Welcome to my finance basics website!
I created it to explain the basics of financial investing and financial literacy in an easy-to-understand way. To me, it seems like a huge flaw in our current educational system that most kids are finishing high school and university with little idea of how a credit card works or what a Mutual Fund or a Bond is. This is important life stuff that we should all know, at least at the basic level!
I put all of the topics in order of what I think is from simple to more complex investing tools, and I include my personal experiences and tips as well as recommend a bunch of websites and books that I consider extremely useful.
Getting started investing is the hardest part as it can be very intimidating and overwhelming, but with a little time and effort
it’s actually quite straight forward. You don’t need to have a huge bank account to get started either.
I try to post some relevant (or maybe not so relevant) blog posts every week on my home page www.bradyfaught.com. And feel free to email me with any questions or ideas.
I put all of the topics in order of what I think is from simple to more complex investing tools, and I include my personal experiences and tips as well as recommend a bunch of websites and books that I consider extremely useful.
Getting started investing is the hardest part as it can be very intimidating and overwhelming, but with a little time and effort
it’s actually quite straight forward. You don’t need to have a huge bank account to get started either.
I try to post some relevant (or maybe not so relevant) blog posts every week on my home page www.bradyfaught.com. And feel free to email me with any questions or ideas.
INVESTING 101
'I'm young and I want to start investing my money. How do I get started?"
"I want to make good financial choices, and be ready for those big purchases ahead in my life, like a house or a trip"
"I don't want it just sitting in my savings account making 1% interest, I want it working for me!'
These are the questions I asked myself several years ago. I figured since I’m young and I don’t have a family or mortgage, I can take some risks and experiment with different investment tools and see what really works for me. Even if I lose a little money, I believe the lessons learned and education I’ll receive will be extremely useful later in life.
When I was getting started, I found it hard to find easy-to-understand, basic lessons on investing. Most of the information seemed to be targeted towards the older crowd who are nearing retirement. They use a lot of big fancy financial words and technical jargon that was intimidating and tricky to understand. So I’ve tried my best to sift through all this stuff, take all the useful information and lay it out for you in some simple steps and advice.
Investors are definitely not limited by choice when it comes to different investing tools. The main difference between all these tools is the different amounts of risk. So before deciding to invest, you’ll have to decide if you consider yourself a risky or conservative investor. In general, the higher risk you take in your investments, the greater the potential reward. And likewise if you take very little risk you might get less in return. My handy chart above summarizes this. If you don't know what some of the terms in the chart mean, don't worry that's exactly the stuff we're going to talk about!
"I want to make good financial choices, and be ready for those big purchases ahead in my life, like a house or a trip"
"I don't want it just sitting in my savings account making 1% interest, I want it working for me!'
These are the questions I asked myself several years ago. I figured since I’m young and I don’t have a family or mortgage, I can take some risks and experiment with different investment tools and see what really works for me. Even if I lose a little money, I believe the lessons learned and education I’ll receive will be extremely useful later in life.
When I was getting started, I found it hard to find easy-to-understand, basic lessons on investing. Most of the information seemed to be targeted towards the older crowd who are nearing retirement. They use a lot of big fancy financial words and technical jargon that was intimidating and tricky to understand. So I’ve tried my best to sift through all this stuff, take all the useful information and lay it out for you in some simple steps and advice.
Investors are definitely not limited by choice when it comes to different investing tools. The main difference between all these tools is the different amounts of risk. So before deciding to invest, you’ll have to decide if you consider yourself a risky or conservative investor. In general, the higher risk you take in your investments, the greater the potential reward. And likewise if you take very little risk you might get less in return. My handy chart above summarizes this. If you don't know what some of the terms in the chart mean, don't worry that's exactly the stuff we're going to talk about!
This website is broken up in to four main themes:
1. Saving, Spending and Debt - important to start here before diving in to investing. Discuss budgeting, credit cards and saving strategies 2. Fixed Income Investments– the really low-risk stuff for both conservative investors and those going into retirement and depend on a guaranteed stream of income. Terms: Bonds, GIC’s, Money Market 3. Mutual Funds and ETF’s– two useful investment tools that allow you to buy a wide selection of different stocks and bonds 4. The Stock Market - discuss what a stock is, the risks involved, how to choose a good one and how to actually buy and sell them No one can predict the future, so I believe that you have just as good of chance of success at investing as those well-dressed guys with MBA’s who throw around fancy financial words at cocktail parties. All it takes is some basic knowledge and the commitment to make smart, informed decisions. Go to the "Saving" tab under "Investing 101" to get started! |