How Do I Start Investing

How Do I Start Investing and Why Investing is Important

Only You Can Decide if Investing is Right for You

Before you start investing, always ask yourself why you want to do it and what you are trying to achieve. Get answers to these questions even before asking yourself "How do I start Investing"?

Although stocks and shares have always outperformed money in savings accounts in the past, this is not a guarantee that they will in the future. We can, however, be quite certain on this point. See Basics of Stock Market Investing.

First of all, be careful if someone offers you advice, especially if it is about opportunities that absolutely must not be missed. It may be that the friend in question has personal interests in recommending it, or truly believes in it, but the opportunities that are circulating this way are most likely not valid. In these cases think twice and get better informed, because you should not lose unnecessarily even that money that you can afford to lose.

You have to be very objective and have an honest look at your finances. If you are struggling to survive it is perhaps best to take a step back and think again. It will be difficult to do this because the hopes of quick gains can prevent so many people from seeing how dire their financial situation really is. If you are in debt, it is much better to try to settle personal debts than to risk making them worse.

Identify Your Goal

Goals naturally depend on age, income and outlook.

Our relationship with money begins at an early age, when we observe parents using it to buy things that we often like too. The power of money and its influence on us thereafter only grows steadily. Early experiences create fairly fixed habits and beliefs, which often last a lifetime.

You can't invest what you don't have, so income is a starting point from where to decide about your goals. Of course, there are people who will go into debt because the opportunity they have heard from their trusted friends is fantastic... Never do that.

Outlook determines the choices we make about wealth management. For most people this means family planning, their favorite neighborhoods, etc. In these calculations education is included which in the future guarantees greater earning power. People who are stuck in low-paying, dead-end jobs will surely have another point of view.

It is never too late to become an investor. However, fear can start to affect your thinking if you wait for an advanced age to set your first investment goals. In any case, all investments begin with the first dollar set aside for that purpose, whatever your age, income or outlook.

How Much Tme do You Want to Put Into Investing

You can enter into the investments world in two distinctly different ways: actively or investing passively. Entering actively means spending time researching markets on your own and building your own portfolio and then buying and selling stocks, cryptocurrencies, digital shares, etc. To become a successful active investor/trader, you will need, in addition to time, also knowledge and the desire to do so.

Many people don't want to spend too much time on their investments. They opt for passive investing and as these have historically produced strong returns, there is nothing wrong with this approach. Active investing certainly has the potential for superior returns, but you need to be willing to put some time into it.

Start Investing As Early As Possible

Start investing as soon as you can. Thanks to compounded earnings your account balance will skyrocket over time. There will be ups and downs in the markets, of course, but investing young means you have decades to overcome them and decades to grow your money. The question: How do I start investing? should be accompanied by the question: How can I start investing as soon as possible?

Decide How Much You Want to Invest

Invest 10% of your income every month. It probably sounds unrealistic now, but if you try, you will soon start seeing very satisfying results.

What is Your Risk Tolerance

Each investment has its own level of risk which obviously correlates with returns. It's important to find a balance between maximizing returns and finding a level of risk that you feel good about. Bonds, for example, have very low risk, but they also produce relatively low returns. Stock returns vary widely, but the entire stock market on average returns nearly 10% per year. A successful cryptocurrency trader can make very high profits. A good solution for beginners is to rely on a Certified Investment Consultant to formulate a "state of the art" investment approach and plan.