“I’m just getting started and I have 30 years (or more) to invest. What is your most profitable recommendation for me? And make it free because that’s all I can afford.”
Well, first off, congratulations for even thinking about this kind of stuff this early. How early you start investing is one of the highest markers for investing success and future wealth. If this is you, then you don’t need us. Actually, in my opinion, you don’t need a financial advisor at all (yet).
So, here is exactly what I would be telling you if we were sitting knee-to-knee in my office:
Invest Aggressively and Keep Doing It. Regardless.
This advice comes with a couple of caveats: you have to have the cajones to follow the plan, the commitment to stick with it, and the willingness combined with the ability to keep adding money to your portfolio on a consistent calendar schedule (not an emotional schedule1).
You need to develop a habit of adding to your investments every month. Even if it’s only $5… the amount is not as crucial as the HABIT! Contribute what you can easily manage, plus a little more.
Here are a couple of facts… historically, there have been investing periods where the stock market has lost 83.4% of its value, and you would have been underwater for about 185 months! That’s over 15 years of looking at some pretty dismal monthly statements!
But if you’re young and have the time, even this supposed ‘catastrophe’ won’t stop your long-term success.
Despite my conviction about this, the government wants me to tell you that “this is not one-size-fits-all investment advice” and past performance is no guarantee of future success. If you have any doubts about this approach, or you can’t handle volatility, or you can’t keep your hands off of your portfolio… think twice about investing this way.
Not everyone has successful do-it-yourself investing genes.
I am providing you with my honest opinion, which should not be considered advice (mostly because I have no idea who you are or what you’re about), and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only.
Do your due diligence and don’t just take my word for it. You can easily verify my advice via Chat-GiPpiTy or a simple web search, if you so choose. I would recommend it.
- An “emotional” schedule means that you override your calendar schedule for emotional reasons, like “The market’s too volatile”, or “I think it’s overpriced”… or some other such nonsense. Recognize it as emotional decision-making and then do the hard thing. ↩︎