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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Vic chapter.

Maybe if we start young….

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So I recently decided to start investing.

First, my interest arose from the finance and accounting courses I am taking to complete my business minor.

Then, I got a job, since we need money in order to invest. Unfortunately, the job I got pays minimum wage, so it is not a lot of money, but some is better than none?

Then, I subscribed to The Economist (See my article on trusted sources), on print. I figured I spend enough time looking at my computer screen writing essays and completing quizzes while praying to God CourseSpaces doesn’t crash..

With all of this in mind, I started to bring up investments into conversations with my friends and family, and naturally, some of them were also interested. That is how I got invited to an investment event hosted by a portfolio manager.

 

 

At this talk, I realized maybe subscribing to The Economist was not such a great idea. Why? Although I have not yet unsubscribed, because I enjoy the articles, obsessing over the market is not healthy. Like most things in life, the economy grows over time. Knowing how the market is doing is, arguably, important, but not letting it take over your life is more important.

Although watching a volatile market move around can mess with our money, dreams, and hopes, the market is teaching us how to have patience and relax. It is teaching us to trust the result of decades of hard work, rather than expecting immediate results from small efforts.

In investments, “beating the market” means to get back more money (produce greater return) than the average of the market. I believe that if we give it time, and avoid stressing about it, the market will give us the best return, so regardless of the average, for our peace of mind, we ARE beating the market.

 

Sources I would recommend checking out:

Psychology & Business student. Currently broadening my knowledge on investments, insurance, & education. Aspiring CFA.
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Ellen is a fourth year student at the University of Victoria, completing a major in Writing and a minor in Professional Writing: Editing and Publishing. She is currently a Campus Correspondent for the UVic chapter, and spends most of her free time playing Wii Sports and going out for breakfast. She hopes to continue her career in magazine editing after graduation, and finally travel somewhere farther than Disneyworld. You can follow her adventures @ellen.harrison