FULL DISCLOSURE:
I am not a financial advisor. This post is to provide information and not provide financial product advice. I discuss why I personally chose to invest in a stock, ETF, ETNs, CEF, REIT, investment fund or cryptocurrency (which I have held for over a week) and also share information that is public about the following stock, ETF, ETN, CEF, REIT, investment fund or cryptocurrency and they are based on my own personal opinion.
If I do not have anything invested or if I have sold the stock at the time of blogging the article, I will definitely let readers know.
I will not blog about any positions of stocks, ETFs, ETNs, CEFs or REITS and cryptocurrency which were initiated just within the last 72 hours of posting this blog article.
It is recommended that you should always consider visiting a financial advisor for independent financial advice before making investment decisions.
I do not work in the financial industry, so just because I write about it, doesn’t mean you should own it. So, consult with a financial advisor and do your due diligence, RESEARCH!
The results shown or discussed represent past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the past performance shown, which does not guarantee future results. Share price, principal value, and return will vary, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares.
I am not receiving compensation by the company for this blog post.
I have no working relationship with any company whose stock, ETF, ETN, CEF, REIT or cryptocurrency mentioned in this blog post. Nor do I have a family member or friend who works with the company.
I’ve often been asked if I should try to get friends or family to invest?
It really depends on the individual. Those who have good jobs and money to invest are much easier to convince than those who don’t. And I can tell you that for one to invest, may it be co-workers, friends or family, you may be able to get them to invest, but to do it the right way, is a problem.
Investing in the stock market can be seen as short-term investment or a long-term investment. But the problem is that it depends on one’s ability to handle volatility in the market and how much one is able to do the research.
In 2021, I was able to convince a few people to give investing in the stock market a try. The problem is that many invest in one share and just watch it. And when it turns red and it loses a dollar or two, they are ready to say, “I quit!”.
In this day and age where you hear people making a lot of money on inexpensive crypto ala Doge Coin, Shiba Inu or Ethereum Classic and those who made money via GME or AMC, its enticing to hear when people making money on their initial investment. Hearing that, many people want to jump in and get rich.
I’ve heard people talk about investing their savings into super cheap crypto because they will be millionaires.
The fact is there are people who have made money in stocks and crypto but there are different perspectives to investing. As a dividend investor, I want to earn dividend income as passive income monthly. But I also invest in stocks expecting them to grow and hopefully by the time I retire, I have a good sizeable retirement account.
I have a long-term outlook on investing, not a short term outlook. Not to say one is better than the other, but I do know that when there is a time of loss, a time when things are on the decline and red, far too many times have I seen people give up.
No one likes to lose money. I understand that.
The stock market can be risky but if you do look at it as investment for retirement, that’s one thing. But if you are looking to get rich quick, that begins to nurture almost a gambling psychology which I don’t want. Others do, but I’m not that type of investor.
Even if people ask how you were able to accomplish your success in investing in the stock market, you’ll learn that most friends or family will not bother in investing, because it takes money. Continuous money to invest.
And if you do convince them, they purchase a stock and they are hoping to see instant huge growth which doesn’t happen.
If anything, there are those who are willing to listen, who are willing to watch several YouTube videos and it helps if they work in a job that has a 401K and have the experience of investing. But it also helps if the person is like-minded, they know they want to save up for their retirement, they are not big spenders and are willing to make a long life commitment to investing in their retirement but also willing to do what it takes to make passive income or through growth stocks.
If you will notice two things are consistent with investors: Many are rich and wealthy (or come from wealth families) that they can invest easily or were gifted investments and then are those who lived a frugal income, willing to live below their means and commit that extra income to their investments.
You can watch a lot of people on YouTube, who invest in stocks, crypto and real estate, and most often if not, many of them who achieve that wealth will go onto say that they lived frugally and sure, they may own a Tesla but that is after they achieved success with their investments that they can invest in a nice vehicle or home. They are committed but they also live below their means and put their money not to an extravagant lifestyle but to their investments.
But if one wants to commit, try to eliminate debt, create an emergency fund, then if you have a 401K, increase your percentage, invest in a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA and see if you can invest monthly through compounding.
What affects so many people is the first part… Debt. Many people have too much debt. Far too many people purchase vehicles with a high monthly payment, choose to live in an apartment or condo or even purchase a home that is too expensive, have credit cards where they only pay the minimum payment and are not trying to pay it off.
No one likes to lose money. But one should not think investing in stocks as losing money. Sure, in a volatile market, you can lose money. But if you make smart decisions and know how the market works, there is always a rebound. But you have to learn that growth is not going to happen everyday, you have to know that the market has its good days and its bad days. Know the risks before getting involved.
This is not just for stocks, this can happen to real estate investments as well (especially if it requires more renovations and upkeep).
But if you are looking towards ensuring your financial future by investing long-term, just know that you may not be able to convince everyone.
But sometimes… it may comes through your actions, that might prompt the question of how were you able to achieve this and that.
And if they are willing to take the time to listen and commit, then it makes it all worth it.
Finances is not an easy topic for people to discuss, especially if they are drowning in debt. And discussions about retirement is not going to change one’s mind if they live for the now, because their thoughts are that retirement is a discussion for one are old and gray.
But if you know they are not responsible with money, they want to live an extravagant lifestyle but don’t have the income to live that lifestyle and those who are not able to do their due diligence, then it’s not worth your time to convince them, instead focus that time and energy to take care of you and your family.
