I Want to Learn The Stock Market at 20
I always wanted to have a savings as early as now. While I am still young, I know I can produce a lot of more good results. Money is really valuable when it comes to financial stability and wasting a money is not what I am into. I have heard about the stock investments but upon hearing the name investment, I am not comfortable because I don't know if what will happen to my money. I have realized that I shouldn't just rely all of my assets into the crypto world because as we know, it is very volatile. Anytime you could be rich but also anytime you could lose more than what you have.
I have read that stock investment is a long term investment. They can allow you to grow your investments either by buying the stocks low and selling it high but as for me, I don't want to do that. I want to invest and earn from dividends. Based on what I have read, when you buy a stock you also become a shareholder of the company and you get a percentage of the company's profit still depending on how much stocks you bought. The good thing that I love about it is when you invest as early from now, you can have higher yields. That is why stocks is a long term investment because it offers higher earnings as the time passes by.
Before, only the rich can invest in the stock markets with worth of 1 million pesos or $20,000 but today I have found that even you are a 17 years old, you can already invest in the stock market for as low as 1000 pesos or $20. They said in the stock market, it's not a quick earn where you expect after investing you will earn a lot of profits. The longer the time you invest, the more opportunities you can profit.
I have asked about stock market in noise.cash hoping that I will understand it better and this comment of @Porwest have motivated me to try this opportunity that I have never heard about in my whole life.
Some users from noise.cash also told me that I should invest in the index funds. They said in the index fund, you don't only invest in one particular company because it is wide range and you are less likely to lose profits. I still don't understand everything about it but I am willing to invest my time researching and understanding it until I am ready to commit into this. It is making me a little nervous but I know this will help me in the future.
I have utilized the YouTube videos and I found this Filipino channel of Chink Positive very informative. He even made a video for teenagers on how to invest for the first time by only 1000 pesos or $20 and he said investing at a young age will make you secure at the 40s.
Meanwhile I found her content very informative. At her young age, she already know how the stock market works and I think this is the kind of influence that the youth should have nowadays. She is an inspiration for me to enter the world of stock market and the young generations should follow her.
He is an OFW or Overseas Filipino Worker who shares knowledge about different investment strategies and this is not only for OFWs but also for everyone who wants to learn investing. His content are very accurate and you can learn a lot from his savings journey.
In holding a crypto asset I have realized that I shouldn't just rely to this. I have realized that I should learn how to divide it. I shouldn't focus in one place only. I have realized that I should have a fiat investment at the same point crypto investment so that when the crypto fails or totally sinks and the huge asset that I have will totally submerge like a shipwreck at least when I divide it into the stock market, it won't be a very painful lose because I have another alternative.
January 30, 2022
The stock market is a very good thing to learn about and invest your money in. Granted, I come at this with a Western world perspective where businesses operate differently and so do the stock markets. I don't know much about the Philippine markets, for example. And I am not sure, in the Philippines, how much or what access you may have to say, the U.S. markets.
In the U.S. we can't necessarily invest in foreign exchanges, but at the same time many companies that operate outside of the United States are still listed on exchanges through what we call American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).
There may be something similar in the Philippine markets that would allow you to be able to invest in iconic American companies like Boeing, Coca-Cola, Walmart, McDonald's and others. But that would have to be something you would have to research to know more about.
But therein lies a message. "Research."
Stock markets can be risky. BUT, the risk is mostly a product of one's understanding of how markets work, how well one can do their due diligence to understand the companies they are investing in, read balance sheets, and know the ins-and-outs of researching a company's financial health to determine if it fits within your investment objectives and strategy, and as an overall position in your portfolio.
As for index funds, which are directly tied to the stock market, I still believe this is absolutely the best, and least risky way to get started. For one, you get a basket of companies instead of being tied to single stocks which have considerably more risk to the investor if something goes wrong.
Here, the BEST index fund to get started in is one that tracks the S&P 500. But I don't know what equivalent the Philippines would offer, or if it is possible to invest in such a fund that tracks the S&P 500 there.
The best advice I can offer is to simply read as much as you can on the topic. Books abound. Not only about the stock market, but one should also become intimately knowledgeable as well about economics and especially should understand fundamental basic business principles.
It is a lot of information to seek out and digest. But it's all worth its weight in gold. The more you know, the more you grow as the old saying goes.
At the same there is no greater risk to your investments than blind faith and lack of information.
I hope you are able to find all that you are looking for to get you on the right track, as I am sure you will, and think if you do, your financial future will be more than bright. It will be stellar.