As one would ascertain, a potential investor must first have adequate income and the basic life necessities in place before considering investments. Reilly and Brown (2012) refer to these life necessities as "preliminaries." Things such as insurance and a cash reserve to cover the unexpected are included in this stage. In the accumulation stage, investors are typically willing to take more risk in hopes of accumulating above-average returns. The average investor should start as early as their income will allow. In other words, with the ability to meet one's basic short-term and long-term needs and a cash reserve available for the unexpected occurrences, investing should begin in the accumulation stage. In doing so, long-term investments have the time to accumulate larger returns in the far future. Unfortunately, many Americans rely heavily on credit to meet these preliminary needs and may never fully achieve a position in which investments can be made with relative comfort. What are your thoughts?