You NEED to invest in the stock market. If you haven’t started, start now.

If I knew then the things I know now, I would have started at 18 and life would have been very different. My son turns 18 in a month and I’ll be forcing him to set aside a percentage of his earnings. Parents, make your kids do this. They will be so grateful, 20 years later 🙂

Investing doesn’t have to be hard. It can be as simple as putting money into your 401k. There are tons of stocks and bonds up for grabs. If you’re new to investing, I really, really recommend that you take the time to learn it.

1. Start saving as early as possible. Compounding your money is the easiest thing you can do. It’s the golden egg to becoming wealthy. A lot of people don’t know this. Including myself for the longest time and I worked at a bank for many years. That’s what happens when you’re too busy trading time for money instead of thinking outside the norm.

2. Take full advantage of a company match, when available. Hello, it’s free money.

3. Don’t invest too conservatively for your age. If you’re young, you have more room to play with when it comes to the stock market. Less risk means less return.

I’m 36 and my Vanguard account is set up basically like this. My risk tolerance is moderate. I’m also a long-term investor. I don’t buy and sell stocks daily.

If you need a starting point, look up Tony Robbins. Unshakable is a great book. Actually, all his books are pretty great. If you don’t like to read much, he’s all over YouTube. I trust him and follow a lot of his advice.

Currently, I invest 7% in my company 401K. 89% goes into the S&P 500 and 11% into bonds. I’m supposedly a little too aggressive according to my portfolio analysis. But I think I’m still young enough and I’m willing to risk a little more. Remember there is no guarantee that the market won’t drop. YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR RISK TOLERANCE AND WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE BEFORE YOU INVEST. Regardless, cash will not give you the same return even when the market is at a low. My savings account is at 1.35 while my stocks are at (as of this morning) 5.43 ROI. Let’s say the markets take a big dip. My savings will go to 0.05 and my stocks will be at 1.35. That’s just an example. I can’t give you definite numbers. The Warren Buffets of the world will tell you this, you need to become an investor if you hope to one day become truly financially free. It’s not instant money. That’s why I hesitated for so long. Putting a hundred away when things are already tight is hard. If the government puts a 10% tax on you, you would pay it. You would have to make it work. Put a tax on yourself. Thank you, Tony.

Your future self will thank you for it. Wealth builds over time so you should start investing now. Even a small amount.

We want to live in the present but we still also plan on living a full life. I hope to live to at least 70 “) We could die tomorrow. But we also could not. Live a good life now. And live a good life later too.