Starting My Investment Journey
Before we dive in, I need to say that nothing in this blog post is intended as financial advice. It is meant for entertainment purposes only. I am not a financial advisor and so this information should not be treated as such.
It is fairly safe to say that I had no idea what the stock market was. Sure, I had seen Wolf of Wall Street and that one episode of SATC where Carrie rings the bell for the New York Stock Exchange after her newspaper goes public. But from my understanding, the stock market was something that went up and down, that was made for men in suits, and that closely resembled gambling.
But as I started on my financial journey and started reading books such as The Barefoot Investor and Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I couldn’t help but come across the topic time and time again. But at this stage, I still had debt so until I paid that off I didn’t even consider it. So, I did just that, and once all of my debts were paid (aside from pesky HECS), I dove straight into the subject of investing.
But unlike some subjects where you have a little bit of knowledge behind you, I had quite literally none. And even though it hurt my brain, I knew I had to start somewhere. So I purchased Glen James’s Online Investing School. It was essentially a couple of webinars that went through all of the ins and outs and what strategies you could start with.
One of the first terms I came across was an ETF (electronic traded fund). An ETF is something that is still sold and purchased on the stock market but it can be made up of lots of different stocks rather than just one. For example, an ETF may contain (or track) the top 300-companies in Australia rather than just say Commonwealth Bank. And so, investing your money into ETFs may be safer than investing in individual stocks.
Safer! That word stood out to me as I was completing this course. I love safe. As someone who has lived in numerous amounts of homes (many of which were unsafe or tumultuous), a lot of my adult life has contained me searching for ways to lay down solid foundations relating to my mental health, spiritual health, relationships, and, of course, my finances.
And this option is supposed to be safer because if say one company in the ETF goes bust, another would simply replace it. It would be extremely unlikely that all of the companies in an ETF would go belly up at the same time, thus perhaps making it a safer option. The other great thing about choosing this over individual stocks is that you can take a hands-off approach.
Another term I came across in my research was dollar-cost averaging. This refers to investing the same amount of money in intervals, no matter what the market is doing. This was speaking my language. The less work and effort I have to put into something the better because my time is precious. And while I was happy to do some research and set everything up, I didn’t want to be glued to my screen every day, freaking out over what the stock market was doing. My next step was to decide what platform I was going to use and what I wanted to invest in.
I had heard of my investing platform from a financial influencer I came across on TikTok called “Tash Invests” and even though it was a new platform, it seemed quite easy to use. She was also offering a free trade (as you have to pay a fee every time you make a purchase) so I felt like I had nothing to lose. I also liked the fact that you could set up an automatic transfer and then once that money hit a certain amount, it would purchase for you.
For instance, if I wanted to invest $300 a week, I could set up that transfer to come out each week and once the amount hit $3000, my investing platform would purchase one of my preferred ETFs for me. Upon signing up I then had to decide what I wanted my portfolio to look like. I knew I wanted something quite “safe” and I knew that I wanted all ethical options so I chose three ETFs that fit the bill.
There are so many to choose from and this is where you may need to seek outside advice if you aren’t sure as it can be quite overwhelming. I am still not sure if I have made the right decision as there are all sorts of things to think about such as diversification, fees, and dividend payments. You will also need to decide if you want your dividends paid out or if you want them reinvested.
So, since the 25th of May, I have invested $10,449.65 and have had a return of $269.01 which is certainly more than I would have earned having that money sitting in the bank. But investing this way may not be the best move for everyone and there are many things to think about. For instance, if you are going to need this money in the near future, it might be best not to invest as this is more of a long-term strategy.
Furthermore, some people like to put their money in other places such as real estate, businesses, crypto, or individual stocks. And then some still have high-interest debts to pay off or may prefer to pay down their mortgage before they think about investing. Whatever the case may be, investing turned out to be far easier than I expected and is something that I will continue to do and to educate myself about moving forward.
Have you invested in the stock market before and what has your experience been? I’d love to hear your thoughts xo
Disclaimer: The information on this post is for general information only. It should not be taken as constituting professional advice. I am not a financial adviser. You should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how the website information relates to your unique circumstances.
I (The Thought Chapter) am not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided directly or indirectly, in this post.
