For the Rookie Investors

"Why should I save all my money only to spend it when I am 65?"

That seems to be the most common thought of the younger generation. If I save my money, I won't be able to do all the fun things I want to do now, and miss out on all the fun!

I completely agree, why should you save, and not touch your money? I'm going to go to all these concerts, go out to eat at restaurants with my friends, take a week and go to Mexico because that is what I want to use my money for.

It’s easy to spend that whole paycheque, as I learned quickly. Those restaurant bills add up, concerts aren't cheap, and gas prices are only increasing. So what happens then? You wait until the next payday to restart the cycle of "living paycheque to paycheque," a habit you don't want to get into for your whole life.

It wasn’t until recently that I truly realized how much investing my money can really do. I was very fortunate to have some amazing grandparents that put money aside for me to go to school and graduate with a business diploma. There, I learned concepts surrounding money that opened my eyes to what the real world, or adulthood, is like. THINGS ARE RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE!

Investing doesn't have to be this complicated idea that takes years of learning before you get started. This blog isn't about persuading you to invest every dollar you have so that you are set for the rest of your life at 65. It is more focused on the idea of paying yourself first, then having fun. It goes something like this for example:

• Write a contract to yourself on how much money I will invest each month. It could be $25, or 5% of your income, whatever you are comfortable with. Start low to build the habit and DON'T break that contract.

• Now that you know your comfort level, go see a financial advisor at your bank to have a guide on what beginner investors should be investing in. It is typically free to do this until you start earning piles of money!

• Keep investing every month, learning as you go, and hopefully growing the amount you are able to invest every month. If you decide you have $100 left over, then put it in your portfolio!

• After you put your money away, have fun with the rest!

It's that easy to get started. That $25 is about three Starbucks coffees. Can you afford to make coffee at home for three extra days a month?

I do not believe in the 9-5 routine and investing your money and by the time you’re 65, you'll have enough to retire comfortably. I encourage everyone to do their own research and try new things to make your money work for you! Essentially that is what investing in retirement is, but you don't see it for a very long time. Realizing you don’t have to invest solely for retirement was my eye-opener. Although that should be thought, I realized I can grow my money for when I want to buy a house or a new car, or for a vacation, I want to take. To me, saving my money and investing my money meant two different things, saving is just putting that money away into my savings account, and investing is making my money work for me!

In today’s world, there are so many different ways to have your money work for you, aside from just investing it into a portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. I have spent lots of time watching videos, reading articles, and even trying out some of these ways you can make money. The videos and posts that pop up on my feed now are, how to start drop shipping, what is affiliate marketing, have you tried Amazon FBA, and things like that. There are lots of ways to make money, which we can talk about at a later time. For now, let's focus on the real nitty gritty coming up in the blog.

"I have decided that I can invest $50 every month to start, but now what do I do?"

"What do I look for when I'm investing?"

"I want to take a trip next year and have my money grow until I leave, where do I put it?"

These are questions most beginners have, but finding trusted answers for them are far and few. Keep coming back every Friday and we'll try to clear the confusion you may have when starting your investing journey!

Coming Up: Is there something more important than retirement?

- Studies show that the happiest people are those that learn to both SAVE and SPEND!