The aim of investing is to put your money to work now to make money
to pay for the things you want to do later e.g. retire, travel, buy a
house, or provide for your family.

To succeed in this you need to set financial goals and make a realistic investment plan to achieve them. To start you need to assess your personal financial situation.

You need to take into account:

• Your personal circumstances - are you, for example, a single
  person, a couple saving for a first home, a family with young children,
  a couple or person preparing for retirement, a retired couple or person?
• Your
  financial circumstances - how much money do you have, how much do you
  owe, what other commitments do you have, do you expect to get a higher
  paying job, or are you planning to work fewer hours that will pay less,
  are you retired from work?

When you have worked these out you can set the goals you want to
achieve (e.g. to have enough money to get married, or put a deposit on
a house, or buy a car, or have income later) and when you want to reach
them.

Knowing what you want from your investments, and when, is important to help choose the right investments for you.

You can assess your financial situation and set financial goals so
that you can plan your investments to achieve your short and long term
goals at www.sorted.org.nz.

You may like to use an investment adviser who should be able to help you make an investment plan that suits you and your circumstances.

It's also important to review your investments over the years, and
make changes to your investment plan to match your changing situation
and commitments.

For example, a 20-year-old might decide to invest in a high-return
but high-risk investment on the basis they could easily start over
again if they lost their money. But that investment is unlikely to suit
a 70-year-old who doesn't have time to "start over". On the other hand,
the investments that may be right for a 70-year-old might not suit a
20-year-old.

This article was provided by the Securities Commission.