IRA
A traditional individual retirement account (IRA) allows individuals that can grow tax-deferred; no capital gains or dividend income is taxed until it is withdrawn. Individual taxpayers can contribute 100% of any earned compensation up to a specified maximum dollar amount. Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax filling status and other factors.
BONDS
An investment in debt. Think about it this way: When you borrow money to buy a home, someone (usually a bank) is loaning you that money and you're going to pay it back with interest. A bond is a way that the government or businesses take loans. You give them money they need (usually just a portion of it) and over time they pay you back with interest. You could hold on to the bond and get your money back over time or you could sell it early to someone else.
ROTH IRA
Is an individual retirement account that offers tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA rules dictate that as long as you've owned your account for 5 years and you're 59 1/2 or older, you can withdraw your money when you want to and you won't owe any federal taxes.
LIFE INSURANCE
You've worked hard to build a life you enjoy with people you love, now its time to protect it all. But it can be tough to know how much, or what type of insurance you need. And life insurance can be more than a safety net.
MUTUAL FUNDS
A mutual fund is an Investment vehicle made up or a large portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other securities (often in excess of 100). Funds can either be managed with a professional fund manager (at a higher expense) or indexed - that is, constructed to mirror the ups and downs of an index, like S&P 500 or US Bond Market generally with lower fees.
401K
A 401(K) plan is a qualified employer-established plan which eligible employees may make salary deferral (salary reduction) contribution on a post-tax or pretax basis. Employers offering a 401(K) plan may make matching or non-elective contribution to the plan on the behalf of eligible employee.
MUNICIPAL BONDS
(or "munis" for short) are debt securities issued by the states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to fund day-to-day obligations and to finance capital projects such as building schools, highways or sewer systems.
STOCKS
Stocks are investments directly in companies. When you buy a company's stock, you're buying share of that company. You literally own a piece of the business. That means that as the value of the business increases, your share of that values goes up. Conversely, if the value declines, the value of stock will go down. If the business makes a big profit and decides to give some of that money to its owners, you'll get check (usually called a dividend).