When it comes to saving money, a little know-how, some commitment, and practice all make the task easier as time goes on. Setting your child up with the opportunity to start saving money from a young age is an awesome way to ensure that they are prepared to make smart saving and investing decisions once they start working as an adult in the real world. Assigning paid tasks around the house and using jars as “bank accounts” for saving and spending is an effective foundation to start with. Here, you’ll learn tips, tricks, and techniques that can be implemented as your little one ages to accommodate their learning abilities and maximize their chance of saving success in the future.
Teaching Your Little one to Save Like a Pro
What You Need To Know As A Novice Investor In The Commodities Futures Market
Claudia Bravo
If you are exploring your options for investment products that can provide high returns, your list of choices may include commodity futures. While the rewards of successful futures trading can include lucrative profits, you need to make sure that you understand the basics of the commodities market before parting ways with your hard-earned money. The following primer can help you when you begin shopping around for a commodities futures broker and also help you make well-informed investment decisions.
Understanding Commodities
Humans began trading commodity products thousands of years ago in Asia. Commodities include raw, agricultural and livestock products traded on exchanges around the world. They are classified into two categories: hard and soft.
Hard commodities include the products of mining operations such as gold, silver, copper, lead, platinum and nickel. The petroleum industry also produces hard commodities including natural gas, unleaded gas and crude oil.
Soft commodities include farming products such as barley, cocoa, coffee, oats, wheat, sugar and soybeans. Wool, cattle and lean hogs (domesticated pigs raised for pork) are also soft commodities.
Paying Attention to the Market
Even when you hire a commodities futures broker to manage your account, you should still pay close attention to the market and commodities prices on a daily basis.
Major financial news outlets provide real-time prices of commodities online. In addition, your broker may provide you with software that can help you track your portfolio and generate reports about the trades made on your behalf.
Staying in Your Financial Lane
Before you begin investing, it is important to define your financial goals. This includes figuring out how much money you can safely invest. You do not want to risk losing more than you can afford, putting yourself in a financial bind unnecessarily.
Knowing exactly how much you can lose without going broke will also help your broker in determining what types of commodities futures are best suited for your budget. In addition, make sure the broker explains all trading fees and how you can withdraw funds from your investment account.
Asking For Help
Many factors can influence the price of commodities including weather, political conditions and seasonal pricing. If you are puzzled as to why some products perform better than others, do not be shy about asking your broker for help in understanding the market.
In addition, brokers are required by law to provide you with a risk disclosure document when you open an account. This document will outline all of the risks involved in futures trading.
Do not hesitate to ask your broker to go through the risk disclosure agreement with you, section by section, so you understand your financial obligations and risks.
In addition, if you are a complete novice to the investment world and futures trading, make sure to read the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) online glossary for the futures industry. This resource will help you gain an understanding of specialized terms used in the futures industry.
Protecting Yourself
The commodities futures industry is tightly regulated. Your broker must adhere to rules set by the CFTC and the Natural Futures Association, a self-regulatory industry group. When you choose a broker, make sure that they are a member of the NFA.
It is easy to verify the status a commodities futures broker. The NFA provides a free, online database of all members. The database will list the current registration status of the broker and if there are any futures-related actions against them.
Overall, investing in the commodities market can be an exciting experience as you observe how your money reacts to market conditions. In addition, the products that you invest in are tangible items from the coffee you drink to the precious jewelry that you wear. For more information, contact SJB Futures, LLC.
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