1. Goal Setting Saving and Investing
Welcome to the Florida Saves 2020 Seminar on Goal Setting, Saving and Investing
I am __________________ (name), ____________________ (title) here to lead you to learn about effective methods to gain financial control of your life.
In regards to Financial Security we will address methods and techniques to build family wealth through accumulation and compound interest.
Why do you save money? (Transition question)
Florida Saves 2020
“See Your Future Clearly”

2. Purpose of Saving Money
To set aside money you could spend today so you can spend it tomorrow…
What will happen if you:
Lose your job?
Get sick?
Have an emergency?
Saving money regularly provides a safety net for when the unexpected occurs.
Saving also allows people to reach their financial goals.
Saving money reduces stress associated with not have enough to cover the essentials, emergencies, the future…
Don’t be a statistic, be better than the average bear!

3. Saving should be planned, not an afterthought
Overview
Two futures:
The one we plan for
The one that happens
Save for the future you “want”
Prepare for a “rainy day”
Pay Yourself First!
Saving should be planned, not an afterthought
Saving is an important component in meeting financial goals.
This presentation is designed to encourage you to create goals, learn to save, build an emergency fund, and discover the basics of investing
Ever try to save at the end of the month and have nothing left?
What if you saved first then spent what was left over…could you make it last?
We will teach you these strategies and provide help along the way!

4. Defining “Goal”
“ A statement of future wishes. It describes what is trying to be accomplished.”
What are some lofty goals you have for yourself?
What are some immediate goals you wish to accomplish?
(Cothran and Wysocki, 2009)

5. Importance of Goal Setting
“You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
So now that we are all on the same page as to how to define a goal and why it is important, we need to figure out how to set goals that will work for us.
(Cothran and Wysocki, 2009) 5

6. S.M.A.R.T. Goals Specific Measurable Adaptable Realistic Timely
- What exactly do you want to achieve?
Measurable
– How much money will this goal take? How will you measure your progress?
Adaptable
– Is this goal adaptable when change in your financial situation occurs?
Realistic
– Is this a goal that you can realistically achieve?
Time-bound
– What is your time frame for achieving this goal?

7. Strategize to Save for Goals
Calculate amount to save for each goal per month
Stretch amount over the course of the month
Deduct from income
Consider enrolling in an automatic savings program – up to 10% of income
Break it down. It is always easier when you break a goal into small steps. With each small success you feel more confident as you work toward your goal.
If you have you savings deducted from your paycheck, you will never see it. Out of sight, out of touch. A good thing!!

8. Activity Fill out the SMART Goal Worksheet Construct a SMART Goal
Have everyone in class fill out a worksheet. Remind them this is something they will want to revisit. We realize this is a short amount of time to define and measure their goals. The purpose of the worksheet is to show them how it is done. Our wish (or their homework) is that they will continue to think on it and rework their worksheet in their own time.

9. Goal Planning Short-Term Medium-Term Longer Term Less than one year
A significant gift
Medium-Term
1-5 years
Down payment for a car, a vacation, or large purchase
Longer Term
5 years and more
House, car, retirement, education
Spending plans address two types of goals: future and present goals. Future goals deal with long term goals (things over 6 months). Present goals are things that you want now. 9

10. $ Savings Pyramid: Layer Your Savings! Dream Big
Tax Advantaged: Education & Retirement
Intermediate Goals: Home, Business
Level 1
An Emergency Fund
Level 2
Intermediate Term Purchases such as a car, appliance
Level 3
Longer Term goals, house, etc., small business
Level 4:
Tax advantaged: Children’s Education and retirement
Level 5:
Dream Big
Foreseeable Large Purchases
Emergency Fund and Meeting Short-Term Cash Needs for Expenses

11. Emergency Fund: Base Savings Pyramid
Should be a requirement
3 - 6 months of necessary expenses when times are good
8 -15 months when times are uncertain
Think of saving as a bill; force yourself to pay your “saving bill” first.
Cash and liquid assets
Cash value of life insurance policy (debt)
Home equity line of credit (debt)
Borrow from 401(k)? (last resorts)
Cash in IRA (last resorts)

12. Foreseeable Large Purchases
Plan ahead
Build into budget
Avoids purchasing with credit
Use Savings, CDs, Money Markets when appropriate
New energy efficient appliances are coming into the market. Specials and deals may be offered on financing options. Be prepared to shop for the best deals. Research tax incentives and rebates from utility company.
HDTVs are becoming cheaper each week. Be careful not to buy the newest and best technology. Wait for the reviews. Do your homework. Research Consumer Reports online or look at a hard copy at the library.
Plan as a household by getting input from everyone. Respect what they have to say but take care to leave the decision making to the decision makers! Make sure this does not put any burden on your current cash flow needs.

13. Intermediate Goals: For Home, For Business
For a Down Payment
Start-Up Capital
The type of assets you use will depend on the time frame, but typically looking at fixed income or interest earning assets.
Lenders like to see a 20% down payment for your home and great credit! A down payment for an FHA loans could be as low as 5%. All home buyers cannot come up with those amounts. Look into down payment assistance programs in your area. There may be a program you qualify for. Nonetheless, continue to save for your home purchase. There are many costs associated with home buying. The down payment is just one.
Businesses are the same. Banks will use your credit for starting a business loan.

14. Tax Advantaged: Education and Retirement
Have an old 401(k), 403(b) or tax-sheltered annuity from another employer?
Roll it over to manage in a Traditional IRA
May expand investment choice and save costs
Starting early is important
Choose plan for state tax deduction
Transfer money to another family member if goes unused.
Education saving programs exist by state and institution depending on where the student chooses to go. 529 plans are tax deferred savings vehicles although contributions are not deductible on your federal tax return, your investment grows tax-deferred, and distributions to pay for the beneficiary's college costs come out federally tax-free. The tax-free treatment was made permanent with the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
529 plan can provide a very easy way to save for college. Once you decide which 529 plan to use (it does not matter state or plan), you complete a simple enrollment form and make your contribution (or sign up for automatic deposits). The ongoing investment of your account is handled by the plan (that is what fees are for), not by you. Plan assets are professionally managed either by the state treasurer's office or by an outside investment company hired as the program manager.
Retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) and traditional IRA’s are pre-tax saving accounts. This means you can contribute to the accounts prior to paying taxes. When you want to withdraw on the account, after 59 ½, based on your tax bracket during that time, you will pay taxes on the money being distributed.
ROTH IRA’s work the opposite where you contribute after-tax money and withdraw the money tax free. We will get into more specifics later in the program.

15. Retirement Is a Goal Use qualified or tax-deferred saving vehicles
Prevent use until age 59 ½
Early use is a 10% penalty
Make IRA contributions
Take advantage of employer provided plans with matching contributions
Think about the life style you want in your retirement. Also take into account we are living longer. We are more active in our older years than our parents were. Research shows women live longer then men.

16. Dream Big
Other goals?
Once you have adequately funded your other layers, you can put money to these dreams… whatever they are.
As before match your account to your goal and your asset to your horizon and risk tolerance

17. Pay Yourself First! Stop thinking sacrifice! Plan for savings
Make it part of your budget
Make it a habit
Budget it in as the first line item for each goal
Don’t give yourself a choice
Payroll deduction into savings
Bank automatically transfer
Choosing the right account and method is important
Plan for savings and make it a part of your budget.
Pay Yourself First means automatically setting aside a certain percentage or dollar amount from each paycheck to put into savings, before doing anything else with your money.
If you don’t pay yourself first, you will always find something that the money could be spent on instead of saving it.
There never seems to be a perfect time to start saving money, so you just have to jump in and do it. 17

18. Strategies for Saving Money
Continue “to make loan payments” when loan is paid in full
Redirect that money into savings
Plan a “nothing week”
Leave the debt/credit card “at home day”
Avoid paying credit charges
Continue Installment Loan Repayments
Once you pay off an installment loan (assuming other loans are not overdue), continue to make "payments" to your savings account. For example, when you pay off your car loan, continue writing a check for the same amount, but make the check payable to your savings account.
You were able to get along without this money for the duration of the car loan, so continue to live at the same level and save the "car payment." This is a good way to save for the down payment on your next car when the old car needs to be replaced. It also adds a substantial amount of money to your savings account on a regular basis. This same strategy can be used when other household expenses end (e.g., childcare).
Plan a "Nothing Week"
Once in a while, have a "Nothing Week," an entire week when you and your family agree not to spend any more money than is absolutely necessary. no movies, out to eat, bowling, etc.
Plan to do special activities, but save the money instead of spending it. Add this money to your savings program.
Another similar strategy is to use a crash budget approach. A crash budget works like a crash diet  --   you try to cut out all unnecessary spending and save as much as possible in a given period of time, say two weeks or a month. Add all the savings to your savings or investment program. 
If the "Crash Budget" sounds unbearable, consider a "Cut-Back Week." During this week, do what the family would normally do, but think of ways to make it less expensive and save the difference. For example, rent a movie instead of going to the theater, make long-distance phone calls on the weekend when the rates are lower, write a letter or send an instead of calling, drink mix-your-own lemonade instead of soft drinks, etc.
Leave the credit or debt card at home or in your pocket. This could prevent you from the temptation to make impulse purchases. Just be careful as emergencies do come up.
Avoid Paying Credit Charges
A critical savings strategy to consider is avoiding the use of credit. Unless credit purchases are paid off in full each month, interest consumes dollars that could be spent funding your saving and investing goals.
Suppose that you have a balance of $1,000 on a credit card that carries a 19.8% interest rate and a full grace period. If you make no more charges against the account and only pay the minimum payment of 3% per month, you will pay approximately $165 in interest over one year. If you continue making only minimum monthly payments for the rest of the $1,000 with no additional charges, you will take eight years and three months to pay it off, and you will have paid $843 in interest.
Carefully evaluate all spending decisions, especially those being paid with credit. Make every spending decision on the basis of how it will satisfy your goals. Eliminate spending for items that have little or no value relative to your goals. Also be aware of your needs and wants as you make purchases.
This is also applicable to ATM fees, $3 can add up fast if you frequently need cash. 18

19. Strategies for Saving Money
Start small then increase every 3-6 months
Save some of your tax return
Save overtime money
Save your raise or bonus
Save 50 cents a day in loose change
$15 per month
Save 75 cents a day
More than halfway to a five hundred dollar emergency fund
Save Bonus Money
LeBonus money is money earned or received that was not expected (windfall), such as tax refunds, gift money, overtime pay, rebates, and refunds. Saving this money over time will boost your saving dollars and provide a larger balance on which to earn interest for the future.
if you consistently receive a large tax refund, you may want to adjust your withholding. A tax refund means that the government has had your money interest-free during the year; you were losing the use of the money to fund your financial goals 19

20. Strategies to Reduce Spending
Shop with a list
Save coupon money
Look online for price matching
and coupons
Shop for sale prices
Collect loose change
Research reward programs
Save coupon money (GROUPON)
use coupons to reduce their grocery and personal care bills, but few think of actually saving the money they saved!
To make this strategy a reality, put aside the amount you "saved“
amount saved is probably printed on each receipt
Put the "savings" (the money you did not spend) in a special "coupon saving jar." Every month or so add this cash to your savings account. Saving just $2 a week for 52 weeks gives you a savings total of $104 which could be your "seed" money to open an investment account.
Groupon is a great new internet coupon site that can help you save 30 – 80%. These offer different specials on different days. Have your kids clip coupons, if you use them, put those coins into their piggy banks. Show them how easy saving can be.
Shop for Sale Prices
to save the money you "save" when you buy items on sale. When you buy an item on sale, save the difference between the sale price you paid and the "full" price you would have paid if the item had not been on sale. Put this money in a safe place and on a regular basis deposit it into your savings or investment account.
However, remember that you aren’t saving if you buy something that you don’t need or that costs more than a comparable product even with the coupon.
Collect Loose Change
Every other week or once a month, deposit the change in your savings account. Don’t cheat on yourself by "stealing" change that has been collected. Take it all to the bank. Some people even go so far as to keep all their change. They only pay for cash purchases with bills and save all their coins. Develop a plan that works for you and stick to it.
Reward Programs
If you are a frequent buyer at store, for example, Kohl’s has a cash back system for purchases when you use their store specific credit card. As long as you follow the prudent credit rules of paying off the credit card each month, you can save more and pay less by doing the normal shopping you do. 20

21. Strategies to Reduce Spending
Reduce grocery bill by 2 per cent
Bring lunch to work = $60 per month
Conserve water and energy at home
Eating out two fewer times a month = $30 per month
Name brand vs. generic brand
Pay credit account on time to avoid a late fee = $25 to $40/mo
Eat one less snack from vending machine a week = $8/mo
When you purchase gas, do just that. Only purchase gas. Leave the impulse items in the convenience store. A little each day or week adds up quickly.
There are many ways to save at the grocery store. Here are a few. Are there certain consumer spending items that could be purchased at the generic label instead of name brand? This could save a dollar or more per purchase.
Always look at the unit price, even if you intend to use that coupon. If the savings is significant, buy dry goods (paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) in bulk. Look into Groupon. Savings could be upwards of per cent.

22. Investment Planning Process
1. Define financial goal(s) 2. Discover your risk tolerance 3. Establish a saving program into financial account(s) 4. Learn about available investment choices 5. Purchase and diversify investments across different asset classes 6. Monitor, review and rebalance annually
Use a personal SMART goal as a starting point.
Assess your risk tolerance by going to
The typical range is conservative, moderate conservative, moderate, moderate aggressive, aggressive
Assign your goal to a specific account. Calculate the required savings amount. Implement a savings schedule for each account of each goal. Set up a program to have money deducted from your paycheck automatically. Time on your money calendar to make a transfer. Verify the saving transfer will happen to the designated account.
Find out what your available investment choices are based on the account you registered for and the company. Many retirement accounts will have age-based all asset allocation mutual funds. This is one fund with the money allocated based on your risk tolerance so you don’t need multiple funds. You could select this for ease and cost based on your retirement date. ie Exchange traded funds are designed to mimic the financial market indicies, these are cheap, low cost (typically around 1%), tax efficient vehicles to avoid the high price of professionally managed mutual funds, which can charge as much as 6% or more.
Once you know your financial risk tolerance, you may allocate your money with investments that match the recommended allocation. Future slides will address this in more detail. Diversification reduces risk as different asset classes will perform differently each year.
Monitor your accounts periodically, not everyday! Once a year your account may need to be rebalanced to your original asset allocation target mix. For example, if you were a moderate investor: 60% STOCKS 40% BONDS, depending on the performance of the market, after a year or more your mix could be out of your target allocation because stocks may have done better than bonds. Thus your portfolio skewed to a 70% stocks 30% mix, you would then sell the excess 10% of stocks and buy the additional 10% back in bonds to keep the same mix as you first invested. This is known keeping your portfolio efficient to maximize your return based on the portfolio allocation. In addition this is a system of dollar cost averaging. Since we don’t know what the prices will be in the future, we are selling high and buying low consistently so there is an average price bought for each investment over the course of time.

23. Types of Accounts Depends on why you are saving
Basic savings account
Certificate of Deposit
Education and Retirement accounts
Money Market Account
General investment brokerage accounts
Depends on why you are saving
Match the account to your goal
Depending on the goal (i.e. emergency fund, specific goal), you have different account options:
Savings accounts are good for small goals because of the low, fixed interest rate.
CD is when you have a determined time for a goal and have the money ready at a specific time in the future
There are penalties for withdrawing early
Fixed interest rates depend on market
Money Market is similar to a glorified checking account. Checks, debt card, possibly have rewards points use and small monthly fees
Usually there is a much higher minimum balance required (usually $1,000 to $10,000).
Brokerage (taxable) or Retirement (i.e. IRA, 401k) (tax deferred) for purchasing mutual funds and individual stocks and bonds.

24. Basic Savings Account
Excellent vehicle to accumulate money for emergencies or short-term goals
Can be linked to checking account
Excellent for overdraft protection!
Allows you to safely store and accumulate money.
Features:
Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) card.
Account will earn a small amount interest.
Direct deposit is available.
Minimum balance requirement on many accounts.
Account statement—sometimes monthly, sometimes quarterly.
There is a federal regulation limiting automatic transfers from the account to no more than six in a month

25. Certificate of Deposit
Timed deposit account
Good to use for intermediate goals
When you buy a CD, you agree to leave your money on deposit for a specific period of time (i.e. 6 months, 1 year, 2 years). Features:
Minimum balance requirement
Higher interest rates than basic savings accounts
Fees for taking your money out early
Funds cannot usually be added once the CD is purchased

26. IRA Roth Traditional Tax deferred
Does not provide current tax savings
Max contribution $5,000 per year per spouse
No phase out based on material participation in DC plan
Provides for tax-free growth on savings. No deduction now, but also no taxes later
Traditional
Tax deferred
Max contribution $5,000 per year per spouse
May or may not be fully deductible
If participating in employer plan this will vary
Differences between the two IRA’s
“If you, your spouse, or both of you are covered by a qualified retirement plan, your IRA deduction may be reduced or eliminated, depending on the amount of your Modified Adjusted Gross Income and your filing status. “ IRS.gov 26

27. Basic Rules of Investing
Don’t put your eggs in one basket
Timing the market does not work in long run
Avoid moving money to chase returns
Financial markets reflect public information
While it sounds cliché, it is very true for investing because you want to create a diversified portfolio of different assets classes. This reduces risk specific to business sectors.
Optimally we want to buy low and sell high. Many of us get caught playing the market at times of when to get in and out. The strategy of buy and hold helps avoid this practice. This also minimizes brokerage fees of excess trading. Holding on equity positions delays paying capital gains taxes. This also allows for reinvestment into each of the positions. Dividends are many times distributed and the investor has the choice to take as income or buy more shares. This can be done automatically to continue dollar cost averaging.
As we have learned from insider trading fraud, jail time is not worth knowing what you shouldn’t know. The financial markets operate under the assumption all information is public.

28. Investments Mutual Funds Stocks Bonds Real Estate
Mutual Funds- a type of account where your money is pooled with others’ money in order to invest in a group of stocks and bonds.
Stocks- partial ownership of a company
Bonds- a loan that is made to a government or corporation for a specific amount of time at a specific interest rate.
Stocks and bonds can also be purchased individually, but it is wise to get further financial counsel before purchasing individual stocks and bonds.
Real estate – is your home a true investment? Value is only to what the next person is willing to pay for it. The average house appreciation is just over 4%, barely over inflation of a historical 3%

29. Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation
Year-end 1925–2005
$20,000
12.6%
$13,706
Small company stocks
$10,000
10.4%
$2,658
Large company stocks
5.5%
$71
Government bonds
$1,000
$18
3.7%
Treasury bills
Inflation
Ending wealth
Average return
$100
Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation® 1925–2005
An 80-year examination of past capital market returns provides historical insight into the performance characteristics of various asset classes.
This graph illustrates the hypothetical growth of a $1 investment in four traditional asset classes, as well as inflation, over the time period December 31, 1925 through December 31, 2005.
Large and small company stocks have provided the largest increase in wealth over the past 80 years. The fixed income investments provided only a fraction of the growth provided by stocks.
As illustrated in this image, stocks produced greater returns and a higher ending wealth value than fixed income investments. However, these higher returns are associated with much greater volatility (risk). Furthermore, small company stocks may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than large company stocks.
Government bonds and Treasury bills are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States government as to the timely payment of principal and interest, while stocks are not guaranteed and have been more volatile than the other asset classes. Furthermore, small company stocks are more volatile than large company stocks and are subject to significant price fluctuations, business risks, and are thinly traded. The average return represents a compound annual return. Underlying data is from the Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation® (SBBI®) Yearbook, by Roger G. Ibbotson and Rex Sinquefield updated annually.
Source: Small Company Stocks—represented by the fifth capitalization quintile of stocks on the NYSE for 1926–1981 and the performance of the Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc. (DFA) U.S. Micro Cap Portfolio thereafter; Large Company Stocks—Standard & Poor’s 500®, which is an unmanaged group of securities and considered to be representative of the stock market in general; Government Bonds—20-year U.S. Government Bond; Treasury Bills—30-day U.S. Treasury Bill; Inflation—Consumer Price Index.
$10
$11
3.0% $1
$.10
1925
1935
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
Hypothetical value of $1 invested at year-end Assumes reinvestment of income and no transaction costs or taxes. 29

30. How Do I Earn Interest? Return based on amount of risk taken
Risk is uncertainty
Proper mix of stocks, bonds and alternative investments may provide maximum return for your comfort of risk taking
Many times savings accounts and CD provide fixed rates (low risk)
Investing in the stock market provides higher historical returns (higher risk)
The proper mix of stocks, bonds and alternative investments may provide maximum return for your comfort of risk (risk tolerance)
This can range from ultra conservative to highly aggressive
The more fixed income (bonds) is weighted to conservative
The higher percentage allocated to equities (stock) the greater the risk

31. Stocks and Bonds: Risk Versus Return 1970–2007
Maximum risk portfolio:
100% Stocks 12
80% Stocks, 20% Bonds
60% Stocks, 40% Bonds 11
50% Stocks, 50% Bonds
Stocks and Bonds: Risk Versus Return 1970–2007
An efficient frontier represents every possible combination of assets that maximizes return at each level of portfolio risk and minimizes risk at each level of portfolio return.
An efficient frontier is the line that connects all optimal portfolios across all levels of risk. An optimal portfolio is simply the mix of assets that maximizes portfolio return at a given risk level. This image illustrates an efficient frontier for all combinations of two asset classes: stocks and bonds.
Although bonds are considered less risky than stocks, the minimum risk portfolio does not consist entirely of bonds. The reason is that stocks and bonds are not highly correlated; that is, they tend to move independently of each other. Sometimes stock returns may be up while bond returns are down, and vice versa. These offsetting movements help to reduce overall portfolio volatility (risk).
As a result, adding just a small amount of stocks to an all-bond portfolio actually reduced the overall risk of the portfolio. However, including more stocks beyond this minimum point caused both the risk and return of the portfolio to increase.
Diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment losses. Government bonds are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States government as to the timely payment of principal and interest, while stocks are not guaranteed and have been more volatile than bonds.
About the data
Stocks in this example are represented by the Standard & Poor’s 500®, which is an unmanaged group of securities and considered to be representative of the stock market in general and bonds by the 20-year U.S. government bond. Risk and return are based on annual data over the period 1970–2007 and are measured by standard deviation and arithmetic mean, respectively. Standard deviation measures the fluctuation of returns around the arithmetic average return of the investment. The higher the standard deviation, the greater the variability (and thus risk) of the investment returns. An investment cannot be made directly in an index. The data assumes reinvestment of all income and does not account for taxes or transaction costs.
Minimum risk portfolio:
25% Stocks, 75% Bonds 10
100% Bonds 9
10% Risk 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Risk and return are measured by standard deviation and arithmetic mean, respectively. This is for illustrative purposes only and not indicative of any investment. An investment cannot be made directly in an index.

32. Asset Allocation At Work
Growth of $10,000 over 25 Years1 (3/31/83 – 3/31/08)
Conservative
$118,309
10% 5%
15%
70%
Moderate
10%
45%
35%
$152,769
Aggressive
$221,714
70%
30%
Asset Allocation at Work
Asset allocation could help you reach your goals. A good financial advisor can tailor a portfolio designed to meet your financial needs and risk tolerance.
• You can see from the chart that, in general, a more aggressive portfolio historically performed better over the long term
• Don’t forget about risk tolerance when allocating your portfolio. You need to find the blend of asset classes you are comfortable with after considering your goals and financial situation
• Keep in mind that stocks, commodities and bonds are subject to different risks. Stocks and commodities are also different from bonds, in that bonds, if held to maturity, may offer both a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. Foreign investing has special risks, including currency fluctuations, foreign taxes, political and economic factors and possible delays in settlements. Commodities may be subject to greater volatility. Fixed income investing entails credit risks and interest rate risks. When interest rates rise, bond prices generally fall and a fund’s share price can fall
As of 3/31/08, the average annual return over 25 years for these investments are: Conservative 10.3%; Moderate 11.3%; Aggressive 12.9%
Stocks Bonds Foreign Stocks Commodities
1. Source of chart data: FactSet 3/31/08. These asset allocation models are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended as investment advice or recommendations. Results are for $10,000 hypothetical investments allocated to the percentages shown in each model from 3/31/83 – 3/31/08. Stocks are represented by the S&P 500 Index, a broad-based measure of domestic stocks performance; bonds by the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index; foreign stocks by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) EAFE Index, a broad-based measure of foreign stock performance; commodities by the S&P GSCI, a composite index of commodity sector returns re presenting an unleveraged, long-only investment in commodity futures that is broadly diversified across the spectrum of commodities. Indices include reinvested income, but not transaction costs or taxes, are unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors. This chart is for illustrative purposes only and does not predict or depict the performance of any investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Stocks, commodities and bonds are subject to different risks. Stocks and commodities are also different from bonds, where bonds, if held to maturity, may offer both a fixed rate of return and a fixed principal value. Fixed income investing entails credit risks and interest rate risks. When interest rates rise, bond prices generally fall and the Fund’s share prices can fall. Foreign investing has special risks, including currency fluctuations, foreign taxes and political and economic factors. Commodities may be subject to greater volatility. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against a loss.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Due to ongoing market volatility, current performance may be more or less than the results shown in this presentation. The performance information does not show the effects of income taxes on an individual’s investment. Taxes may reduce your actual investment returns or any gains you may realize if you sell your investment. An investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost.

33. How to Open an Account
Consult a financial representative at your financial institution
Call your bank or investment broker
Be prepared by gathering personal information ahead of time :
1. Social security numbers
2. Beneficiaries date of birth, address, phone numbers
3. Financial account numbers
4. Drivers license
5. Voided check
Go directly to an institution’s online website
Don’t know any financial professionals? Ask someone you trust for a referral of a financial professional they use and trust
Things to think about:
What is the purpose of you saving?
When will you need the funds?
What type of interest rate do you want?
Examples:
If you are saving for an emergency fund, you want to choose an account that gains interest is easily accessible at all times.
If are saving for a specific goal, you want to choose an account that gains interest and will have the funds available when you are ready to fulfill your goal.
Retirement has specific accounts for tax advantages

34. Trying to Predict the Market?
SLIDE 0210
Stay in the Market—Don’t Miss Your Window of Opportunity Hypothetical $1,000 investment over 20-year period1 (3/31/88 – 3/31/08)
$7,948
If You…
No one can accurately predict market performance. Trying to do so by moving in and out of the market can be very costly.
Stayed
Invested
$6,146
Missed the
Top 5 Days
$4,071
$4,218
All public information is reflected in the current market price…
The implications of this are that one cannot consistently beat the market
We do not really know when the asset is at its low or at its peak. We do not really know when to get in or when to get out. And we should not really try to guess…
But getting out too early will cost you in the long run!
Missed the
Top 15 Days
$2,836
Bonds
Missed the
Top 25 Days
Compound 10.9% 9.5% 7.3% 5.4% Return
7.5%
1. Source of chart data: Ned Davis Research, 3/31/08. The chart shows the results of a $1,000 hypothetical investment in the S&P 500 Index on 3/31/88 held through 3/31/08 compared to similar hypothetical investments in stocks that were not invested on the days that were the market highs during the period. The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based measure of domestic stock market performance that includes the reinvestment of dividends. The index is unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only and does not predict or depict the performance of any investment. For comparison, an investment in bonds is shown, represented by the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors. This chart is for illustrative purposes only and does not predict or depict the performance of any Oppenheimer fund. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Stocks and bonds have different risks, where bonds, if held to maturity, may offer both a fixed rate of return and a fixed principal value.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Due to ongoing market volatility, current performance may be more or less than the results shown in this presentation. The performance information does not show the effects of income taxes on an individual’s investment. Taxes may reduce your actual investment returns or any gains you may realize if you sell your investment. An investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost.

35. Take Home Message Goal Setting Saving Investing
Be creative and realistic, most all be SMART!
Saving
Pay yourself now for the
future you want
Investing
Invest for the long run and remember the basic rules of investing
Start your investment program early – there is a price for procrastination. Savings compound over time. The more time, the more money for you.
Don’t chase performance – it doesn’t pay
Take a long-term view, based on your individual goals and risk tolerance
Review your portfolio annually
Diversify among asset classes for investments
Rebalance your portfolio to target mix as necessary

36. When you have questions,
we have answers!