Investment Income

From safe to sophisticated, there are plenty of investments that produce interest income. Like any investment, some have more risk than others, and depending on how you invest, your interest income could be taxable, or tax-free.

High yield investments offer additional income, but remember with high returns come greater risks. When you evaluate investments that appear to pay more you should approach them like Sherlock Holmes… with a healthy degree of skepticism. Be sure to question everything, and pay attention to the details.

Imagine a never ending source of investment income. Is it possible? Perhaps… if you do things right. First, you have to understand which investments generate what type of income. I find it helpful to break investment income into three categories: guaranteed income, predictable income and variable income.

You need retirement income; your own golden goose. The question is how many eggs can you take without killing the goose? Learn the five withdrawal rate rules you must follow when taking retirement income from a portfolio.

Need a simple explanation of bond yields? This example is for you.

What is a bond ladder or laddered bond portfolio? How do you use a bond ladder as part of a balanced portfolio, or to meet upcoming cash flow needs?

A withdrawal rate is simply a calculation that tells you how much of your invested assets you are spending each year. Here are the basics.

An income producing options model using covered call strategies on an index? After taking a closer look this covered call strategy is worth consideration.

How do you take the investments in your retirement plan and use them to generate a reliable stream of retirement income? Do you choose safe, guaranteed investments that provide a low rate of return with little inflation protection, or do you invest for growth, taking on the risk of negative returns? Here is one solution.

Barclay's Retirement Income Notes are a bond designed to pay monthly payments for a set period of time, with each payment consisting of both interest and principal. They are viable retirement income investment.

Can you control inflation? No, of course not. Yet you can take steps to make sure your income is more likely to increase with inflation when it occurs. Here are three specific things you can do to protect your future purchasing power.

I Bonds offer principal protection and a rate of return that is tied to inflation. I Bond interest accrues, so if using them for retirement income you'll want to use them in this specific way.

Both TIPS (treasury inflation protected securities) and I Bonds are issued by the U.S. Treasury and offer inflation protection, but they do it in different ways.

There are several ways you can insure your investment income and create retirement income for life. I covers four of them here.

Some retirement mutual funds are specifically designed to create investment income. Here are three ways to find the best mutual funds for retirement.

Before you invest for income you need to understand sequence of return risk, and how it affects you when you are taking withdrawals from your investments.