We all would like a cushy retirement, with our biggest problem being deciding whether to have a golf weekend, or a getaway trip to some resort. One thing we all definitely want is not having to worry where our money will come from to pay for everything.
However, some working men and women are starting to realise they may have to work until 70 because what they potentially can save up may not be enough to cover a longer-than-average lifespan.
No matter what you do in your earlier years, there are basically only three ways to make money:
— sell your time (you work for it, which is hard).
— sell your money (you save or lend it out for interest, much easier).
— invest your money (the money works for you, the best).
By the time you retire, if you have a million dollars, you could possibly have a yearly income of around $50,000 if you could get 5% interest and not eat away at the million. Having a great salary to begin with will help you save up more, but even high salary earners have to invest.
Like the saying "work smarter, not harder", the working man's way to making a million is the same as the lazy man's way- make your money work for you.
Growth stocks offer some of the best opportunities to be gainfully lazy and make as much of a million as you can. Increasing earnings drive share prices up and dividends can rise steadily from it as well.
My top growth picks would include-
1) SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) The operator of the job search website Seek has a very strong growth history and plans to extend it into the future by expanding into Asia. It has subsidiaries in Malaysia, Singapore and is the major shareholder in Zhaopin, China's biggest employment website.
2) Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) A strong recovery of international financial markets has been a key driver for this investment bank's recent share price rise and earnings increases. We may not yet be at the top of the current bull market, so there is further room to run for equities investment and corporate activities.
3) Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) The takeaway chain still has more growth potential here and is nowhere close to saturating its other markets such as in Japan and France. It's an easy pick because people love pizza and it's recession-proof- they usually eat more takeaway in a weak economy because it's cheap!
