When the words location, location, location are used or heard, most people think of real estate, as many times the value of the real estate or property is all about its location. The same can be said regarding your money. Money can much more valuable and worth so much more if it is being saved and invested in the right location for its specific objective.
For example, a small bungalow located oceanfront in the Caribbean will be worth much more than the same bungalow in the middle of no-where in North Dakota. Similarly, a retirement account needed for lifetime income will be much more valuable in a tax free account that will pay out a joint tax free lifetime income to you and a spouse than it would be worth in a taxable savings account at a bank.
As you can imagine, there are many different places and ways to save and invest money. The ultimate value of this savings and investments at some point in time can be completely different depending on the location of where it is being saved and invested. The location aspect of saving and investing money comes down to two main considerations, how and where. First, you need to know how the money will be used in the future. Will it be used to provide a lifetime income in retirement? Will it be used to pass on to your beneficiaries? Will it be used as a retirement supplement account for needs as they arise?
Once you know how it is going to be used, then you can start determining where that money should be placed. In other words, where is the proper location for that savings and investment to benefit you the most in the future per the specific objective of that money. What type of account should be used, pre-tax, after-tax or tax free? Should it be invested in an actively managed account, a target date fund, a non-risk account? There are many other considerations here.
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