Often when I meet someone for the first time and am asked what I do for work, what invariably follows is, “If I had money to invest ...” or “When I have money I will be sure to call you.”

I recognize they are politely diverting the feared financial sales pitch they typically receive. For those getting started, my reply is that investment success and freedom is not necessarily determined by your income, but by how much you save, how it works for you and how long you can make it grow before relying on it to produce income in retirement.

Individuals often get bogged down by the details in an attempt to create the perfect plan, all the while never actually implementing their strategy. Investors should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. A way to avoid perfectionist thinking is to systematize and streamline the planning and investment process.

A great example is a 401K plan sponsored by an employer, where you can automatically save a specific amount each month and have it directed to investments which will perform well over time. Don’t have a 401K at work? You can set up a similar saving and investment process with an IRA at a mutual fund company or a brokerage account at a firm like Charles Schwab & Company or any other online brokerage firm.

Systematic investing can be described in the following ways:

Powerful – Even modest amounts saved monthly can grow to substantial amounts due to the power of compounding growth and dollar cost averaging;

Disciplined – Helps take the emotion out of investing;

Sound – Automatically provides dollar-cost averaging (automation of purchasing shares when prices are down and fewer when prices are up);

Affordable – Provides the ability to invest in small amounts for those getting started, or larger amounts when your income grows.

Systematic investing’s real power is the use of time. This approach will not save someone’s retirement if they wait until age 60 to start saving and plan on retiring at age 65, unless they can put away large sums each month. My Website www.breitercapital.com has some financial calculators that can be helpful in seeing the power of a systematic investment plan.

Remember, investment success and freedom comes not from how high your income is, but how much you save, how it works for you and how long you can make it grow. This applies to saving for retirement, college, philanthropy or passing wealth on to generations to come.

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. www.breitercapital.com

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. Visit www.breitercapital.com.