5 tips to get confident about investing

There’s so much knowledge out there that we are lacking in, from understanding the types of insurance to take up for protection, to understanding how our Singapore CPF works, to learning how to invest our money and so on.

Take a look at investments, for instance. “New types of instruments such as cryptocurrency are gaining popularity faster than the traditional stocks. But before getting overly excited and investing in these instruments, have a good understanding of them. Never throw your money into something you are unfamiliar with,” says Hazelle.

Wondering which stocks to invest in? You probably have some good amount of knowledge gap to fill up. Start reading up and learn the criteria to identify the quality companies to invest in.

Knowledge is the key towards achieving confidence in money management. Clear your doubts, and you will realise that managing your money isn’t as scary as it seems.

If you’ve been learning and devising a game plan for money management, it may be time to start executing the plan. After all, you’ll get to learn many useful lessons through actual execution of your plans.

“Confidence is built when you have skin in the game,” says Hazelle. “For example, investing using your real money in the actual trading account gives a totally different experience from using the paper money in a paper trading account. You will be more emotionally affected by the fluctuations in the actual portfolio when you are dealing with your hard-earned money!”

So, while it’s great to have a thorough plan in your head, over-planning and delaying the actual execution is not. A plan will remain a plan, without action.

The environment we are in and the people we are exposed to shape our current beliefs about money. Keep an open mind, and you can possibly gain new insights from others who hold different perspectives. Don’t be too quick to jump to conclusions and reject the opinions of others, just because they seem different from your original beliefs, Hazelle advises.

She shares: “Since young, the elders in my family have been inculcating the mindset of investing our money in the ‘safer’ investments such as fixed deposits and endowment plans. Some of these investments do not even give a return that beats the inflation rate, which causes the value of our money to depreciate. If I had held on to these money beliefs that I grew up with, I wouldn’t be able to achieve the portfolio returns for The Joyful Investors.”

The moral of the story? Don’t say no to something just because it seems foreign to you at first.

Fact: Everyone makes mistakes. The key to success is learning from your mistakes.

For instance, if you have been incurring extra charges due to late credit card payments, start acting on it. Set a recurring reminder on your phone or have a post-it note permanently stuck to your desk to remind yourself to pay the bills on time.

Or if you had lost money in your previous investments, find out what went wrong. Was it because you bought the investments without understanding what you invested in? Did you pay too high a price for the investment? Did you invest in what seemed to be popular without due research?

Learn to identify and face up to your mistakes, and you’ll be ready to progress and move on.

From time to time, you may be exposed to new investment types or investments that seem popular among the crowd. It may be tempting to dip your toes in these investments, but you should avoid doing so if they are not within your circle of competence. After all, your competence gives you confidence.

Another good reason to avoid seemingly popular investments? “There is a good chance you are paying a high price for those investments by following the collective voice of the herd. The hype and immense buying pressure are pushing up the prices you pay,” says Hazelle.

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