So You Want to Start Investing

Many podcasts, YouTube channels, books, influencers, professionals, and professors tell people every day to start investing early. What some of them fail to mention, though, is how? How do you start investing, where do you start investing, and how do you know you need start now, in the first place? You have come to the right place! Based on research and a some advice from a financial advisor, here is a great place to jump from, when looking at how to invest as a young adult.

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Advice From a Financial Advisor

We reached out to a financial advisor, who wishes to remain anonymous, and asked him how to start investing as a college student. Before we even started the interview, he said to first think about six questions he gave us. Here is some advice he gave, along with some other information:

Q: The money you are thinking of investing, what's it for?
A: Is it for anything in particular, or are you just looking to start investing? If you are looking to invest for a particular reason, be sure you have money put away just in case the market does go down for a while.

Q: Do you have other funds to use if you have an emergency?
A: Like mentioned previously, be sure to have money put away just in case your car breaks down, you get sick, etc. It's always good to have this money in general, but be sure to have money set aside separate from your investment money (aka what you plan on investing), just in case something should happen, and then if the market does dip, you aren't losing your emergency funds.

Q: If you were to invest this money, and you saw that it had gone down in value in a month - what do you think you would do/think?
A: Don't get scared and pull out of investments when the market dips! In general, investing is a waiting game.

Q: What books have you read or classes have you taken about investing?
A: Every business student at GVSU is required to take Finance 320, which gives the basics of moving money and investing. There are tons of great books on investing, here are some of our recommendations:

• "Investing QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Successfully Navigating the Stock Market, Growing Your Wealth & Creating a Secure Financial Future" (2018)
• "A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market: Everything You Need to Start Making Money Today" (2019)
• "Honey Money: A Simple 7-Step Guide For Getting You Financial $hit Together" (2017)

Q: Do you follow any investing blogs?
A: One great blog to follow is A Wealth of Common Sense. The article linked specifically talks about what you want your money to do for you. We also recommend the College Info Geek podcast and website. It is a great place to learn about study skills; personal development skills; advice on how to start investing; building a great resume, cover letter, and portfolios; and how to advance in the workplace while bettering yourself. The creator of the website even has a YouTube channel, where you can watch sister videos to the blog posts, if you don't feel like reading or listening to the podcast.