5 Basic Steps to Investing – Step 5

Investing! This is consistently given as one of the most confusing topics individuals face. In this series, I wanted to share some basic investing fundamentals. My goal is to help you understand this topic better and walk away with practical steps.

STEP ONE  Evaluate & Diversify 

STEP TWO  Automate Your Investments 

STEP THREE  Get the Free Money

STEP FOUR  Unleash the Power of Compound Interest

STEP FIVE  Continue to Learn about Practical Investing Opportunities
There are so many different types of investment opportunities, so I’ve broken down a few of them.

Stocks – When you own stock in a company, you technically become a part owner of that company. You have some claim to the assets and earnings of the company. Stocks are foundational to most investment portfolios. They are known to be very volatile in the short term but have historically outperformed other investments in the long run. 

Mark Twain has famously said this about investing in stocks: “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.”

There are two major types of stocks:

  • Common Stock: Common stock allows the holder to vote in the shareholder meetings (depending on the amount of stock owned) and provides access to dividends or profit sharing produced by the company.
  • Preferred Stock: Preferred stock holders have priority over common stock holders. This applies in many areas including when dividends are being paid to shareholders.

Bonds – A bond is a large debt owed by a company, government, or even a school, where the borrowing institution has agreed to repay an established amount of interest payments for a set period of time. When this time expires, the borrower then returns all of the principal back to the lender(s). Bonds can vary in maturity times anywhere from 1 year to 30 years. I like to think of my personal residence as a bond investment. A bond is generally less risky.

Mutual Funds & Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) – Mutual funds and ETFs let you accumulate a wide variety of investments that couldn’t normally obtain without consuming large amounts of time and money. Mutual funds and ETFs are funded “mutually” by you, me and millions of our closest friends. Our money is pooled together and then used by the “mutual fund managers” to invest in hundreds of other company stocks, bonds, and other sorts of investments. Usually, mutual funds and ETFs have specific charters that direct their investments. Our mutual fund might only focus on established companies in the USA while another could focus on investing in up-and-coming companies in third world countries.

Other Investing Opportunities – People so often hold themselves to these common types of investing and never branch out. Investing opportunities are all around you! You can invest in a small home and rent it out. You could invest in small businesses in your community. When you are investing, you can think outside the box. Some of the greatest returns can be found when investing in unorthodox ventures.

Next Steps
– Review your investments and know what you are invested in
– Start to think OUTSIDE of the stock market when you’re investing
– Start investing!
– Recommended Resource ==> OXEN: The Key to an Abundant Harvest – Learn how to maximize your money through investing

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