I overheard this statement once and I think it’s one of the strangest myths around Zillennials (apart from us needing coffee to cope) – the myth is that we think we’re too young to be investing. Now, if that sounds very familiar and it resonates with you, from one Zillennial to another, it’s a must that you change your mindset.
It takes a very self-aware generation to know what they don’t know. Zillennials refer to themselves as being “too young for Millennials but too old for Gen Z.” And they are forming the largest part of the world’s living adult population.
These adults are seeing their wealth grow, they’re moving forward in their careers and lives, and planning for their finances have come to the forefront of their thinking.
What does unleashing the financial power of a tech-savvy generation look like? Practically – if you earn R10,000 ($523) a month, and, at the end of the month, you’ve got R1,000 ($52) left over in your bank account. The money that you should invest isn’t necessarily the entire R1,000 ($52); it’s whatever of that amount that you can afford to put away and not need ever again. So, let’s say you consistently save R200 ($10) every month, it will add up.
Starting your investment while young is key to your financial independence. Just have a look at the returns of your favourite company over the long term, it will shock you. Apple Inc., the biggest company in the world, has returned nearly 237% to its shareholders over the last five years. It’s not as if one needed to be a portfolio manager to have known that Apple would have grown in the subsequent years. High quality companies on the forefront of ubiquitous themes tend to do well, it’s not rocket science.
Getting started early with your investments has a couple of obvious benefits – on one hand, you have the advantage of compounding where the earlier you start investing, the better off you are. On the other hand, you have an abundance of knowledge at your fingertips. In fact, I would say that our access to information is unprecedented. From podcasts and TikTok to Sasfin’s Content Hub, there is more than enough help to get you on the right track with your investments.
The key takeaway here is that one should not be shy about doing their own due diligence on shares or other type of financial instruments and then invest accordingly. The habit of investing needs to be fostered now, while we’re young. It is so important, and I cannot overstate that enough.
Another important point that I’d like to raise and be candid about is this: our generation should be conscious of how we look at the market. They can be volatile and uncertain, and it’s easy to become impatient, so we tend to view the market as a vehicle to get rich fast.
If there is one thing that you should take from this article, it’s this – don’t look at the market as a vehicle to make you rich, but rather a vehicle that will assist your financial goals in the long term.
The amount of money that you’re willing to lose without it negatively impacting your life or changing any part of your lifestyle is the amount of money that you should be saving for the long term. Assuming one has done one’s own due diligence, diversify your money, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Enter your investing era by investing in as many high-quality instruments as you can that include a solid reputation, a history of success, and potential for growth. That’s your key to enter the millionaire’s (maybe even billionaire’s) club at retirement.
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