But investing doesn’t have to be scary or confusing. Here’s all you need to know to get started and stop being afraid to invest.
# 1 – Start Small
Thanks to technology there are hundreds of different brokers competing for your business. This has led to minimum account balances being as low as $10.
You no longer have to come up with a couple grand to buy a mutual fund – now you can buy a fraction of it for a fraction of the price.
Come up with a $100 (or less) to go toward making your first investment.
# 2 – Start with Something You Know
The fear of the unknown is what’s causing your worries about investing. While all investments carry some risks there are also lower risk investments. For instance, penny stocks are extremely risky while bonds are less of a risk.
Start with a low risk investment and base it around something you already know about. (If you know nothing about oil don’t buy an oil stock, etc.)
# 3 – Use a Robo-Advisor
When I first started investing I liked picking out individual stocks. The problem was I always seemed to lose money when I did this. Now I invest almost exclusively through Betterment.
When I opened my Betterment account they asked a bunch of questions and determined my risk level. Based on that risk level they created a diversified portfolio for me. Now I just have money automatically deducted each month and let Betterment do the rest.
I think using a robo-advisor is a great option for someone new to investing.
Think Beyond The Stock Market If You Need To
There are some people who will just never have any interest in the stock market. No judgement here.
If you hate the idea of investing in the stock market invest in something different. There are all kinds of opportunities out there and you need to find the one that’s going to work the best for you.