A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. While some people are fortunate to learn about the world of investing at a young age, many people don’t learn about it until much later in life, if at all. It’s a large, dynamic and ever shifting world and can be overwhelming for novices. It’s thus important to know where to start and be patient early on. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Investing For Profit: A Beginner’s Guide.
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There are many ways that you can generate income in this world, including working for a salary and starting your own business. However, one way that you should always consider is investing the money you have in order to grow it. Of course, this is a complicated and sometimes confusing field to get involved in, and that is why I have devised the beginners guide below to help you negotiate it. Read on to find out more.
Do think of investing as a way of making your money work harder for you.
Firstly, before you get anywhere near choosing where about to put your money, it’s crucial that you grasp the central idea behind investing. In fact, investing is all about putting your money to work for you rather than just letting it sit there. The ultimate goal being that it makes more than just a basic interest account would provide.
However, it is worth knowing that interest accounts especially those designed for high-level earners can off a fairly decent return on your money with only a minimal risk. Something that makes them much more suitable for those that are not prepared to gamble with their hard earned wages, but still want to make a profit on the money they already have in the bank.
Don’t ever forget about risk.
The next issue to be concerned with when it comes to investing is risk, as mentioned above. This is the other side the coin that you need to consider whenever you make an investment, as there is no such thing as a sure thing!
What this means is that while you could make a fantastic return on the money you invest, you could also lose all of that money as well. Something that can be further complicated if you get into a situation where you are racking up credit in order to make investments.
To that end, the potential risk in each investment situation need to be calculated accurately, and a cost-benefit analysis needs to be performed to check that the risk is worth the benefit that it could return.
Of course, it is essential to realize that the value of a potential risk will be mean more to some people than it will to others, and it’s not just by the financial value that you can establish this. In fact, for a billionaire, a $100,000 loss would be upsetting, but for a family whose only assets are total $100,000, it could be utterly devastating and ultimately lead to their bankruptcy. The message here being that it is wise never to invest more than you can comfortably afford to lose.
However, in this section is it also worth highlighting that it is the element of risk that provides the opportunity for investment in the first place. After all, if there were no gamble, investors would be needed to stump up the finance. What this means is that it is often the case that the higher the risk, the higher the rewards that can be expected. Of course, that also means for those that are in a stable enough financial position to take those risks, that they can be well worth it regarding return on their initial investment.
Do consider all the different types of investments.
Next, when it comes to making money from your investments is crucial that you consider all the options that are on offer.
What this means is that you think about investing not only in the stock market and financial products but also in things like property as well. In fact, many investors prefer to put their money in property because unlike investing in the stock market, they actually have a physical assets that they gain ownership of, something that provides a greater sense of security.
Sadly, navigating the property investment market can be as complicated as finding your way in with stocks and shares. In particular, deciding on the right type of investment return can be problematic. This is because many investors do not know whether to buy a property with a view to renovating it and then selling it at a profit, or as a let to buy.
Of course, both have disadvantage and advantages that could affect the return you see on your property investment. In particular, choosing from one of the many houses for sale overseas may provide you with a prime opportunity for buy to let, especially if there are in popular vacation spots, or cities. This is because you will be more likely to have potential renters all year round, something that can ensure a high and regular yield on your initial investment.
However, for investors looking to make a substantial sum more quickly, it can be better to flip a property instead, something that can happen over a shorter period of time, and free up more capital faster. Capital that can then reinvested with the aim of making an additional profit in the property or other investment sectors.
Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.
While not putting all of you eggs in one basket may be old wisdom that you grew up hearing, it doesn’t mean that it is any less relevant to the field of investing. In fact, its excellent advice and what it translates to here is the value of diversifying your portfolio.
What this means is that its bad practice to put all of your investment capital into a single stock, company, field, or even market. This is because if that particular investment fails you will lose all of your money and have none left over.
Instead, if you diversify your portfolio across different products and fields, even if an entire market crashes you should be left with some investments of value. Something that can help you minimize any losses, and so make your chances of making a profit over the long term much higher.
Do join up with others.
No person is an island, and this is the case, even when it comes to investing. In fact, there are services out there that make pooling your money with other investors much easier now, including peer lending platforms and investment cooperatives.
Of course, the benefits of doing this is that, while still only putting up a relatively small amount you can gain the benefits of making a large scale investment. Something that can help to increase your percentage profits significantly.
Although, it is worth ensuring that you have an excellent grasp of the legal side of things when pooling your money with others. Otherwise, you can end up getting the short end of the stick, and this can negatively affect the return you can expect from your investment.
Don’t listen to hot tips.
Finally, when it comes to investing in any field, be it property, the day trading arena, stock and shares, cryptocurrency or peer lending, there really is no such thing as a sure thing! This is crucial to remember because any sources online, or otherwise that specific stock and companies to invest in usually have a vested interested somewhere down the line.
In fact, many hot tips are actually trading scams including pumping and dumping schemes in disguise. This is a process where hot tops are given out to raise the share price just enough for the initial buyer to make a profit when they sell. This then leaves the rest of the investors with hard to move shares, this naturally being something that you will want to avoid if you are looking to make a profit through investing.
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