{"id":779,"date":"2016-02-29T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/?p=779"},"modified":"2022-11-16T16:03:08","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T20:03:08","slug":"best-way-to-start-investing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing","title":{"rendered":"How 27 Financial Experts Made Their First Investments"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>hen it comes to investing, even the most seasoned investor had to start somewhere. If you\u2019re just getting started with your first investment, you might have some questions and even a little apprehension.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered how experienced investors got their start? Fortunately, we\u2019ve asked that question for you.<\/p>\n

We talked to 27 financial experts about how they started investing, what they did exactly, and whether or not they would do anything differently.<\/p>\n

Here are the best ways to start investing, according to the experts.<\/p>\n

1. You need discipline<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got started investing when I was working in the investment management industry. The tech bubble burst and I was too afraid to invest money outside my 401k so I just kept piling in money in my 401k.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the dust settled, I saw how much money you could make if you just stay the course and ignore the noise. My 401k grew and grew<\/a> without me doing anything. Then came the financial crisis. I watched some of the biggest hedge fund managers scoop up assets at deeply discounted prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when the light went on; invest for the long-term, do not sell in a panic, try to, if you can, take advantage of any big market pull backs by buying assets on the cheap. That\u2019s the joke with investing, it looks very complicated but you don\u2019t need to be a financial expert to invest, you just need some discipline.\u201d says Kathryn of Ms. Cheat Sheet<\/a><\/p>\nInvest for the long-term, do not sell in a panic <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

2. Behold the power of compound interest<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhen I was 19 years old, I met a mechanic who was a millionaire. \u00a0He told me that I didn’t have to choose a high salaried career if I wanted to grow wealthy. \u00a0‘Find something you like doing,’ he said, ‘But learn how to manage and invest your money.’<\/p>\n

He showed me how compound interest worked. \u00a0He convinced me to start investing $100 a month. \u00a0That was in 1989. \u00a0I kept adding to my investments every year. \u00a0Thanks to him, I’m financially free today\u201d says Andrew of Millionaire Teacher<\/a>.<\/p>\nYou don't need to choose a high salaried career to grow wealthy <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

3. Invest more early on<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started in investing in the year 2006 at the age of 22 years old. The capital was a measly $200 back then when I invested in a mutual fund offered by an insurance company which invests in bonds. After a few months, I decided to transfer my investment from bond fund to an equity fund in order to earn a higher income.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I have not pulled it out yet and the value now has more than tripled. If I could only bring back the time, I would have invested a higher amount.\u201d says Tyrone of Millionaire Acts<\/a>.<\/p>\nIf I could only bring back the time, I would have invested a higher amount <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

4. Take the long-term approach<\/h2>\n

\u201cIn my first couple of jobs out of college, my employers didn’t offer workplace retirement plans and I just wasn’t in the game enough to open an IRA. I really regret that. It was only when I went through a financial crisis that I woke up to my need to learn about money in general and investing in specific.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I write about money full-time, I feel much more informed and confident about how to invest. I take a long-term view of investing, accept the fact that there will be downturns from time to time, and am committed to sticking with a strategy I understand and fully believe in.\u201d says Matt Bell of Sound Mind Investing<\/a>.<\/p>\nTake a long-term view of investing & accept that there will be downturns from time to time <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

5. Stay on top of your money<\/h2>\n

\u201cI’ve always saved money around the house, but I suddenly had a very big year as it pertained to my income and my accountant advised me to invest some of it. I went with the guy she recommended because I trusted her. It was great for a long while until one day I realized I hadn’t heard from him in a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurns out he’d left that company, they hadn’t named anyone to replace him, and because it was 2008-2009, my portfolio not only lost all it had gained, but more than half of what I’d started with. What I would do differently is do the scheduling of meetings to stay on top of my portfolio. That was a major lesson learned; stay on top of your money when someone else is managing it.\u201d says Mitch of Top Finance Blog<\/a><\/p>\nStay on top of your money when someone else is managing it <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

6. Listen to your dad<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started investing in my 401k when I got a full time job right out of college. I didn’t want to invest in a retirement account because retirement was 40+ years away! However, my dad convinced me to start investing right away and he was right. Thanks dad!\u201d says Joe of Retire By 40<\/a>.<\/p>\nStart investing right away, even if retirement is 40+ years away! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

7. Own your own property<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got started investing shortly after high school by buying a rental property. My dad was big into real estate<\/a> at the time, and he was more than happy to show me the ropes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was instantly hooked; the appeal of creating money out of simply owning something is about as powerful as it gets. It started a lifelong obsession with the topic, something that\u2019s still going strong 15 years later.\u201d says Nelson of Financial Uproar<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe appeal of creating money out of simply owning something is about as powerful as it gets <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

8. Take more risks<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhen I was in college, one of the courses was about derivatives. The course was all about the fencing role of the derivatives for portfolios and business deals to protect against unwanted trends. But a creative student like me could only see the crazy daily yields.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it then exactly as I know it now — that this was gambling and not investing — yet I was young and wanted to get my bonanza as fast as possible. I had some nice gains and also depressing losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I see it as a mistake? Absolutely not. I was young and gambled only on money I had. Young people can afford themselves taking higher risks as they have more time to fix if things went the wrong way.\u201d says Assaf of Best Rates In<\/a>.<\/p>\nYoung people can afford taking higher risks because they have more time to recover <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

9. Take advantage of free money<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe started investing the way many people do with a company sponsored 401k plan. It was an easy decision to invest that way because it meant ‘free’ money. The only change I would make is that we would have started sooner! \u201c says Kelly of The Centsible Life<\/a>.<\/p>\nA 401k plan is easy to start investing in because it often means free money <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

10. Invest more after debt<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got my start in investing by contributing to my 401k at my first employer. \u00a0If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely contribute more after we paid off our debt! \u00a0I am very thankful that I did contribute what I did to get the 6% match that my employer offered at the time. \u00a0They don’t do that any more!\u201d says Mrs. Money of Ultimate Money Blog.<\/a><\/p>\nPay off debt, then invest more! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

11. Simplify your investments<\/h2>\n

\u201cI bought and sold used cars while completing my bachelor’s degree. I used that income to start funding a Roth IRA at Vanguard. Looking back, I probably should have simplified my investments further and worried less about which ETFs to purchase. VTI, which tracks the entire U.S. stock market, does just fine, and only costs 0.05% annually.\u201d <\/b>says Jacob of Cash Cow Couple<\/a>.<\/p>\nSimplify your investments and worry less about which ETFs to purchase <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

12. Invest to save on taxes<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got my start in investing with tax-saving mutual funds on the behest of my employer who encouraged us to invest as a way to save on taxes. Consequently, I started learning more about various investment vehicles and expanded my investment portfolio to include equity based mutual funds and then into equity investing (public markets).<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, if there is one thing I would change is to have gathered more knowledge and researched more before foraying into stock market<\/a> since the risk exposure is significantly higher than mutual funds\u201d says Ankit of Getting Money Wise<\/a>.<\/p>\nGather knowledge and research before foraying into the stock market <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

13. Try the Roth IRA instead<\/h2>\n

\u201cI began investing before I really knew much about investing – by investing in a company sponsored 401(k) plan through my workplace. The plan was an awful plan, with high fees and poor investment options, but at least it got me thinking about saving for retirement. I just wish I had saved more during those years, and of course, that my company had offered a better plan that didn’t cost nearly as much.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could give my past self some advice it would be to invest more of my 401(k) money in a Roth IRA with low cost index funds, where I could keep the expenses low and the expense ratios minimal.\u201d says Peter of Bible Money Matters<\/a>.<\/p>\nI would invest more 401(k) money in a Roth IRA with low cost index funds <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

14. Invest more early on<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started investing shortly after I started my first post college job. Since I didn’t have enough to meet the fund minimums at Vanguard immediately, I saved money in a savings account until I had $1,000<\/a>, enough to start investing in the STAR fund with Vanguard at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, once I had $3,000 invested, I transferred my investments over to the Target Retirement Date 2050 Vanguard fund which had a $3,000 minimum investment at the time. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is invested more of my paycheck early in my career, but I think everyone says that!\u201d says Lance of Money Manifesto<\/a>.<\/p>\nInvest more of your paycheck early in your career, everyone wishes they did it! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

15. Get rich slowly<\/h2>\n

\u201cMy first investment was as a child. Someone talked my dad into buying options and I invested $500 of my money alongside him. The options expired worthless and I lost it all. Next, after my first few real paychecks, I mistook a financial salesman for an advisor and bought a few loaded mutual funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I realized my mistake, I began my self-taught financial education, ended up primarily invested in index funds, and “got rich slowly.\u201d says Jim of White Coat Investor<\/a>.<\/p>\nLearn from mistakes, get a financial education, invest in index funds, & get rich slowly <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

16. Choose index funds instead of managed funds<\/h2>\n

\u201cI began investing when I was ten. I chose a fund designed specifically for children. About a year later, the SEC filed a civil fraud action against the fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe managers were found guilty of basically stealing kids’ money. And the price tanked with the 9\/11 crash at about the same time. I still invest in the stock market today – I just choose index funds instead of managed funds.\u201d says Will of First Quarter Finance<\/a>.<\/p>\nChoose index funds instead of managed funds <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

17. Educate yourself & invest responsibly<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got my start in investing after I bought my first blue-chip stock, TransCanada. But my investing journey actually began earlier than that. I first had to educate myself on how to invest responsibly, I read books on value investing and spoke to other successful value investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I understood how to purchase quality dividend paying stocks I began my investing journey, a journey I am still on after more than 17 years.\u201d says Kanwal of Simply Investing<\/a>.<\/p>\nStart by educating yourself on how to invest responsibly <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

18. Understand risk management<\/h2>\n

\u201cMy first investment was a complete loss. It was money saved to pay for graduate school, and it literally went to zero. It taught me the critical importance of risk management that ultimately became the centerpiece of my investment discipline to this day.\u201d says Todd of FinancialMentor.com<\/a>.<\/p>\nRisk management is critically important. Its the centerpiece of investment discipline. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

19. Automate your investments<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started investing in my early to mid 20’s<\/a>. I’ve been fortunate to prioritize \u201csaving\/investing\u201d and financial security over ‘things’.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, many decades later, it’s gratifying to see the impact of the compounded wealth. In fact, while working at San Diego State University in the 1980’s and 1990’s I contributed to a TIAA CREF retirement account. After I left that job, I never contributed another dime and since then the account has increased 538%<\/a>. The best way to build wealth with investing is to start today and automate a direct deposit into a retirement account and don’t stop.\u201d Barbara of Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance<\/a>.<\/p>\nStart investing today and automate direct deposits into a retirement account <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

20. Prepare yourself for life after debt<\/h2>\n

\u201cMy first real experience in investing was through a 401(k) several years after graduating from college though I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I had put off investing for several years after college as I was paying off credit card debt. Looking back, I would’ve started right after college as I was missing out on matches for several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so focused on paying off debt that I wasn’t preparing myself for life after that. I would’ve also educated myself so I’d know what I was doing, not to mention more comfortable with investing.\u201d says John of Frugal Rules<\/a>.<\/p>\nTake advantage of 401k matching even while paying down debt <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

21. Stick to an investment schedule<\/h2>\n

“When I first started investing I tended to pick single stocks and try to time the market. If I could do back in time I’d stick to an investment schedule (just investing on a regular basis regardless of the market) and focus on low fee funds instead” says William of Doctor of Credit<\/a>.<\/p>\nInvest on a regular basis regardless of the market <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

22. Keep emotions out of investing<\/h2>\n

\u201cI began investing when I got my first job not long after grad school. \u00a0The internet was still fairly new and online brokerages<\/a> were just beginning to become popular with investors, so I decided to jump in head first and open an IRA account online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve put a lot of that knowledge to good use over the years, and made a lot of mistakes too. \u00a0In hindsight, probably biggest thing I would do differently would be to keep my emotions out of my investing. \u00a0I’m doing a lot better with that these days, but over the years emotional investing has cost me a LOT of money!\u201d says Jason of Celebrating Financial Freedom<\/a>.<\/p>\nKeep your emotions out of investing. Emotional investing can cost you a LOT of money. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

23. Help others while investing<\/h2>\n

\u201cI used to lend money to redditors on r\/Borrow back when I was still in college. I thought it was a fun and easy way for me to earn some cash while helping out people who were in a tight spot financially. I didn’t do it too much, because I understood the risks, but I made a few hundred off of those transactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter graduating from college, I started putting money into my employer’s 401k plan, because they offered to match my contributions up to 3% of my salary. Now I invest in Vanguard’s index funds which has made my investments incredibly easy to manage.\u201d says Anum of Current on Currency<\/a>.<\/p>\nLending on r\/Borrow can earn you cash while helping others, but understand the risks <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

24. Don\u2019t be a money moron<\/h2>\n

\u201cI got started investing by being a money moron. \u00a0I opened an eTrade account and bought and sold tech stocks I knew of, but knew little about: (Yahoo!, Oracle, Cisco, Intel). \u00a0I lost $40,000 when the tech bubble burst.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, I learned about smart, passive investing strategies using low-cost index funds with a well-diversified portfolio and proper asset allocation and I’ve never looked back.\u201d says Scott Alan Turner, host of the Financial Rock Star Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\nDon't be a money moron. Learn about passive investing, low-cost funds, & asset allocation <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

25. Avoid outrageous fees<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started investing through a Roth IRA set up by my insurance agent. I had no idea what I was doing and paid outrageous fees for an actively managed mutual fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter learning a little more, I rolled my IRA into a new Roth account that focuses on indexing, with much lower fees, and that doesn’t have anything to do with my insurance agent.\u201d says Miranda of Planting Money Seeds<\/a>.<\/p>\nDon't start investing through your insurance agent... <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

26. Invest in dividend paying companies<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhat got me interested in investing was the constant flow of dividend cheques that used to arrive in our family’s mailbox (as my father had invested in shares of dividend paying companies<\/a>). This concept of being paid to hold pieces of paper (shares) and to have a regular flow of passive income, without going to work for anybody else \u2013 seemed quite marvelous to me.\u201d says Dev of Stable Investor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/strong>: How to Learn About Stocks<\/a><\/p>\nBeing paid to hold pieces of paper is quite marvelous <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

27. Pay close attention<\/h2>\n

\u201cI started investing when I was in my early 20s. I started my investing journey, albeit blindly all those years ago by putting my hard-earned money into big-bank mutual funds and paying high management expense fees (MERs) in the process. Little did I know how much these fees would kill my portfolio returns over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve learned to pay close attention to where, how and when to invest my hard-earned dollars. Why? The way I see it, nobody cares more about my money than I do. \u00a0You should feel the same about your hard-earned dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m now into my early 40s and my days investing in high-priced mutual fund products are long over\u2026I invest in dividend paying stocks and low-cost Exchange Traded Funds now.\u201d says Mark of My Own Advisor<\/a>.<\/p>\nNobody cares about your money as much as you do <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

Now It’s Your Turn!<\/h2>\n

From our expert answers, its obvious to see that there’s no single best way to start investing and everyone had to start somewhere – even if it meant making mistakes along the way.<\/p>\n

How did you get your start in investing? Would you do anything differently? Tell us in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever wondered how successful investors got their start? We talked to 27 financial experts about how they started investing, what they did exactly, and whether or not they would do anything differently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[53],"yoast_head":"\nBest Way To Start Investing - How 27 Financial Experts Made Their First Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connie Mei\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing\",\"name\":\"Best Way To Start Investing - How 27 Financial Experts Made Their First Investments\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-29T13:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-16T20:03:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/46461273b16663e1492f5cbb6204fc56\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/best-way-to-start-investing#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Investing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"InvestmentZen\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/46461273b16663e1492f5cbb6204fc56\",\"name\":\"Connie Mei\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3ef4780af9cfa7ff3cf0291234b0ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e3ef4780af9cfa7ff3cf0291234b0ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connie Mei\"},\"description\":\"Connie blogs about personal finance and her journey to financial independence as a 20-something over at Savvy With Saving. 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