I’ve always been fascinated by science fiction stories. I love the tales that take place in future utopian or dystopian worlds. One theme that strikes me as odd and often appears in sci-fi is the dichotomy between classes. The upper class is often portrayed in their high-rise buildings reaching into the upper atmosphere, living on vast satellites that orbit earth or a far off planet. On the other hand, the underbelly of society is portrayed living in trashed buildings or sewers and gutters underground. 

This is our fifth post in our series about investment types. 51 percent of Americans didn’t save for retirement in 2014. Their reason for not investing? They didn’t know enough about investing to invest. We hope to help fix that with this series.

So far, we’ve discussed stocks, mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and bonds. In this, our last week, we’ll discuss cash and cash equivalents.

This is our fourth post in our series about investment types. 51 percent of Americans didn’t save for retirement in 2014. Their reason for not investing? They didn’t know enough about investing to invest. We hope to help fix that with this series.

So far, we’ve discussed stocks, mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This week, we’ll discuss bonds. Next week we’ll discuss cash equivalents.

As many of our readers know, when we finally started to correct our financial mistakes, we decided our ultimate life goals were to travel and save for retirement. That decision or that clarity came about nine years ago. We are happy to say that they are still our goals. Apparently, our long, introspective discussions worked. 

A recent University of Michigan study suggests that the percentage of U.S. families who own stocks dropped from 30 percent in 2001 to 18 percent in 2011. Preliminary 2013 studies suggest the percent ownership is now 16. Further research suggests that participants who drop out of the market typically do so because of financial distress, frequently increased in recessions.