Before I begin, please let me tell you a little about myself: I am not a stock analyst, I teach English to middle school students. Thus stated, I am 27 years old, and have been debt free my entire life. At the date of this writing, my networth is 47000CAD. On a monthly basis, I will update my networth to show you how it grows (or decreases). My assets consist manly of Wechat funds here in China, stocks, and index funds.
Hopefully you are hooked. Maybe you are thinking this teacher is worth listening too! On to the topic of today’s post: the barebone basics of stock investing!
In this entry, I will write about how I started my trading adventures. I have been trading for almost 2 years, resulting in substancial growth in my portfolio and networth. Detailed below, you will see the steps I took (in order) to becoming a wise, risky, and conservative investor:
1.Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
A slim volume that curbs any investors risk phobia. I can’t spoil the message delivered in this book, but I will write that is explicit and clear. Belive it or not, I am a firm believer that this book should be taught to tweens and youth alike. Certainly this book is much better than Walk Two Moons (and more useful, mind you)
Kiyosaki is a real estate guru based in Haiwaii. He eats his own advice; read his book to figure out how he earned his millions. Replicate his strategies to help you grow your asset colum(s).
2. Stop saving your money, and start making your money work for you
Every cent that you own should be seen as a worker. Sending your workers off to a job is paramount to investing.
But, you need to make sure you are making money at a great job. Savings accounts fail miserably at beating inflation, so invest your workers into something that has a higher percentage than the current rate of inflation. Google ___________ (country name) inflation rate and you should get a percentage. You need the percentage on your savings account to be greater than that number, or else you are losing money based on inflation.
Let me know if you find a bank that beats inflation rates. Wechat wallet investing does beat the current inflation rate in China, so I put our RMB to work in there. See an article here that details how we invest funds into Wechat.
3. Register to a Trading Platform
There are many trading platforms out there. Always look at the fees before registering for a trading account. I use QuestTrade as all ETFs are free to buy,
but cost a smidge when sold.
Plenty of proof and identification is required prior to registering on a trading platform, be sure to have your authorized documents ready, and provide yourself some time to get through the process of registering.
4. Calculate your Networth, and then Slash it!
Slash it, huh? What I mean is calculate your networth and then figure out how much money you are alright with losing. No matter how conservative your investments, you still have to plan for the loss of everything… If you are like me, that means investing about 95% of your networth.
How do you calculate your networth? Visit an article here for us to show you some tips and tricks from the trenches.
4. Be Risky
Age is an important factor to consider when investing. Play it risky between the ages of 24-29. If you lose your money, you still have lots of time to recover it through your workperson salary.
5.Read, read, read,and read. Read Vicariously.
Plenty of websites are flowing with information on investments. Check out Business News Network for information on American and Canadian investments. Make sure to check out the Market Call on BNN to help you make investment choices. I made 1000USD due to a lead from BNN. Get on there and read to profit!
Blogs should not be neglected. Million dollar journey helps me stay abreast on informative choices for long term investments. The writer also offers strategies to manage money better.
Discerning world news also helps me make investment choices. I enjoy reading BBC News on my Iphone. No, this app does not tell you what to invest in at a given time, but it does tell me what is happening in the world, and then I can use it as a springboard to make calculated investments into businesses that I think have an upwards trajectory.
To put it plainly: reading reduces the risk of stock investment; the more you read, the less likely you are to lose money. It really is that simple.
