Welcome to another episode of Money Talk with Tiff! In this episode, Tiffany Grant dives deep into essential investment tips for beginners. Following up on last week's discussion of the pros and cons of investing, Tiffany provides a practical guide to help you start your investment journey.

From setting clear financial goals to understanding your risk tolerance and diversifying your portfolio, Tiffany covers it all. Whether you're saving for retirement, a house, or just looking to grow your wealth, this episode is packed with actionable advice!

Key Points:

1. Set Clear Financial Goals: Know what you're investing for to guide your investment decisions.
2. Understand Your Risk Tolerance: Determine your comfort level with risk and how much you can invest.
3. Diversify Your Portfolio: Spread investments across various asset classes to minimize risk.
4. Start Small: It's okay to begin with a small amount. Consistent, automatic deposits can help.
5. Keep Learning: Stay informed by reading financial news, listening to podcasts, and taking courses.
6. Monitor Market Trends: Keep an eye on market changes to identify opportunities and threats.
7. Think Long Term: Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Patience and a long-term perspective are key.
8. Seek Professional Advice: Consult with a financial advisor if you're uncertain.

Resources Mentioned

• Platforms for Investing: Fidelity, Charles Schwab
• YouTube Video on Investing

Connect with Tiffany:

• Website: Money Talk With Tiff
• Social Media: @MoneyTalkWithT on all platforms

Make sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this episode if it was helpful for you! Tune in every Tuesday and Thursday for a new episode of Money Talk with Tiff.

Have a question for Tiffany to answer in an upcoming episode? Submit your questions at www.moneytalkwitht.com/asktiffany.

You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money

nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings

and open those ears. It's the Money Talk with Tiff

podcast.

Hey. Hey. And welcome to another episode of Tiffany's Take, where

I answer your money questions right here on the podcast. So if you have a

question that you want me to answer, go to

www.moneytalkwitht.com. ask

Tiffany and I'll be more than happy to answer for. So for the

purposes of today's episode, just following up on last

week's episode, when we talked about the pros and cons of investing, I had

some people reach out, like, okay, Tiffany, where do I start? What are

some tips for beginners when it comes to investing? So that leads

me to this episode. So let's hop right in. Number

one, make sure you set clear financial goals. So before

you dive in, take some time to determine what you're trying to achieve. What

are you investing for? And I kind of hit on this with last

week's episode. Don't just do it because it's trendy. Really

figure out, what am I doing this for? So are you saving for

retirement? A house? Just looking to grow your wealth, have

some assets, what is it? But knowing your goals will help guide

your investment decisions. Because if some, if it's something like a

house, that's kind of short term, so your investment strategy would

change versus retirement. You know what I'm saying? So make sure

you know what you're investing for. Number

two, understand your risk tolerance. So everyone

has a different comfort level when it comes to risk. So really think

about how much risk you can handle without losing sleep at night.

So depending on this answer, that will influence your choice of

investment vehicles, Whether you choose to lean towards the

bonds, stocks, real estate, whatever it is, you have to know what

your risk tolerance is because you don't want to hop in. And then every

second of every minute you're checking to see how it's doing because you really

are uncomfortable with it. So understand what your risk tolerance

is. Also understand what your risk capacity

is. So risk capacity is how much money do you

have to invest in this thing? Because that's another thing that people can

lose sleep over. So understanding your risk tolerance and your

risk capacity can help you make better investment

decisions with what fits with your situation.

Number three, diversify your portfolio. So

make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket. I kind of hit

on this with the last episode, but spread your investments

across Various asset classes, various

investments that can help you minimize your risk.

So consider a risk of stocks, bonds, real estate, maybe some

crypto, whatever it is you want to do. But make sure that you're investing in

multiple different things. Don't just go all in on crypto or all

in on real est, all in on stocks. Like have a variety

of all those things that I talked about last episode and that'll

help you overcome some of those risk factors.

Number four, start small. It is perfectly okay

to start with a small amount of money. Many platforms do

allow you to begin investing with just a few dollars, which is completely different

than it was when I first started. I had to save up $3,000 back

when I started investing at like 19

in order to open an account. Now you can open an account with nothing. So

make sure to remember that you can start small. And

what I like to tell people is just do an automatic deposit

every month. So what I do is I do a small automatic deposit to

one of my portfolios every month and it comes right off the top on

the first and I don't even miss it. So if you do it like

that, it's a little easier to do. And then as you become

more comfortable and knowledgeable, then you can gradually start increasing

your investments. Now, also keep in mind caveat here.

Even though the money goes into the account, it doesn't

necessarily mean that it's invested. So when you make a

deposit, usually it goes into just, you know,

like a money market account, like a savings kind of.

And so you have to actually move that money into the

investments that you want to have. So don't think just because it's

going to whoever you decide to use, Fidelity, Charles Schwab,

whatever that is, automatically getting invested. It's not. So make sure

you go in and actually put that money in some investment.

Number five, make sure you keep

continuously learning. The investment world is always

evolving, so make sure you stay informed by reading financial news,

listening to podcasts like this one, or even taking some online

courses. The more you know, the better decisions you'll make.

I've learned about investment over the years, you know, some of

it on my own. So like reading magazines back in the day as magazines, right.

So Kiplinger, personal finance, Money magazine, things like that,

reading books. And then I also took class when I was

in my master's program, I took some investing classes,

which helped me learn even more that I didn't already

know. So just always continue to learn. You

are always a student as you live in this world. So make sure

you treat it as such and keep learning. Number six,

keep an eye on market trends. So while it's important to stay informed,

avoid making impulsive decisions based on short term market movements.

Like I said last time, the market is constantly changing. It don't

matter what market you're in, whether it's real estate, stocks, bonds,

crypto, whatever, it's constantly changing. So understand what

the trends are and then that can help you identify

opportunities and threats to your investments. So

that's why, you know, sometimes when I'm looking at, okay,

what is the Fed doing? Or I'll do an episode on, you know,

the interest rates and you know, changes in interest rates, that's for

a reason because it does affect many different things

that you may or may not realize. So just keep an eye on that type

of stuff so that way you can have some foresight

before things either go good or go bad.

Number seven, be patient and think long term. So investing

is not a get rich quick scheme. Contrary to popular

belief, you can't just get in, make a lot of money, get out.

I mean there's certain things you can do that, but look, fast money

don't really make money. I'm be real with you. Usually people lose in the

long term when it comes to that. So just start thinking long term. It

does require patience and a long term perspective, but I

promise you it's way better than trying to time the market

and trying to get rich quick. Compounding returns over time

can significantly grow your wealth, but it requires you to stay the

course even during market downturns. I

kept investing all throughout Covid, I kept investing

all throughout, pretty much everything that I've encountered so far. And

one thing about the market, it always goes up. So regardless of

if it dips down for a couple years or a few months or

whatever, if you look at a diagram

or a graph of the market over time from the inception

of the market back in the 20s, I do believe, don't quote me, you

will see that it is still on a constant incline. So don't

let those little downturns deter you and just think long

term. And honestly, just don't even look at it like once you

invest, you know, only look at it periodically, don't try to look at

it every day because it's going to be an emotional roller coaster and you really

don't have to. So anywho, with that being said, number

eight is seek professional advice if needed. If you're

uncertain, you don't feel feel comfortable, consider consulting with a financial

advisor. They can provide personalized advice and help you

craft a strategy that aligns with your goals and risk tolerance and

risk capacity. For me, I do

not manage investments for people, but I'm more than happy to teach

you more. You know, on a one to one basis for you to do on

your own. Completely up to you, but those are the

most important things to get started with investments. And I'll

also be sure to put my YouTube video in the

show notes that I did a few years ago on investing as well because that

would be helpful. So if you have a question, there's probably

someone out there that has that exact same question and I'll be more

than happy to answer. In the meantime, be sure you

subscribe, rate, review and share this

episode if it was helpful for you, and I will see you next

week. Bye. Thank you for listening,

joining and being a part of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast this week. You

can check Tiff out every Thursday for a new Money Talk podcast,

but if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous

podcast

episodes@moneytalkwitht.com

or follow TIFF on all social media platforms at Money

Talk with T until next time. Spend wise

by spending less than you make. A word to the money wise is

always sufficient.