Words to the young and wise

Emily Meehan of the Wall Street Journal spells out "What to Do with $2,500" — a column that gives younger investors clear plans of action from financial wizards, most of whom normally advise only millionaires:

I spoke with five financial advisers about what a young investor should do with a small windfall: $2,500. I created a profile of a twentysomething novice investor who doesn't have debts and is diligently paying into a 401(k). Investor X doesn't necessarily want to lock up this money until retirement. He or she may want to buy a house, fund a year off or have something socked away in case of a car crash or other emergency.

The advice comes from five different managers, including independent financial planners as well as consultants from the likes of Schwab and T. Rowe Price. They come up with five quite different plans of action:

1. Set up a Roth IRA
2. Put some money aside in a CD
3. Be aggressive
4. ETFs!
5. Take the bond route

I don't want to critique the individual strategies. What's nice about the slant of the article is that it proposes several real-world, proactive plans that are actually achievable by a 25-year-old. It focuses on what can be done, and why. People, especially younger people with the need but without the access to the holistic advice of a wealth manager, could benefit from guidance that says, as specifically as possible, "do this."

How big is the demand for such proactive plans of action? You decide. Emily's column is #1 in the "Most Popular" links at today's WSJ.