Being financially sound and up-to-date has always been important. However, in today’s world, it is more relevant than ever. People all over are starting to familiarize themselves with the stock market and different investment options for themselves. There seems to be a certain stigma that is attached with women in the financial field. However, I want to bring up this topic/problem and try to successfully demolish this issue.
Men make up a great majority of the professionals in the financial field track. It doesn’t have to be like that though. By acquiring some knowledge and interest in this topic, I could see these numbers leveling out. There are many different ways that women can learn more about investing and keeping up with their finances. This is a topic that has always captivated my interest even from a young age. I love the idea of being able to prove the statistics wrong and be successful in something that “women aren’t supposed to be strong at.” With that being said, I want to talk about different options and strategies that I have learned/use to look at the stock market and make myself more aware of the financial news going on.
In order for myself to stay updated on financial news, I have various apps on my phone. I like to use The Wall Street Journal App, MarketWatch App, Bloomberg: Business News App, and CNBC Breaking Business News App. These are apps that I like to check throughout the day to become more knowledgeable about what is going on in the financial world.
When it comes to navigating the stock market, there are different steps I like to take before doing anything. When I am interested in investing my money, I first have to ask what I want to invest in. If I want to keep my money in the market for a while and have time, I may want to invest my money in something that is of higher risk. Since I am young and have the time to gain back my money, a stock would be a good and higher-risk option. For someone that is older with not as much time to earn back their money, they may want to go with a safer option to avoid losing all of their life’s work. A mutual fund or general savings account is a great option for a long-term investment that is on the safer side. Despite one’s age, it all depends on their tolerance to risk. Personally, I am not one who likes to entertain the idea of a lot of risk. Therefore, in the long-run, I will generally always choose something that is a little more on the safer side. That being said, there are people much older than me with a higher risk tolerance; these are the kinds of people that would choose something of higher risk even though they are older. They are more OK than others at accepting the fact that they could lose all of their money.
These are just some of the basics when it comes to wanting to start to become more financially sound/independent. There are many layers to it, and it is something people should spend a lot of time on. Watching YouTube videos, following social media accounts of financial business, and reading books are all other resources to getting started! Once you start becoming more involved with it, the more fun and exciting it can become!