A few people may stumble into financial security. But for most people, the only way to attain financial security is to save and invest over a long period of time. You just need to have your money work for you. That’s investing.

There are two ways your money can work for you:

• Your money earns money. Someone pays you to use your money for a period of time. You then get your money back plus “interest.” Or, if you buy stock in a company that pays “dividends” to shareholders, the company pays you a portion of its earnings on a regular basis. Now your money is making an “income.”
• You buy something with your money that could increase in value. You become an owner of something that you hope increases in value over time. When you need your money back, you sell it, hoping someone else will pay you more for it.

Compound interest is a key aspect of investing. With compound interest, you earn interest on the money you save and on the interest that money earns. Over time, even a small amount of savings can add up to big money and help you achieve your financial goals.

Sweet: If you buy a $1 candy bar every day, it adds up to $365 a year. Put that $365 into an investment that earns 5% a year, and it would grow to $465.84 by the end of five years. By the end of 30 years, you would have $1,577.50. That’s the power of “compounding.”

All investments involve some degree of risk. If you intend to purchase securities such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, it's important that you understand before you invest that you could lose some or all of your money.

Unlike deposits at FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions, the money you invest in securities is not federally insured. You could lose your principal, which is the amount you've invested. That’s true even if you purchase the securities through a bank.

The reward for taking on risk is the potential for a greater investment return. If you have a financial goal with a long-term horizon, you may make more money by carefully investing in higher-risk assets, such as stocks or bonds. On the other hand, investing solely in cash investments may be appropriate for short-term financial goals. The principal concern for individuals investing in cash equivalents is inflation risk, which is the risk that inflation will outpace and erode returns.