New to Investing? Here Are 6 Smart Ways to Get Started

Everyone should start investing as soon as they have a little extra cash to spare. Putting your money in the market is not only a great way to make even more dough. It’s also one of the best ways to prep your bank account for retirement so you can enjoy your golden years in comfort.

But getting into investing can be tough due to the market’s complexity and obscurity. Fortunately, there are six smart ways to get started investing as a newcomer – let’s break them down one by one in detail.

1. Start with a Basic Goal for Investing Funds

To begin investing, you must draw up a basic goal for your investing funds. Specifically, you should determine:

• How much money do you have to put on the market? This amount should never be more than you can lose. Even apparently surefire investments can crash due to wider market conditions or the human element
• How much money do you want to make
• Why you want to invest, is tied into the above answer. For example, if you want to invest for retirement, you’ll need to make several million dollars by the time you retire if you plan to exclusively live off that income for your golden years

Once you have your basic goals drawn up, you can then make smart decisions about where you put your money on the market.

2. Choose a Basic Investing Account

The next step is to pick a basic investing account. Let’s stick with the retirement example for simplicity’s sake.

Say that you want to retire by the age of 60. In that case, an IRA or individual retirement account could be perfect for your investment needs. Such an IRA from a broker or investment platform like Fidelity will allow you to invest in mutual funds, ETFs, and even individual stocks as you please.

Many investment platforms require you to maintain a certain amount of money or make an initial deposit to open your account. Fortunately, these investment minimums usually aren’t very high (typically around $100 or so).

3. Do a Lot of Reading

Now it’s time to hit the books and start educating yourself. If you’re new to investing, the best way to avoid simple mistakes or big risks is to read books about investing for retirement, to make money, for day trading, or for whatever other purpose you have in mind.

Pick up books with great reviews and read them from front to back. The more you read, the better you’ll understand the market and the various charts you find on your chosen investment platform.

4. Use a Portfolio Analyzer

As you get started as an investor, you could probably use a little bit of help understanding which mutual funds, ETFs, and even individual stocks are wise investments. That’s where portfolio analyzer tools like Personal Fund come in.

Portfolio analyzer tools are advisory platforms that:

• Take the information about mutual funds and other investment vehicles
• Analyze that information based on market history and distinct algorithms
• Provide you with advice or recommendations based on your investment goals, budget allowances, etc.

Armed with such a tool, you can immediately determine whether a given investment vehicle is a wise investment. That way, you’ll minimize your risk and avoid putting your money into risky mutual funds or other vehicles that aren’t as stable or trustworthy as they may outwardly seem.

Plus, you can keep using a portfolio analyzer as you gain skills and become more than a novice investor. In fact, your portfolio analyzer will serve you even better as you become more experienced and gain the skills and understanding of the market necessary to truly master it and make money consistently.

5. Put a Bit of Each Paycheck Into the Market

As a newcomer, it may be best to stick with a basic investment principle: put 2% of each paycheck into the market. Start with this simple amount as you learn how investing works and as you build up your skills.

By putting in a little bit of money into the market, your portfolios will reliably grow and you’ll give yourself some wiggle room money to use for experimentation or riskier investments.

6. Have a “Risky” Portfolio and a “Safe” Portfolio

Speaking of riskier investments, you might consider having two separate portfolios, one for risky or short-term cash growth investments and one for safe investments or retirement funds. By separating your portfolios in this way, you’ll never lose more money than you can afford and you’ll always be working toward your long-term investment goals, whatever they may be.

Conclusion

As you can see, it’s more than possible to get started investing wisely and safely. Just follow the above tips with whatever money you decide to invest, and your portfolio(s) will grow with time. Good luck!