How to Start Investing

If you remember any of the following, you need to be investing for your future:

Hopefully, you have deduced that you should start investing today. Not investing while time is on your side could make for a difficult road to retirement. But many times, we run away from things that seem challenging or when we don't know where the starting line is. Investing can seem overwhelming and full of uncertain outcomes, yet most of these emotions are built up by myths or fictional roadblocks. Here are the top three myths you need to stop believing about investing and the encouragement you need to get going.

3 Investing myths you should ignore

Myth 1: I don’t have enough money to start investing.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tsu, Chinese Philosopher

Can you put aside $5 a week? $10 a week? Then congratulations! You have enough money to start investing for your future goals, whether that includes a home, wedding, or more flexible lifestyle. You might be able to find even more to invest by taking a look at your budget. (Don’t have a budget? Check out our free budgeting worksheet and instruction guide here.) You can make this choice effortless with automatic deductions. If you’re paid bi-weekly and have $20 taken out from your paycheck before it hits your bank account, you’ll have over $500 to invest over the course of the year, and you won’t miss it because you won’t see it.

Many brokerage firms and trading platforms offer no minimum deposit required investment options, just be sure to check the commissions or management fees. Many young adults are curious about investing apps, you can check out some guidelines for using smart phone investing apps here. Remember, before placing your money with any broker-dealer, to make sure they are registered by checking the Indiana Securities Portal.

Myth 2: I don’t know enough about investing – I have no idea which stock to pick.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.” - Warren Buffett

You don’t have to pick stocks if you don’t feel comfortable researching the financial health and history of individual companies. There are many investment products that enable you to invest in broad sectors of the market for not much cost at all. These products allow you to diversify and spread your risk out over several different companies and economic sectors, rather than putting all your money in one company’s stock. If you need help building a portfolio, you can also enlist the assistance of a robo-adviser or consult a registered financial professional. Many financial planners, investment advisers, and brokers are willing to work with clients who are just starting out on their investing journey and may not have accumulated many investable assets yet. In a way, time is on the financial professional’s side by working with younger clients whose investments will enjoy the benefit of compounding value over time.

Start educating yourself by using Google or check out our the Investing Basics page of Indiana MoneyWise. You may also start by researching lower cost financial professionals in your area or who are willing to work with you remotely on your investment goals. For more information, see this overview of the different types of financial professionals.

Myth 3: I’m afraid of losing all my money.
“When you invest, you are buying a day that you don’t have to work.” - Aya Laraya

It's undeniable how scary it was when the US stock market lost half of its value in 2008. However, that’s not the end of the story – by 2012, the market was back on track and trending upward. How many millionaires can you name that became wealthy by investing in savings accounts? The answer to that question is likely, none. While there is always a risk of losing money when investing, leaving your money in a savings account is almost a guarantee that you will lose some of the value of your money to inflation.

Take a look at the data on market performance over the long term (10, 20, and 30 years), while there are fluctuations, in general, the market has trended up over the long term. Don’t get hung up on social media trends or 24-hour news shows. It’s important not to make your investment decisions based on sources that offer dramatized information on the latest market dip or the hottest new IPO.

I can't say it enough, right now time is on your side, but with each day that passes, it’s a little less on your side.

Through my membership with the North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA), Alerts and Advisories project group, we created NASAA's Millennial Money Mission. For more investor insights and advisories visit NASAA.org.