Start Investing as a Teenager
Advice I wish I got when I was younger
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As I am entering my twenties, I realized that I need to be smarter about how I am using my money so that I am better prepared and set for the future in case anything were to happen. So, I took the initiative to start learning about the stock market, investing, brokerage accounts, different methods of investing and how it all works and this was easily one of the best things I have done and spent my time doing this summer.
Only, I wish I had learned about it around five years ago.
The other day, I came across a post on how Bitcoin had grown from $500 in 2015 to where it is today, almost valued at nearly $50,000, and I immediately started thinking I wish I had the money for that five years ago and bought a Bitcoin or two. But, as I was thinking back, I realized that I did have some money to start investing.
It was just before I turned 15 that I got my very first job at a grocery store and started earning money. And as a typical teenager, I used that money to buy games, food, and useless stuff, without really saving a dime. I was having fun, but now, 20 year-old me regrets it and sees it differently.
At that age, all my expenses were covered by my parents. So, I didn’t need a job, I just wanted the extra cash to buy useless things. If I knew about investing, how it works and how much money I could have made (with long-term investing), I would have jumped on the opportunity. Admittedly, my parents told me about investing and, being a typical teenager, I was thinking that I don’t need to start investing now or ever because somehow I’ll always have money coming in. Boy, was I wrong.
Now, I didn’t need to put my entire paycheque into a brokerage account, but it would have been nice to keep 25% of it away, and used the rest of the money to go out, have fun and buy stupid things.
Now I am not saying that I would have made tens of thousands of dollars, nor do I want to give any impression to any teenagers who may be reading this that’ll you’ll be rich entering University/College, but it would have been really nice to know that the money is there, that I wasmaking money, even when I was not working and, in case of an emergency, I can always get some cash if needed. As long as you invest right and depending on how much you want to put in, odds are that you would have made some kind of a profit.
While I am no financial expert, I encourage and urge teenagers to start learning about investing, the stock market and finding out what are their options. This isn’t a topic that is taught in school unfortunately so reach out to parents, guardians and people who work at your bank to learn about it, what are your options and what works best for you. The younger you start investing, the more secure and happier (from a financial standpoint) you’ll be in the future. Its one less thing to worry about, and honestly, one really good thing to be proud about.
