Investing in the markets can help you make more money and secure your future.. You can invest in stocks, ETFs or mutual funds. You can invest cautiously or go for big results, or anywhere in-between.
What it takes to be an investor is the same desire it took to learn how to drive a car, figure out the features of a smartphone, or know how much you can spend on groceries this week. In other words you don’t need a college degree, a fancy suit or designer gown. You simply need “desire”. If you have the desire, the need, the want to make your life better, safer, easier, more fun then you should be investing in the markets because you have the abilities.
Working a job or a career you may get by or perhaps you’re doing pretty good. But getting by or doing pretty good will not take care of you in retirement, buy that special gift or protect you from job loss or major medical challenges. This is where investing comes in.
Saving money in a savings account, even a CD will barely keep you even with inflation and in most cases you lose money in the long run because the value of your savings won’t buy as much in the future as it does when you first put it into the bank. Savings accounts are good ways to build up cash for investing, but don’t expect to make money this way. And they are no safer than putting your hard earned dollars in safe investments if that is what you want or what concerns you.
Your biggest challenges are:
• Don’t get scared off – friends may want to tell you it can’t be done; you’ll fail; you will hear of how someone who knows someone who knows someone lost their shirt; or read a book with scary warnings.
• You can’t take friends advice – not on what to buy or sell, or even how to invest – unless they have a proven, successful track record on paper that you can verify.
• Deciding where to invest.
• Putting together the money to get started.
• Deciding how much time you have – be realistic about how much time you are willing to spend managing your investments. Don’t be afraid to say, I don’t want to do it every day; maybe an hour a week; maybe a few hours a month.
• Picking the software program – there are hundreds of programs on the market. Take your time to check them out and find one that works best for you; but set yourself a timeline so you don’t miss investment opportunities.
As long as you have the desire and recognize that investing isn’t going to make you a millionaire overnight you can:
• Safeguard and grow your money
• Become wealthy
• Buy those expensive gifts
This will happen when you decide to put the pedal to the metal and get going. You are in the driver’s seat and only you can control the circumstances and your financial future. No matter what anyone else says!