Invest? I'm broke...

Hi Loves!

This past weekend a lot of my friends took interest in the stock market, which is great! But, one of my friends blurted out “I want to invest, but I am BROKE sis” and that is the most transparent thing I’ve heard this week. In regards to buying stocks, many people go by the 10 percent rule of thumb (investing 10 percent of your income in buying stocks), but what about the people who use every bit of their income to provide for their family or their selves with basic life necessities like food, a home, childcare, and so forth. I know a lot of people will argue “if they budget, make sacrifices, and plan accordingly, they will be able to invest“, in a sense that is true, but how do you effectively help someone and not just state a blanket statement. How do you help those who are already working a 40 hour work week, being a parent, or doing whatever else life may demand of them or those bringing in $2400 a month yet $3000 is going out to cover expenses and bills.

That is a lot of people's “money narrative”. Should they be shamed? Hell no! TRUST ME, I have been there. I decided to work 20-hour workdays to meet my financial goals. I was also a single female living with no real financial responsibilities. Therefore, that sacrifice/plan may not work for everyone. I refuse to shame anyone who cannot adapt or implement MY plan. This is their financial road and how they travel is up to them. I do want to share some tips on how to start investing if you don’t have extra time or extra money. So how can you start to invest with limited funds and limited time?

1. Free up some money

a. This is when budgeting and tracking your expenses will be your best friend. Once you see where your money is going, you can see where you are overspending and what areas you can cut spending to free up some money. The money you free up is what can be used to invest.

2. Invest in Index funds

a. Fidelity introduced no minimum investment index funds. You can literally invest a 1.00 if you want in their no-fee index funds. Also, you can keep investing in the same fund over and over, watch your money pile up. Fidelity does have a list of the index funds on its website. Index funds are a convenient way to have shares in various companies and not have to cherry-pick stocks. An index fund is a type of mutual fund that is passively managed (GREAT, less work) that follows a fixed formula that follows a particular index aka a certain preset of rules. So the fund tracks specific stocks inside the index. Index funds tend to have a lower mutual fund expense ratio than other mutual funds. When picking an index fund I recommended that the expense ratio is under 0.2 percent and no transaction fee. Also, REINVEST your dividends.

3. Buy ETFs

a. Exchange Traded Funds, which are like index funds (diversification, low management fees, and expense ratios, low minimum investments, typically passively managed). The difference is you can buy and trade as long as the stock market is open. Even though it is not a stock, it can be brought and traded as freely as a stock.

4. Investment Crowdfunding

a. Sometimes called equity crowdfunding allows people to invest in startups, real estate, and small businesses and get returns. You can invest as little as $100, but that will differ depending on the site. Different sites are used to do this like Kickfurther, SeedInvest, and Fundrise just to name a few.

5. SAVE UP

a. You want to invest $1,000 into a stock, an index fund, a mutual fund, whatever, you can always save that certain amount to invest. However, you have to be disciplined enough to not dabble in that fund when you are short on cash or when an emergency is put up.

6. ALWAYS LEARN AND TEACH YOURSELF

a. It is so many ways to learn about a topic with today’s technology. You can literally Youtube just about anything. Take time to read or watch videos on how to invest, how to pick index funds, and so forth. Always remember you are never wasting time when investing in yourself and enhancing your knowledge.

Remember these are just recommendations and they may not work for you, but hopefully, these tips to help you in creating a plan that is conducive for you. This is your financially free life and I cannot tell you what that looks like for you. However, I can provide tips that you can use as stepping stones  Follow me on Twitter @SisiDevoe and Snapchat @iamsisidevoe

Remember these are just recommendations and they may not work for you, but hopefully these tips to help you in creating a plan that is conducive for you. This is your financial free life and I cannot tell you what that look like for you. However, I can provide tips that you can use as stepping stones  Follow me on twitter @SisiDevoe and snapchat @iamsisidevo