Short-term goals should be met by investing in bonds . Long-term goals should be met by investing in stocks . Use this Microsoft Excel worksheet to determine your financial goals, how much money you will need to meet your goals, and when you want to achieve the goal. Assessing Risk for Investments Assessing risk is important because it will help you decide if you want to invest in risky or safe investments. Bonds are usually safer investments, but they do not give as high of a return as stocks.
Stocks usually have a higher return, but are a riskier investment.
This Microsoft Excel worksheet helps you assess the risk that you want to take in your investments. Bond Investing Corporations or the government issue bonds as loans to investors. In exchange for loaning the corporation of goverment money, the corporation or government pays interest to the investor. Bonds are considered a less risky investment than stocks because the investor gets a fixed rate of return on the investment. Stock Investing Companies issue stocks to investors as partial ownership in the company.