Many adults find themselves thinking about an endless stream of, “I want to do that, but I’m just too busy.” This excuse may be acceptable when it comes to little things like gardening, but it’s a dangerous mindset when it comes to investing.
Regardless of how busy you are, you need to make time to start investing. You’re literally wasting money putting it off, mainly because you’re not taking advantage of the power of compounding. Investment interest and profits increase over time, and the later you begin, the less time you have to accumulate wealth.
The great thing about investing is that it doesn’t take as much time or effort as you think it does. If you have time to scroll through social media or read this article, you have time to invest. Make investing a part of your busy schedule with these easy tips.
Common Emotional Barriers to Investing
You may think that lack of money is the top reason why people keep putting off investing. But you would be surprised to know that the most common barriers to investing are actually emotional and psychological. Learn to recognize these emotional and psychological triggers that may stop you from investing:
- Feeling uneducated about how investments work, which in turn makes you feel incapable of doing so
- Fear of missing out on present luxuries by diverting money towards investments
- Inability to imagine long-term goals
- Assuming you need a lot of money before you start
- Getting overwhelmed by the thought of taking control of your money
Recognize some of these thoughts in yourself? Try to find ways to eliminate these self-defeating thoughts, and realize that you don’t have to be an expert or devote most of your time in order to start investing. In fact, it’s much easier than you believe.
Investing Tips for Busy People
The tips outlined below were specifically chosen to remove the emotional component of investing. When you don’t have to think too much about it, there’s less chance to back out from starting to invest.
- Use your 401(k) to get started.
Your workplace plan is the easiest place to jumpstart your investment strategy. All you need to do is select your investments, determine how much of your income you want to contribute, and let the money flow automatically into your 401(k).
- Automate your investments.
For a “set it and forget it” approach to investing, make it automatic. Aside from automating your 401(k), you can also set up automatic contributions towards mutual funds, broad-based index funds to diversify your portfolio, and more. Better yet, it takes away the emotional component of investing. If you don’t have to think about it, you don’t have to worry about it.
- Simplify investment with robo advisors.
Take the effort out of selecting your investments with the help of robo advisors. To begin, you’ll have to answer a few questions about your risk tolerance. Then, you get to choose among pre-built portfolios. Robo advisors offer a low-cost way to diversify your account even when you don’t have a lot to invest, but it takes a lot less time than going DIY.
- There’s an app for everything – even investments.
For the really busy person, an app is all it takes to start investing. It only takes a minute or two to download an investment app. Most will ask you a few questions in order to come up with portfolio recommendations. After that, you can set up regular deposits from your bank to the app. Some apps also allow you to charge the amount to your credit card. It’s a painless and convenient way to grow your investment account.
- Invest in mutual funds instead of stocks.
If the DIY approach sounds more appealing, invest in ETFs or diversified mutual funds instead of individual stocks. They’re less likely to go bankrupt or take sudden price dives because the money is diversified across hundreds of investments.
- Go for one-stop-shop funds.
Another super low-maintenance investment strategy is target-date funds. This type of investment is designed for retirement. You can use it to plan for any life event of your choosing. How it works is that you pick a fund for the target date you expect to need the money, like when you turn 65 and retire. It’s easy, and with a clear direction, you know exactly where your funds are going.
- Limit checking your investments to a few minutes a month.
You’re more likely to succumb to emotional blunders if you keep a close eye on your investments. Experts actually recommend keeping it to a few minutes a month just to see what’s going on with your portfolio. Use that time to check if you need to rebalance, or if you’d like to change your investment choices. Other than that, try to forget about it for the rest of the month.
- Delegate your investment tasks to a financially-savvy family member.
Sometimes, you just can’t bring yourself to start investing no matter how hard you try. Don’t force it. Instead, ask a trusted family member to take over the job for you. Just like a financial advisor, they can handle everything and keep you updated from time to time. Just make sure they’re financially savvy as well.
- Hire a financial advisor.
Ultimately, the most hassle-free way to start investing is to hire a financial advisor to do it for you. The key is to find one you trust and you feel comfortable with. Try to get references from your friends, and set up a time to meet your potential choice. The right one will make investing a breeze and take a lot of the burden off your shoulders.
Take the First Step to a Financially-Secure Future
The trick to getting started with investing is to pick a method that involves as little effort as possible. The tips outlined above will take very little time from your schedule while ensuring that your funds are properly invested and growing. Never say you’re too busy to invest again – try one, two, or all of these to discover the perfect, stress-free investment style for you!
[Read Next: Smart Ways to Start Investing With a $100]
Tycoono Media Inc. and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, financial or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, financial or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, financial and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. Please refer to our disclaimer for more information.
