5 Tips To Start Investing (for your Kids or Yourself)
I get the question a lot, “How Do I Start Investing” or “Where Do I Start?” or “How Much Do I Invest?” Those are all questions I had before I started investing! I was/am a stay at home mom! I’ve stayed at home for the last 15 plus years, and we have always lived on one income our entire marriage. Any extra money I made from side hustling, books, ebooks, apps, all the things were bonuses and always have been!
So I want you to understand that I’m not some expert nor do I have a huge financial or fancy degree in finances! I’m Shelly, a homeschool mom of 4, who after homeschooling for 10 plus years and not finding a ton of resources around finances for kids, I created my own! I got certified as a Financial and Personal Development Coach because I was tired of other people struggling (me included years ago), with finances, and I had all the lived experiences and failures to help guide someone out of financial despair! Even if it was just one person! So I made it my mission to help others (kids are my jam because I’ve taught for the last 10 plus years) who did not know about money growing up or didn’t know where to start! I came from humble beginnings. A single mom of three who sacrificed her whole life for us! But I grew up not knowing anything about wealth, finances, or investing! After years of studying, taking courses, and reading all the books, I decided I probably am not the only one who knew nothing about money! So here we are! 10 plus years later, and I’ve created finance curriculums for kids, two finance apps, workbooks, finance flash cards, books on investing, and all the things because even if I just help one person, that’s enough for me! So now that my backstory is out of the way! Let’s chat because you want to know how to start investing for your kids or yourself! So here are my tips!
Decide what your investing goals are! Why do you want to invest? What are your long-term and short-term goals?
Do you have at least $1000 emergency fund saved? I highly recommend making sure you have your emergency fund saved prior to investing because emergencies are going to happen so you want to be prepared for them!
Choose an Investing App that you can easily follow. I have a ton of resources and the apps that I love in my new book “How to Start Investing as a Kid or a Teen,” but even adults have been buying that book! You can find it in the shop or on Amazon and Amazon Kindle! I discuss all the apps that we use and love!
Open a brokerage account in that app and link your bank account! Set up all of your account details! Even if you’re doing this for your child, you will be the custodial parent overseeing their investments until they are of age! Each state has different rules around custodial accounts, so look up your rules in your state if you are setting up accounts for your child/children!
Decide how much you want to invest each week or month, and set up recurring investments into an index fund and/or Roth IRA depending on your finance goals! Now each investing app is different, but the apps we use, there isn’t a minimum amount you can invest. So if my kids want to invest $5 into their brokerage account, they can! But some investment apps have minimum amounts! But find an investment app where you can invest little amounts each week or each month until you have more room in your budget to invest more! Set up recurring investments so you can “NOT THINK ABOUT IT!” I love recurring investments for myself and Kids! I set up recurring investments for my kids and for us, but also I allow the kids to decide how much they want to invest of the money they earn and get for birthdays! I allow them to practice investing on their own by opening the app, and allowing them to practice buying stocks and investing into index funds which I talk about in my book!
If you have more questions, feel free to message me here or at hello@kidsfinancecamp.com. I’d love to hear from you!
Also, because I get this question a lot, I’m thinking about creating a quick mini course around investing! I have a whole investing curriculum and books for kids on investing, but it may be helpful for adults if I have an intro to investing mini course! What do you think?
Until next time friend!
