Should you invest in volatile markets?
When the coronavirus caused a stock market crash, many investors panicked. Others saw the decline as a buying opportunity. So what if you want to invest but don’t want to live on an emotional roller coaster? How to invest in volatile markets. Plus, Get our Super Simple Investing Guide here.
Hear Stephanie and Gillian’s tips for investing in volatile markets:
How to invest in a volatile market
Stephanie and Gillian are the Canadian expat couple behind it Our years of freedoma blog that follows her journey to financial independence and early retirement. Experts in DIY investing, they gave up their corporate careers in October 2019 to pursue a life of slow travel. Stephanie and Gillian also share their adventures (and money advice) on the Our Freedom Years YouTube channel.
In this episode of Queer Money®Stephanie and Gillian join us to explain what inspired them to pursue early retirement and the role investing played in achieving financial independence. They discuss the creative ways they’ve saved money (without feeling deprived) and walk us through their four investing principles. Listen in for insights into developing a strategy that takes the emotion out of investing and learn how you can start your own journey to financial freedom!
Topics covered about investing in volatile markets
Which inspired Stephanie and Gillian to take early retirement
“Created” by society’s standards, but still not fulfilled
See examples of how others lead interesting lives
The role that investments played enabled Stephanie and Gillian to retire early
I was already saving for retirement, but FIRE led to more discipline
Tracking expenses resulted in more savings and an accelerated investment process
Stephanie and Gillian’s advice on saving without feeling deprived
Replace expensive evenings with alternatives (e.g. dinner party)
Conduct month-long experiments to find out what really matters to you
Stephanie and Gillian’s four investment principles
DIY investors who are responsible for their own financial literacy
Buy and hold approach
Regular contributions (buy shares every month)
Diversify by investing in tiny parts of the global market
Get our 10 steps for super easy investing:
Then download our Super-Simple Investing Guide here.
The two types of investments in Stephanie and Gillian’s portfolio
- Stocks (limited to a low-cost index fund)
- Fixed-interest investments in syndicated mortgages
Stephanie and Gillian’s advice for taking the first steps towards financial independence
- Start investing education with JL Collins’ Stock Series
- The best first step to managing money: tracking expenses
Connect with Stephanie and Gillian
Don’t even look at the market because that just makes it difficult. It’s about contributing regularly, knowing that the market will rise over time. – Gillian of our freedom yearsClick to tweet
Resources for investing in volatile markets
blossom
Get investing help from Blooom. Your investment options in company-sponsored retirement plans are often limited, but even then, it can be difficult to select and manage the investments that are right for you because there are so many things to consider.
Don’t worry about it! Let Blooom take care of it – you just supervise.
Let Blooom do a 401(k), 403(b), or other company-sponsored retirement plan analysis for you, then do the research and give you truly unbiased advice on building a portfolio that meets your short- and long-term retirement goals best suited based on the investments available to you in your employer plan.
Get yours FREE Click here for Bloom analysis.
If you have a traditional or Roth IRA with Vanguard, Fidelity, or Charles Schwab, it can also help you manage those accounts.
If you are concerned about the current market volatility and its impact on your 401(k) and 403(b), Blooom provides you with three special O’s to help you with your investing during these turbulent times you can see that here.
M1 Finance
If you’re a self-employed, independent investor, open an account with M1 Finance – it’s free for retirement accounts with a minimum amount of $500 to access by clicking Here.
M1 Finance is an incredibly flexible investment automation platform and is ideal for people comfortable managing pre-built and customized exchange trade fund (ETF)-based portfolios (see below), although they also have pre-built portfolios from Wall Street experts and Robo-advised models can model.
• Trading is free
• There are no asset management (AUM) fees
• There are no account fees (for brokerage accounts with a minimum balance of $100 and retirement accounts with a minimum balance of $500).
M1 Finance also enables socially responsible investing, which is highly beneficial for the queer community.
Start investing with M1 Finance by clicking The link.
Acorns
Think you’re too broke to invest for retirement? That’s not you; There is always a way, and this way is it Invest here through Acorns!
With its cash savings and cashback rewards tool, Acorns allows account holders to invest with cash or cash in taxable and, for your purposes here, retirement accounts. This is a great way to start investing, especially if you think you don’t have any money to invest.
Let Acorns guide you down this easy path by clicking this link.