When you have graduated and just started working, you need to start planning for your financial future. Many people have the mistaken perception that so long as they are earning a high salary, their financial well-being will be taken care of. It is only when the economy downturn happens and they got laid off, they realize that they cannot leave their future in the hands of their bosses. The same goes for those working part-time to supplement their full-time pay which ultimately their pay is still not enough for long-term basis.
That brings me to the topic of investing. Although it may seem risky to many who knows little or nothing about investment, it is not really difficult at all if you know how or put a part of money with the right advisor or broker with a proven record.
Suppose you are earning $3000-4000 monthly, what will you do with the money? Apart from paying bills, you can travel, buy a new iphone or Playstation 3, get a new laptop or buy your girlfriend an expensive dinner. Or you can invest your money to generate more money.
The earlier you start investing, the sooner you can generate cash regularly for a long run with or without your job. You do not have to start with thousands of dollars. Just a few hundred dollars will do. The little sum you invested now could reap huge rewards say 5, 10 or even 20 years down the line. Good financial planning starts with a clear vision of your financial goals at the start.
In order not to lose money, you need to understand the basic fundamentals of investment tools. Even though your financial advisor or broker asks you to leave everything with him, it is safer to do appropriate research online as to what you intend to invest before putting in your money. If you have a friend who already trades in what you want to invest, you can get his advice based on his experience.
Once you have the basic knowledge of bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit trusts and other investment tools, you will be more ready to invest without having to follow your financial advisor or broker blindly. You can ask him questions which even he may be surprised.
If he can reply them and enlighten you further, you can go ahead and put your trust in him with your money to invest. Otherwise, you have to find someone else more knowledgeable. Or better still, you can rely on your knowledge and instincts to build your investment portfolio without having to rely on anyone else.
Smart investors usually do their homework about studying what they intended through news, media, online and TV. Once they are certain this is what they want since what they invest works for most people, they will go for a kill. Otherwise they will just wait for an appropriate moment. But even after investing, they still do their home work from time to time so that even when they lose money, they are able to recoup their losses quickly
