In this article I’ll share seven simple, quick ways to get started investing your money and growing your wealth. I’m going to start with the basics. The goal of this article is to show you how to get started investing in appreciating assets every month.
This article will not go over the benefits of investing your money, tax strategy, who shouldn’t invest or how investments compound wealth.
When I share my professional background and story I often get the same response…
“Wow that’s so amazing. I know nothing about investing. What can I do?”
I’ve been investing in the stock market since I was 13. And in my professional life I run a financial media and publishing business.
For over 50% of my life I have ingrained myself in the financial markets. I read about stocks most days, I can name 100 stock tickers off the top of my head, I’ve even called myself a “Stock Junkie”.
But when most people my age hear I invest in the stock market, many cringe and admit that they know nothing about it.
The stock market is a complex beast. And I feel like many people my age still have an energetic hangover from 2008 when the stock market crashed. So there’s a fear of losing all their money and a lack of trust in their own ability to participate.
But there’s one aspect of investing that most people miss. Your money will always be somewhere… dollars in a bank account, stocks, property, precious metals, or in depreciating assets like your iPhone or car.
So while yes there’s risk in owning stocks, there’s actually far less risk to your wealth than spending $200 on a bar tab. That money spent on a bar tab is not coming back.
But choosing to put some of your money into appreciating assets (stocks, real estate, collectibles, etc) will compound your wealth over time and give you financial freedom.
So why is investing easier than ever?
The innovations in investing have been astounding over the last 15 years.
It is so much easier to get invested into the stock market today than ever before.
There’s no longer a massive information advantage and high barriers to entry.
You don’t need to pick stocks…
You can start with small amounts of money…
You get professional quality management for almost zero cost…
And everything can be automated so you can spend your time living life.
For 99% of people you can spend less than an hour a month automating your wealth creation.
And in this article I’ll show you in less than 10 minutes…
How simple it is to start investing your money in stocks every month
How to invest in real estate, private companies, precious metals, wine and art even if you’re not a millionaire
So let’s get practical… where do I start?
The simplest, easiest way to do this in the stock market is a Robo-Advisor.
A robo-advisor is simply an automated investment advisor. You deposit cash and the “robot” splits it up into a diversified pie based on your age, income, and tolerance for risk.
Using a robo-advisor takes all of the guesswork and decision making out of investing your money. The robot takes care of all of the heavy lifting. All you need to do is commit to setting aside some money every month to deposit and watch grow.
So, what robot can you trust your money with? I have some recommendations.
Betterment
Betterment has been around since 2010 and is one of the pioneers of this industry.
They have some of the lowest fees (important!) and they have no minimum balance requirement.
That means you can start small and deposit $50 a month.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is almost identical to Betterment. They both offer a 0.25% management fee per year but Wealthfront requires a $500 minimum deposit.
There are also some cool and innovative personal banking features that replace and upgrade your checking account.
You can’t go wrong signing up for either of the robo-advisors above.
What’s most important is that you sign up today and start depositing some money every month.
It doesn’t matter if it’s $10, $100, or $1,000 the important part is that you’re going to start growing your net worth and watch it compound for decades ahead.
BONUS: You can invest in much more than just “stocks”...
The best place to start building wealth is getting your robo-advisor set up with auto-invest each month.
Once you do that, if you have some extra dollars you’re looking to invest there are a wide range of other alternative investments you can get involved in.
In 2020 you can invest online in assets that used to be reserved exclusively for the wealthy and the connected.
With a few clicks you can now invest in commercial real estate, wine, fine art, and venture capital.
Some will have higher return potential (which also means higher risk) and others are a great way to diversify your holdings.
Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the simplest ways to start buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
You might have a lot of preconceptions around cryptocurrency after the massive bubble and crash that happened in late 2017, but I’m a strong believer in our “Digital Future”. And owning digital assets today will get you ahead of the curve.
Getting your feet wet with Bitcoin and Ethereum is the best way to get started today. If you can manage to own one Bitcoin you will be head and shoulders above the crowd in the next five years.
Fundrise
Fundrise’s mission is “Welcome to the future of real estate investing. Simple, low-cost, and more powerful than ever.”
For almost all of history investing in real estate required a lot of upfront capital and specialized knowledge.
Fundrise let’s you skip all of that and contribute as little as $500 to invest into commercial real estate projects across the United States.
OneGold
If you’ve been paying attention to the news recently you might have heard a lot of buzz from the Federal Reserve. The United State’s Central Bank has been “printing money” since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March.
And in response, the price of gold has been steadily rising. But traditionally getting access to physical gold is expensive and bulky.
OneGold fixes this. You can deposit money from your bank account and start purchasing with no minimum transaction size.
That means you can get started with as little as $10.
Masterworks
This is one of the more interesting investment platforms I’ve come across recently. Masterworks let’s you purchase a piece of a fine art painting by a renowned artist.
Then Masterworks puts the painting in their private gallery in NYC. When the painting is sold to a private collector you receive a share of the profits.
I just set up an account and started to invest!
Vinovest
Another innovation in the investing world that I’m excited about. Vinovest selects, buys, and stores your wine.
They use a sommelier and AI (ooh fancy) to select the best wines for appreciation. The minimum investment is $1,000.
Something I didn’t know from the vinovest site, “Wine has outperformed the S&P for the past 30 years, including during downturns.”
That’s something I would not have guessed!
Wefunder
This company allows non-accredited investors to participate in crowdfunded equity sales for small private companies.
Before 2015, all investment into private companies required you to be an accredited investor. But in 2016 the JOBS act changed that.
Now, equity crowdfunding comes with much higher risks than typical stock market investing. But, the returns can be far higher.
This strategy is one I do not currently participate in but am interested in learning more.
If you come away with just one thing...
Investing is a relative game… your money will always be somewhere… dollars in a bank account, stocks, property, precious metals, or in depreciating assets like your iPhone or car.
The only “wrong” action is doing nothing.
So if you leave this article and set up a Betterment account with a $25 monthly investment that’s a success.
And my final point...
You won’t get rich by trading stocks… you get wealthy by growing your income.
So don’t worry too much about how much money you start with.
Automate your wealth creation and then focus on what really matters… increasing your income.