Whether you are saving for a home or a college fund, investing is the best way to build your nest egg. However, many people fail to start investing at a young age because they lack financial literacy or confidence. According to the 2022 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index), 50% of U.S. adults lack confidence in their personal finance knowledge.
So, how do you manage your money? What will be your investment and savings choices? Which investment advisory services will you choose? That’s where educating yourself can help. You can develop financial confidence with education. It can help you invest your money and find the right wealth management services.
Learn to Educate Yourself to Build Your Financial Confidence
Financial confidence means different things to different people. But education remains the key to gaining more financial confidence. And here are a few ways to become confident in your investments and savings journey.
1. Consider Automation for Savings
One of the common fears is not saving enough money. Consider automating your savings if you also feel you are not saving enough money to meet your long-term goals. It’s probably the best way to overcome a part of your anxiety.
With automation, you can save without fail. You can put a part of your paycheck into investments. But make sure to plan your finances carefully. You don’t want to run into credit card debt while investing a significant chunk of your paycheck. Make sure you have enough money to manage your monthly expenses, including groceries, gas money, homeowner’s insurance, health insurance and mortgage.
2. Start Small and Work Your Way Up
You can’t build your financial confidence or your wealth overnight. It’s common for novice investors to set a mammoth financial goal and fall short. You can’t save $100,000 with an annual income of $150,000.
Worse still – you might give up your wealth creation altogether when you fail. Your financial confidence will also hit rock bottom. That’s why you should start small and work your way up. Most professional investment advisory services will tell their clients to do the same.
You can start as small as 1%. Consider improving your investments or financial goals by just 1%. This small and achievable goal will help boost your confidence over time. Once you are confident enough, you can set bigger goals. The key to financial success is consistency. Always follow through with your financial goals to see your investments materialize.
3. Understand Your Financial Beliefs
Another important factor that people often overlook is financial beliefs. Each individual has different financial beliefs and hence different investment outlooks. While some people may think there is never enough money to go around, others might believe it doesn’t grow on trees.
Whatever your belief, you need to identify and understand it before planning your finances. The first step in this direction is to change your pessimistic views. For example, don’t think that the money you have is not enough to build your nest egg. Even professional investment services know you can start investing small amounts.
You do need consistency to see your investments flourish. When you change this view, you can start saving/investing in small amounts and work your way up. Likewise, look into other negative financial views and change your outlook accordingly.
4. Don’t Fear Instead Plan for Emergency
Financial emergencies are a part of life. But instead of spending your life in fear of one, you can plan for such an emergency. Unfortunately, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
Recent research states that 56% of Americans cannot cover an unexpected $1,000 bill with savings. They often incur debt to foot the bill for $1000. As a result, most Americans resort to asking family and friends for a loan, taking a personal loan from a bank, or charging a credit card.
But having an emergency fund can help you avoid this debt. You can use automation and financial discipline and get help from professional investment advisory services to set up your emergency fund. And most importantly, this will boost your confidence in the long run.
5. Find Trusted Wealth Management Services
Developing your financial confidence also involves identifying and working with investment services experts. More often than not, people like you have the resources to reach their financial goals but don’t know where to start. So, you keep putting it off until it’s too late. This lack of action will never let you build your confidence.
That’s why seeking help from an expert can help. The most critical advantage of working with professional wealth management services is that you don’t have to know everything about investing. Plus, you don’t have to do the legwork. Try to find a financial advisor that best fits your needs.
The Bottom Line
Most people refrain from putting their money to work because of fear. The lack of confidence can prevent you from planning your future even though you have the resources. The only way to overcome this challenge is to educate yourself. Remember, keep learning how investments work, use the right technology, and get advice from professionals when needed. These insights should help you get started.
Confidence begins with educating yourself. Start yours today!
Stay connected