Source: [bankrate.com by James Royal]
Moving away from home, making new friends and getting to class on time are some of the big changes college students face after high school. But many of these young scholars are also now dealing with the altered experience of virtual classes and restrictive on-campus COVID-19 safety protocols. With all that this new group of adults is facing, it’s a wonder that there’s time for anything else, let alone investing.
But surprisingly, college is actually one of the best opportunities to get started in the world of investing. Even those with only a little bit of cash can begin to build a portfolio, and it can actually be an advantage because you’ll be learning how to invest – and dealing with some inevitable losses – without the risk of losing a large sum of money.
College is a great time to start investing
Sure, college can be one of the most difficult times to scrounge up the extra change just to do the things you need to do, let alone the things you want to do. But it doesn’t take much money to get into the investing game. With all the free or low-cost options available today, a modest $20 or $30 can get you in the game. More importantly it gets you thinking about investing.
In fact, the hardest part of starting to invest is beginning to think of yourself as an investor – whether as a real owner of publicly traded companies or even a holder of various cryptocurrencies.
You’ll want to take an owner’s long-term mentality toward your holdings, analyze what’s happening in the market periodically and make moves that look like they have a good chance of paying off, for example. Learning these lessons early – when they’re not costly – is valuable.
While we normally think of investing as reserved for the wealthy, it absolutely doesn’t have to be that way. Students should consider how they can use investing to create and secure their financial future, even before they’re out building their careers.
