I am a believer that building your personal Pyramid of Wealth - starting from the foundation up - creates the best habits and long term investors

That sounds like a well thought out plan Tammy. An easy way to think of it is to first think of different investment vehicles as tools to meet goals. Then categorize objectives, plans to time frams such as Short (1month - 3 years) Medium (3-5 years) and long (6 plus years). Then simply match an appropriate tool to your time frames. For example - in Canada short term tools may be savings accounts, Tbills and laddered GIC portfolios of 1, 2, and 3 years. A long term may be a Balanced or Equity Mutual Fund or House

Hi Tammy, sure, the longer you have to invest the easier it is BUT its never too late. When you boil it all down, its simple math. What do you want at retirement (income), when?, how much is needed to provide that income in addition to other income sources?, at a low to medium risk level, what rate of return can you expect to generate and ultimately once you have all that its a simple math equation to figure out how much is needed to invest monthly, annually? We discuss all of this in our community in an easy to understand and participate manner.

Hi Tammy, welcome and thank you for your comment. Your situation is not unusual. Many people avoid discussing finances but Parents especially feel that doing so would add un-wanted or unnecessary stress for kids. I look forward to your future comments!🙂