Keep learning even when you are invested.
You will always learn something new if you are truly curious…
The most successful people are those who are always learning. They don’t stop and know that there is always more to learn, in essence, they continue to remain curious and continue to seek out ways to satisfy that curiosity. Are you one of those people? What do you do to continue learning? Even though you may already be invested in the stock market, do you continue to learn about investing and stocks? You should.
Keep learning even when you are invested. You will always learn something new if you are truly curious.
So, how can you learn about investing?
That is our mission - to teach you how to invest and to empower you to take control of your financial future. It is so critically important that you learn how to invest - there is nothing else that will set you up for the future. Why? See our post “Long-term value of $1 invested vs. long-term value of $1 saved.” The reality is eye-opening. You cannot rely on anyone but yourself to take care of you.
Financial education is so important that the best gift you can give yourself - and your family - is to learn how to become financially independent. We invite you to take a look around our website www.shalnco.com and to look through our weekly emails.
Read books about investing
There are many books about investing – you should go to your library or local bookstore and browse the shelves. You will come across many titles that you can use to start learning about investing. Some of them may be more advanced, but flip through them and you will be able to determine what is right for your level of knowledge.
On that note, you should also read about successful investors. People like Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Charlie Munger, John Bogle, Cathie Wood – have all written or had books and/or articles written about them. Delve into about their investing strategies and how they became investors.
Learn the lingo
Investing has its own lingo – and you definitely need to know the different terms to understand the news as well as to know what is happening in the markets. You can simply google “investing terms” and start to learn the vocabulary. We also offer an e-Book of introductory terms and concepts for the beginner that you can get here.
You can also subscribe to various newsletters that will help you understand the lingo. As you know, we offer a weekly substack that aims to teach you how to invest as well as introduces you to different investing topics.
Once you understand the language of investing and what the different terms mean, you will be able to understand much more about finance and investing.
Listen to podcasts and watch financial news
Here, the point is simply to immerse yourself in the language - ie. surround yourself with people talking about investing. Hearing the different terms used in context and how experienced professionals speak about investing will help you become savvier and more knowledgeable. When you learn a new language, actually going to the country and throwing yourself into daily life is the fastest and most efficient way to learn. This is no different. Immerse yourself in financial speak.
Observe the markets
Learn what the markets do and how they move in response to certain news items. While no one can call the market, you can likely make some predictions of where the market will go in response to certain actions taken by the government or things that are happening in the economy. Observe how the market responds. For example, is there chatter about the Fed raising interest rates? Think about what that means and how that impacts the individual companies that make up the stock market as well as consumer behavior. How has the stock market historically reacted in times of impending interest rate hikes? Why?
When you observe the markets, you essentially become a student of the markets and you will become a better investor.
Follow and read personal financial websites and online financial forums
Websites and online forums will definitely capture the current sentiment. We believe that following websites and forums will help you in the immersion part – and getting used to seeing and learning about the investing terms as well as how investors behave in response to certain news items. We would caution that many of these are more “short-term” in nature, meaning that likely the people on these forums are more short-term “traders” versus being a long-term investor. Also, you don’t want to necessarily follow their advice – you are simply exposing yourself to different investing communities.
Take an online course
You can also take online courses. These allow you to learn at your own pace and also allow you to tailor your learning. For example, don’t know much about ETF and Index Fund investing? You can take this course. What if you want to work on your investing mindset? Here is a course on that.
There are many people offering courses for beginners on all aspects of investing. You should look into the credentials of the person teaching the course before you purchase it.
Just start! Even with just a little money
This one is our favorite. Just start! Open an account, start with a little money and put it in an S&P500 Index Fund. (See our post “No Time for Research? Invest in an Index” ). With a little skin in the game, you are forced to know what is happening to your money and you will automatically learn. For example, the value of your investment is down? Why? What happened in the markets? Plus, you will start to participate in the best thing that you can do for yourself – invest.
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.” – Charlie Munger
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffett
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” –Benjamin Franklin
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn
Key: Keep learning even when you are invested. You will always learn something new if you are truly curious…
Check out our website SHALnCO for more resources on investing, including courses and eBooks.
Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial or investment advice and you should do your own research and consult with appropriate advisors.