I just turned 18 and started saving with two goals in mind which are retirement and eventually buying a house. I also want to put a small amount into higher risk assets just to learn how things work. What do you wish you knew when you first started? What are the biggest mistakes beginners should avoid? Also how did you land on your first investment strategy? I am just trying to build good habits early and learn from your experience.
Investing at 18, What do you wish you knew earlier? Canadians
byu/ih8this4sho ininvesting
Posted by ih8this4sho
5 Comments
Just buy broad index funds and never sell. That’s all you need to do.
Time beats timing.
I’ve worked clever strategies of all kinds. Last week I started reviewing a few of my historic portfolios…. would have been better holding a broad index fund and waiting.
Keep topping it up regularly and never withdraw from index funds.
aim to max out that TFSA, FHSA, RRSP. don’t play with options. Slow and steady. Target growth stocks at your age but have a small amount of less risky stuff, scale the amounts as you age, won’t go in to detail lots of online literature about balancing that. Don’t buy cheap stuff that are moonshot turnarounds, there’s a reason they cost that low and mostly never turn around.
Get a few indexes and contribute regularly, consistency is key not timing, remember that. Some dividend stocks are nice too where the DRIP can take over, again you can scale in to this age you age for passive income. Don’t trade options. slow and steady wins the race.
At 18 the biggest advantage you have is time but most people waste it by guessing instead of learning a process. Fundamental tools meant for research help you understand risk allocation and decision making early so you build habits before money gets bigger.