Three Ways How High Schoolers Can Learn About Investing
By: Nibodh Vallapureddy
Stock trading is an activity that many perceive as interesting, however, few know the actual amount of dedication and work it requires to make it a living profession. It isn’t like gambling where if you win you make “x” amount of money or when you lose, you lose “y” amount of money. No, this profession requires much more than that.
Okay, theoretically, if you have Frane Salek's type of luck, you may be able to gamble when investing and make money. But let's be real we don’t have that. That is why many people ignore investing simply because they don’t have that luck and also since there is so much analysis, science, work, patience, and money needed to invest. It is impossible to find a person who has been a professional investor for there whole life unless they are the children of billionaires. Even for people that have made and saved money, they don’t invest since it requires so much effort to do so. Then you have those that do invest but make next to nothing by the time their lives are over.
So with these low odds of making money, why do people still invest?
People want to be successful and as a result, take risks. Let’s compare a first-time investor to a mountaineer who wants to summit Everest. Obviously the mountaineer is facing a bigger risk that being their life while the investor is risking his money. But other than the consequence of their risk, they are both pretty much the same. The mountaineer wants to put his/her name in the history books, while the investor wants to be a millionaire. Overall, they want to be successful which they are trying to do.
But then you are probably thinking, ‘these people all have the right resources and experience to pursue their goals while I don’t.’ You are definitely right but that doesn’t mean you can start learning about whatever your interests are regardless of your state in life. This leads back to investing where anyone can start learning about it. The amount of money you need to start learning to invest is $0.00.
Obviously, there are many subjects you must learn in order to invest. But we are going to focus on what high schoolers can do to start. Now I assume that if you are reading this, you do not make tens of thousands of dollars each year. You may have a debit card or so but that’s about it. So let’s look at three ways in which you can start your investing career.
- Read Books
Listen this may seem like a joke but it actually is true. Reading can actually help you start your journey in investing. The Intelligent Investor, One Up On Wall Street, Investing 101, are all great books to help start. (Note: I am not being paid to advertise these).
2. Watch News
Many professionals would say never watch market news, instead, you should be the one receiving news before the public does. But for beginners, market news is actually helpful. A person can learn lots about trends and see how experts predict future growth. With this, they can start doing it themselves.
3. Become Financially Literate
Many novice investors just place their money into certain stocks just by looking at the title. However, there are at least a few who don’t understand certain symbols or what graphs mean. Becoming financially literate takes lots of time but is essential to make money.
Obviously there are millions of things a beginner can do to learn about the world of investment. But, mastering all these will turn you into a very knowledgeable person and is a great start. However, while you as the reader aren’t able to invest, you know who can, your parents. Regardless if they are in healthcare, engineering, law, etc. they can still invest. If you prove your knowledge to them, they may open an account and you can begin your journey.
