INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BEGINNERS

 As teenagers, many of us may have heard our parents lament over one financial decision or the other; from failing to buy a land when they were much younger or not investing in a company when the share price was affordable, to hastily investing in a get-rich-quick scheme that backfired. While they may have dropped the ball during their peak days, investing was much more difficult than it is today. Our parents had little access to important information needed to make more informed decisions, they relied only on hearsays, word of mouth and what they were sold. Research was a luxury, accessing data and comparing investment opportunities was almost impossible; all these made the world of investment a mystery to them.

Today, as adults (including young adults), we are responsible for our future and we need to take advantage of the information and technology available to us to make better financial decisions and break the cycle of regrets. Thanks to the technological innovations in the financial services sector, everyone can easily make investments online via mobile apps.

What is an Investment?

An investment is an asset or item that is bought with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in value at some point in the future. Bonds, stocks, and real estate properties are some examples of assets people invest in. Investing can help you maximise the amount of money you can earn, so you can grow your wealth and have greater financial security when you head into retirement.

In this article, I will share 5 investing tips for every beginner venturing into the world of investment.

Audit Your Finances and Start Saving Early

To start investing and making your money work for you, you need to have money saved for this specific purpose. Most people do not save money because they believe they do not earn enough, but the truth is that most people do not pay enough attention to their finances.

Here are some things you can try:

• Logging your daily expenses so you know exactly what your money is being spent on.

• Cutting back on unnecessary spending in order to free up cash for savings and more important expenses.

• Creating and sticking to a monthly budget to ensure you do not fall back into your old spending habits.

• Prioritising and automating your monthly savings to meet your goal of investing it when the time comes.

• Linking and funding of prepaid card.

Remember, you cannot invest money you do not have.