Investing 101

[***Ironhead***]

I too dabbled in the market. But I pay a fiduciary to manage my retirement account. They do a good job, my retirement account grew significantly last year.

Your account grew significantly in 2022?

 

[WanderingSol07]

Your account grew significantly in 2022?

Yes, I had about 7% growth, for 2022 I would say that was significant!

 

[***Ironhead***]

Yes, I had about 7% growth, for 2022 I would say that was significant!

Totally agree just surprised you had growth last year.

 

[millsusaf]

1. Get on a budget and stick to it. Focus on paying off any debts, but I would recommend making sure there is some money to invest with. Learn about Dave Ramsey's baby step process, modifying it to fit your specific goals, situation and financial personality is important IMO. It is a one size fits all program but can be modified to fit your specific needs. However, if you lack financial will power, just stick to his plan. I use his app to track our budget. This step was literally the most important step I took in improving our financial situation. That and cutting out all the useless crap we bought every month. What is more important, changing your financial future or eating out 3 times a week, buying Chinese crap on Amazon? One can change your family tree, the other you crap out the next day or throw away in a year.

2. Never invest more than you can stand to lose. Never use monthly operating budgets to invest with. The markets are volatile and this is a good way to get in very big trouble, fast. If your investing budget is $25/month, stick to that, no matter what you think the markets are going to do.

3. If your employer offers a 401k match, do that up to their max. Ensure that you are invested in quality mid to high risk funds to maximize returns, look at index funds.

4. IMO the future is crypto. Many old school people will tell you it's a scam, blah, blah blah but once you learn more about it and the technologies, it is the future. We are already a 90% digital currency society the way it is; your bank accounts, checks, bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards, online payments (Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc). Unless you pay with paper cash you are already using digital currency. The difference is it is private with no way to hold institutions accountable. Crypto currencies and the blockchain solve many of the issues we currently face with fiat currency. No, crypto is not perfect. There are scams and it can be more volatile than a good portion of the stock market, but with volatility comes opportunity.

Youtube is a wealth of knowledge to learn about crypto.
https://www.youtube.com/@CoinBureau - Deep dive research and news
https://www.youtube.com/@BitBoyCryptoChannel - News and a decent insight to the space
https://www.youtube.com/@PaulBarronNetwork - Deep dive research, news, interviews and insight to the space.

5. Dollar Cost Average (DCA), into investments diversifying if possible depending on your investment budget. Not financial advice and do your own research, but I would recommend looking into Bitcoin (BTC), Etherum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC). Focus DCA on dips, buy low, accumulate, hold until in a bull market and take some profits at or near all time highs laddering out as you go.