totem pole, so if we, being as poor as we are, can still find hundreds to waste every month, then almost anyone can come up with an extra couple hundred dollars at least just by taking the money they spend on things they don’t need every day and saving it.

The hubby and I in the process of researching IRA investments with a goal to open IRA accounts. IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account. You might already know that but we were among those who, while we’ve heard about IRAs, couldn’t answer the question “What does IRA stand for?”

According to fidelity.com, an IRA account is a “tax-advantaged account designed to help you save for retirement.” So far we’ve learned there are 2 types of IRA accounts - Roth and Traditional, and that each comes with different advantages.

There are numerous resources on the web that explain the different types of IRA accounts but they are clearly not aimed at the average person who knows nothing about the subject. It’s interesting because there’s a tendency to criticize those of us who don’t invest or otherwise intelligently manage our money; but so little effort is made to help us understand the many options available. The subject of money and investing is treated like something that’s only for a select group of special people; and the material available on the Internet and in print publications is directed at that select group of special people, usually people who have a professional or otherwise passionate interest in economics or some related field.

Most of the rest of us don’t have the time or inclination to educate ourselves about investing our money. We’re so busy dealing with life, struggling every day to make ends meet. We don’t see how we can save what we don’t have. All we know is that every month we go through the same routine of scraping together to come up with the amount we need to pay the bills, buy some food and so on. Who has money to save in a piggy bank much less to invest in any kind of account? But if you take stock day to day rather than at the end of the money you might be surprised to discover that the answer to that question of who has money to save much less to invest is: you do.

The question is, what is the best way for you to invest that extra money you’ll have once you start making better use of the money you’re spending on junk food, cigarettes, and other unnecessary purchases every day? And that’s what we’re investigating and will be sharing with you over the next several weeks as we explore the options that even poor people have with regard to saving for their future.