Photo Credit: Stuart Miles
Investing my money in the stock market is something I’ve had on my “to-do” list for years but just recently accomplished.
I always made excuses as to why I couldn’t invest: I didn’t have enough money. I didn’t want to lose all of my money. I didn’t know how to get started. Truthfully, I found any excuse I could to keep from getting started.
Since I’ve made my first stock purchase a couple months ago, I’ve made a few more. I’ve even set aside a dedicated stream of income just for investing. Now that I’ve gotten started a lot of my previous fears have diminished and I’ve found investing to actually be fun.
I know getting started can be scary. From my experience these are the top three fears of new investors and how you can overcome them.
You Don’t Know Where to Start
There’s information coming from every direction. At any given moment in the day you can read a handful of financial articles with completely contradicting information. It’s confusing. And can definitely put someone off when it comes to investing.
When I decided that this year was the year I’d begin investing I did my own research. I searched for the top investing books – reading customer’s reviews from a wide variety of sources.
I finally settled on The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing by Jason Kelly. This book laid out everything I needed to know in an easy to read format. I’d highly suggest to it anyone new at investing.
Read a classic book. Find an investing course. Read a blog on investing. Do some research and pick a voice you can trust. That’ll get you started. You can always change your course after you begin.
You Don’t Have Enough Money
Not having enough money to invest has been one of the main reasons it took me so long to get started. But the truth is you can invest with as little as $10!
There are some investments, like mutual funds, where you will have to come up with a larger initial investment (usually at least $1,000.) The amount of money you’ll need to get started really will vary depending on your investment choices.
If you want to immediately get started there are several places you can open up a personal investment account and buy individual stocks. Actually, there are now fee free brokerages opening up.
If you’ve decided to opt for an investment that requires a larger initial amount then open up a separate savings account (you can do this at a place like Capital One 360) and start funneling money into your savings each month until you reach your goal.
You Don’t Want to Lose All of Your Money
This is a tough one because when you invest there is no guarantee.
However, you can choose your investments based on your risk tolerance. For example if you have a high risk tolerance then investing in individual stocks might work. If you have a low risk tolerance you might choose a mixture of stocks, bonds, and other funds.
Doing the proper research to find the right investments is what you need to do. When you put in the work and pick investments that coincide with your personality you won’t be consumed with worry.
What was/is your biggest fear as a new investor?