Hi friends, welcome back to Money Girl, a podcast that helps you master your money so you can live rich and love the journey.

I'm Laura Adams, a personal finance expert and author based

in Silicon Valley. You can learn more about me at Laura D Adams.com. While you're on

my site, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter.

I send out a notice when the podcast is live each week with a link to the show notes and

audio.

You can also check out my tools page to see many of the resources that I recommend to help you earn more, save

more, and accomplish a lot more with your money.

In order to reach big financial goals, like having enough for a comfortable retirement.

You've got to invest money on a regular basis as early as possible, but investing also means

that you could possibly lose money.

The potential for investment risk creates attention

that keeps many people from getting started investing in the first place.

Or they may save money in an ultra safe place like a bank

savings account that only earns a fraction of a percent each year. I recently

received a question from an anonymous Money Girl podcast listener about this topic. I recently

a question from an anonymous money girl podcast listener about this topic.

She or he says, I have about $20,000 sitting in a savings account losing value.

I haven't put it in an IRA because I've been worried

that I'll need the money. But I'm also worried that I've waited too long to

get started investing because I'm in my early 40s. If I go ahead and max out an IRA, how should

I invest the rest? In this show, I'll answer this great question. With recommendations

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