Why You Should Start Investing Now?

Feb 16, 2021

You’ve saved hard for months, or perhaps you’ve simply followed your passion and the earnings just fell into place. Cautious about making investment decisions? Or repeatedly asking yourself, “Is now a good time to invest?” Chances are, you may be more of the laidback financial personality type – watching from the sidelines or getting social-media-driven public opinion first on how to start investing– rather than the confident fund manager who sees the advantages of investing money now.

Whether there are deep-rooted factors stalling your investment decision-making process, or you are quick on the draw with opportunities to make your money grow, keep in mind these top reasons to invest your money now.

  1. There is the opportunity to earn a high rate of return. Getting a higher rate of return than what a regular savings or checking account can yield is something any savvy investor or hopeful newbie would not want to miss out on. A perfect example is investing via an online peer-to-peer (P2P) platform, an alternative financing that has disrupted traditional banking, and gained momentum not only in the US but also in Asian countries including Malaysia and the Philippines.

 

  1. Time waits for no one. The sooner you start investing, the more time you allow your money to grow. Is now a good time to invest? The answer to that is yes, mainly because investments can be compounding.

This does not mean jumping into the first investment vehicle you see. Investing in stocks, for instance, is not for everybody. Anyone new to investing may balk. Stock market dips can be alarming to new investors. Stocks investment can bring huge gains and losses. Stocks may decline sharply, then rebound with surprising strength, like a scary rollercoaster ride. Yet individuals who have the gut feeling on what to invest in right now go for the thrill, understanding that volatility is part and parcel of getting into stocks.

Virginia-based private financial and investing advice company The Motley Fool tweeted, “The best investment strategy is the one that fits your unique goals, personality, and disposition.” Once you get started, stay the course and keep learning. Lots of people hesitate to invest due to a fear of making mistakes.  “Should I invest?” Where should I invest?” are some of the questions running in their minds. Educating yourself need not keep you from starting to invest. You may fail but you can re-strategize and stay open-minded.

Money management experts say one can become an investor at any life stage. Indeed, there have been real-life cases of toddlers toying with measuring spoons, pots & pans and later on operating their own businesses they had invested time and other resources on.  Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm at age 20, saw his startup dream come true, and became a self-made billionaire in his early 20s. They found that the best place to start investing was where their interests lay.

Another common denominator of these achievers who learned that investing young pays off, was the fact that they spent time learning, finetuning, and making their projects work. In some instances, small business ideas or projects need some sort of incubator, like a funder, backer, or partner.

3. You need to keep up with inflation and maintain your money’s value. In an inflationary environment, your money will not be able to buy as much as it used to, so you need to prepare for it by getting started investing.

Inflation hedging investments include gold; US Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS); stocks; tangible assets like commercial real estate, fine art or a vintage car with intrinsic value to people who collect them. By investing now in items with value that can appreciate as time passes, you can get returns greater than the inflation rate.

Some people consider cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or bitcoin the best investments to make right now. Digital coins challenge the financial system. A cloud of uncertainty and doubt still surrounds newer market entrants, but overall, investing now on resilient cryptocurrencies has remained attractive.

With lots of time on their hands since schools closed due to the pandemic, young people are also fast discovering where to start investing. Simply by going online, even pre-teens are learning what to invest in right now. An example is the 12-year-old Korean boy who made sizable gains in retail trading. He learned how to begin investing when the future seemed bleak.

4. You will be creating a nest egg or comfortably live off interest from your investment — at your desired time, rather than toiling and toiling way into your senior years. The question, `why do people invest’ has a straightforward answer for many people: to have some control over future circumstances. Having a financial safety net for oneself and one’s family especially when unforeseen events unfold, say, a new strain of Covid-19 and lockdowns, is reason enough to get started investing.

5. Last but not the least, by starting to invest now, the digital era, you are most likely taking an active part in a venture that uses cutting-edge technology. This is the age of tech innovations, when enterprises are accelerating business outcomes through digital tools and platforms. The advent of modern technology like blockchain — that provides immediate, shared, and transparent information stored on an unchanging ledger – has diminished consumer uneasiness to transact online. So when you are pondering what to invest in right now, consider tech-backed options.

Tech has definitely transformed the way we obtain funds or make our money grow, simplifying the process, as illustrated by online P2P transactions. How to begin investing via P2P platform? You just need to go online and submit required documents. With algorithms doing much of the work, a P2P lending platform like Blend.ph eliminates not just the guesswork for both investors and lenders, but also minimizes the risks.

Moreover, you reap great value for your money while helping people. Good things to invest in right now have something to do with people and their projects, be it entrepreneurs funding their startup businesses, artists pursuing creative endeavors, or working professionals longing to fulfill dreams like better homes or a brighter future for their kids. Investing now will also help recreate a sense of purpose for others.

Learn how to start investing now, and reap the sweet financial gains.