There are many different ways of how to invest in the stock market or just how to invest in general. There’s real estate, credit cards, dividends, and many other forms of passive income. Regardless of which you decide to pick, the choices can be overwhelming.
I like to think of life and investing like a video game. Unfortunately we don’t get to pick our character or stats at the beginning of this game, those will be assigned to us at random. But just like life, you control your character, if you max out all the things you can along the way, while collecting all the items, and if you grind enough, and level up your character, you’ll be able to get through it a lot easier. And it ever gets tough or frustrating, just like life, you don’t just quit the game. As long as you understand that you can’t control the outcome of this game, there’s a lot of RNG, especially favorable toward people born into money, but the more you keep playing, the more skills you unlock, the more special items you can find, the more enjoyable the game will be. Let’s start at the beginning.
Age 13: You might be wondering How do I invest $100? Here’s the answer, you should invest wherever you get the greatest return on your money. Right now, whether that’s a hundred dollars, or a thousand dollars, investing it in the stock market will not get you the greatest returns. If you tried to invest even $1,000 today, at best you will make a hundred dollars and at worst, you can lose all of it. The returns are not worth the sacrifice just yet. The greatest returns are going to be in developing your character by boosting your stats. if you don’t have the money, time is another currency in this game of life. You can invest your time or money. Watch as many videos, and pay very close attention to tutorials. This is the age to learn and listen.
Age 14: start to read or you can also watch my YouTube channel, whichever works best for you but the books I recommend are: Simple Path To Wealth by J.L. Collins, I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and the third book is The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
Ages 15-17: go on as many side quests as you can. Try swimming, piano lessons, cooking, dancing, drawing, photoshop, photography, and say yes to everything. Through that process, you might find your master skill or “passion”. This is a missable side quest that most people don’t ever get to do, but if you can do this early, you will get a huge financial advantage especially if it’s something society values.
Age 18: we’ve come to the most important level in the game. This is going to set up your play style for the rest of the game and there’s a lot to do here. We need to collect some key items, this is part of the main storyline, so don’t wander off the map. Hopefully by now you’ve collected a bit of money along the way, so it’s logical to do the following.
1. Get a bank account. Ideally you want one with the highest interest rate possible so that while you leave your money here, it’s going to make you money – compound interest style. Avoid account minimums and/or hidden fees.
2. So get yourself a credit card as soon as possible. I recommend starting with a secured credit card like the Discover It Secured, it’s pretty much the “gold standard” of credit cards to start with if you have no prior history. Pro tip: If you’re a student in college, instead of the Discover It Secured, go with the Discover It Cash Back for students, it’s the same principle but with way better perks. Our goal here is to reach a credit score of 750 and above. This takes about 8 months to 1 year. Make sure to pay down your balance in full each month and never carry a balance (35% of your score), utilize no more than 10% of your monthly spend limit (30% of your score), and do this as soon as possible, this is your length of history (15% of your score).
3. Get yourself either a ROTH IRA , or a traditional IRA. Think of these like savings accounts but instead of keeping cash, it’s mostly for your stocks. These accounts protect your money from paying taxes. Do this as early as possible, it’s the most important step.
4. Buy a stock from the stock market or an investment, this one is overwhelming, not only because there are literally thousands of companies to choose from, but because there’s also half a dozen character styles to select from from real estate investor, to dividends, to growth, etc. If you don’t have time to decide, look into VTI, and with this one stock, you’ll outperform 95% of people. VTI allows you to own a couple thousand stocks with just one. Those are called ETFs.
5. Build good habits like start tracking your expenses for each dollar you make and spend. Take care of your health to avoid expensive healthcare costs in the future, be frugal and live below your means, and be consistent. That’s the secret to success!