Upon my transition from a full-time, salaried position to the #freelancelife, I quickly discovered I needed an education in investing. Having left a company with a generous 401(k)-matching program (*cough* The Penny Hoarder *cough*), my small nest egg and I were suddenly on our own. My retirement is important to me, so I wasn’t going to let the money languish. I did enough research to figure out that I should roll the funds over into a Roth IRA, but when I opened the online interface of my brand-new brokerage account, I was overwhelmed. How should I “allocate my assets,” as the friendly adviser had put it over the phone? What were my options in the first place? Stocks vs. Bonds: What’s the Difference? When it comes to investing your retirement savings, you have two main options: stocks and bonds. Stocks are small portions, or “shares,” of a company. They’re also known as “equity.” (Because investing wasn’t confusing enough already.) ...