Welcome
First off, I want to say congratulations. Simply being here tells me that you’re interested enough in your financial future to actually do something about it, and that’s awesome. You’re probably here for a number of different reasons:
You heard that the average american only has about $150,000 at the age of retirement and you want to actually be able to retire when the time comes.
You have heard how investing can lead to an early retirement and that peaks your interest.
Or maybe you simply want to be Financially free. Not having to rely on a job or the government to be able to live your ideal life.
Whatever your personal reason, Investing is a great idea. But it takes effort. The question is, are you willing to put in the effort to achieve your goal?
If you answered Yes to that question then you’re in the right place. We’re going to learn not only how to Properly invest, but we’ll learn what method works best for you.
You’re Just Starting Out
I know that if you’re just starting out, investing can seem like something that is out of your reach. It feels daunting. Overwhelming even. I know, I’ve been there. If you've ever been in an investing conversation with absolutely zero prior knowledge, you'll know what i'm talking about. It's like they're speaking a completely different language. Using acronyms that they seem to have just made up on the spot. The conversation goes something like this:
"Sorry, What’s a PE ratio? Does it have to do with drinking too much water?"
"Did you say ETF? (WTF!?) no, I don't think I have that... is it contagious?"
“What? the market was full of Bears? Really!? I never saw that on the news...”
I’ve been there before too. We all have. Even Warren Buffett (famous Investor) started where you are today. After all, everyone starts at the beginning, we have no other choice. The choice you do have is how far you take it. The most important decision that you’ll make is to actually learn to better understand what investing is, and the type of investing that fits YOU best.
You will always have people giving you advice on exactly what to invest in, and they think they are helping... But, most of the time, they really aren’t. After all, most don’t really know what they are talking about. If they did, they wouldn’t be giving you stock tips. If they do, then they may have an ulterior motive. It’s certainly not how true NLI’s operate.
This is why you need to learn how to do this on your own. Sure, It will take some time to first understand exactly what investing is, and then, the type of investor you are going to be. Actually, it can be a lot of fun! Especially if you find the right teachers and friends to help you along the way.
Here’s the craziest part
The majority of the people you talk to about investing really don't actually know what they're talking about. Sure, they've learned to speak the language, but they haven’t really understood how to properly use it. They only took their knowledge to a certain (and frankly dangerous) point, and now they see the price of the stock as the be-all end-all of their investment universe (or they are paying waaaay to much to have someone else manage their money...).
They say things like "Why’d I buy this stock?, Oh, because it was cheap, it's only $7!"
“What? Autozone stock? No, that's way too expensive. Didn't you see it's share price? It’s more than $550!”.
They still haven’t figured out that they’re not just buying the stock. What they’re really buyings is a share of the underlying business. This is what the stock price represents. Most importantly, the price of the stock, doesn’t always equal the actual Value. But don’t worry, we’ll get to that. First, let’s just define what investing is, and how you can get started.
What is Investing?
This is a good question right? And most people will have their own answer to this one, or they just haven’t thought about it.
Here’s the broad definition:
Investing is committing money to an endeavour (Stock Market, Business, real estate, etc.) with an expectation that this money will increase over time.
Sounds simple enough right!? The issue is, the majority of people are not really ‘Investing’ when they say they are. They throw the term around all the time (Willy Nilly?), but from what I’ve seen, they aren’t really ‘Investing’; at best they’re speculating, and sadly, most are actually gambling. They don’t set themselves up to win, and have no defined advantage before they buy some shares in a business. If they have success, it’s more likely due to luck than their methodology, and eventually, this will catch up and bite them hard in the butt.
We don’t want to be like them, we personally like our butts, and don’t need a big chunk taken out of them. But in all seriousness, we worked hard to earn this money. It’s important we don’t lose it. This leads into what I believe investing truly is:
Investing is: putting your hard earned money to work for you, in something that you are almost certain will be worth more in the future.
Investing is: Learning how the best investors in the world invest their money, and learning everything you can, to invest the same way.
Investing is: Being patient enough to let the businesses you love go on sale so that you can buy them at a deeply discounted price.
You can accomplish this by only ever investing in something you understand extremely well. The other half of the equation is to properly set yourself up to have the highest possible probability of success, while at the same time, having the lowest probability of a loss. (This is where the value of the business comes in).
Here’s What it’s not…
Investing is Not: Listening to an investment ‘tip’ from friends, colleagues, or strangers.
Investing is Not: Watching CNBC and Listening to the Host of Mad Money, and following what he says.
Investing is Not: Getting caught up in the buzz around a certain stock that everyone (and their dog) is trying to buy (Think Tesla right now, or Internet stocks back in 2000).
If this is how you currently invest, don’t fret. You’re about to come into the light. Warren Buffett, a billionaire known as one of the greatest investors of all time, only has two rules. They are:
Rule #1: Don’t lose money
Rule #2: Don’t forget Rule #1.
This should also be our Rule when we are making any sort of investment. We need to be as certain as we can be that we won’t lose money. Following someone else’s advice can’t achieve that.
Change your focus
What we need to do is change how we view our investments. Most people focus on how much money they can make, but if you instead focus on how much money you can lose, you’re much more likely to make smart, less ego driven investments. Here’s the best part: If you focus on protecting your downside, the upside takes care of itself!
I’m probably getting ahead of myself again, but I want you to have the right mindset from the start. Investing isn’t about getting rich quickly, it’s more like getting rich slowly. And to do that, you need to make sure you’re not losing money.
My goal for you
As you probably already noticed, this Website is called ‘Next Level Investing’ (NLI for short). You’re currently at one of the most exciting points in your investment career; The First Level. This is where you learn all the investing basics. You’ll see your knowledge skyrocket from where it is today, and you’ll learn all the investing fundamentals. This will take you above the majority of people who call themselves investors, and soon you’ll be able to see the difference.
My main goal is to bring you from the first level all the way up to that proverbial ‘Next Level’. I’ll teach you everything I know, and everything I learned from my mentor.
If you’re brand new to investing then that’s perfect, it means you’re a blank slate. You have no bad habits, which means you can instill all the good investing habits, while also learning how you can protect yourself from the bad ones. I’ll also be sharing all my investment mistakes with you (And I’ve made a few) so that you won’t make the same ones.
I can’t do it on my own though. Most of the work will have to happen on your end. As long as you define your goal, write it down, and keep coming back to it, you’ll be motivated to become a true Next Level Investor. It won’t be easy, but nothing that is truly worth it, ever is.
So where can I start?
The first investment you should make, is in yourself. You need to build your knowledge about investing, and that starts with investing in your education. There are numerous ways to go about doing so. The way many people do this is through my first recommendation
Number One: Books. great books and blogs that will help get you started (Including this one…). I’ll add some of my favorites in the ‘Books’ section written below. You can (And should) buy some investment books on amazon. You can do this through their Audiobook service or if you have a kindle, or you can just buy the physical copy of the book. A $10 upfront purchase is well worth the investment, especially when you consider the future value of that knowledge.
Here’s the book I started with, I still think it’s a great place to start:
Number Two: Blogs. There are tons of great blogs out there to help you learn and grow. Investopedia is a great place to start. But you should also keep coming back here! I’ll continually post new lessons and investment ideas through my blog, so check back every wednesday (that’s usually when I post something new).
Number Three: Newsletter You should sign-up to my newsletter! (yup, I have a newsletter!) I’ll send you exclusive weekly investment Lessons (Every Monday). As you can probably tell, I don’t have any ad’s on my site. I respect your time, and I personally find ad’s distracting. My newsletter is the same way. No ads. No spam. Ever. Just me, sending you new investing lessons each week. Oh, and you also get my Free Investing Checklist when you sign-up. Here you go:
Homework:
Your homework for this week is to read this book:
Rule One Investing: By Phil Town
The way I get through most of my books is through Audible. You can find that here:
Or if you really want to save your money, your local library will likely have a copy for you. Whatever way you like to consume content is best. Just make sure you get it done!
That’s all for today,
We’ll talk again next week.
~Ryan Chudyk~
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