Investing takes time, so the earlier you start the better. Time is your best friend when investing, it is how your investments grow. Take the stock market for example; it’s not so much about timing the market it is more about time in the market. The longer you hold a share or ETF, the higher the chance of it going up.
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There are thousands of ways and places to invest, one of the best ways is probably a managed portfolio or fund. The most famous and widely used would be Vanguard (https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/). They have a large selection of ETF’s, which is essentially a bunch of stocks all bundled into one. This avoids the whole stress of choosing and picking your own.
The most popular ETF is the S&P 500 (VOO) which tracks the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the USA. This ETF has returned on average 10% per year, which is very impressive, but past performance is no guarantee for future returns. The S&P 500 is very tech-heavy with a lot of reports saying it is overvalued, as with all investing do your own research and find an ETF that suits you.
Another advantage of starting earlier rather than later is compound interest, this is where you earn interest on the return from investment. This can start off as a small amount but over time can snowball and grow more and more. Take a look at this calculator and see for yourself the true potential of compounding (https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php).
There are also many different automated investing apps such clim8, which invests in eco and sustainability companies. These apps let you choose your risk level and then all you need to do is deposit some money into the account and they then do all the hard work for you. As with most investing, I would suggest setting up a monthly deposit of an amount you can afford to invest and sit back and watch your investment portfolio grow. Sign up here using my link and check out the app for yourself. https://apps.apple.com/GB/app/id1519281321?mt=8
As with most investing you need to give it time to grow. In the short run, your money may go down, but the stock market has proved the longer you are invested into the market the higher the chance of making a profit. Set up a monthly deposit to help boost your portfolio and check out my other categories below, with loads of helpful advice on all things money.
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