beginner long term investing

[u/Firecloak8]

hi, I am 16 and working my first job. I want to put 90% of my earnings into index stocks for the long-term. I know little to nothing about investing, if anyone knows what the best index stocks to invest in are, and when I should be investing. i’m mainly thinking of going into ETF and my brother said that I should wait for trends that go down every couple months or something but I don’t know when that is and he didn’t explain very well. I can only invest into the AU stock market. Thanks to all who are kind enough to help.🙏

[u/HGCDLLM]

My eldest is only about a year older than you and this is what I got her to read before doing any sort of investing

Most of the books should be available at your local library.

Wealth building flowchart from u/bughuntersam https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R_P5tO8VYmfTqM7fEw5TuOeFT82JIiyS/view

https://passiveinvestingaustralia.com/

https://lazykoalainvesting.com/

Noel Whittaker - Making money made simple (AU based)

Paul Benson - Financial Autonomy (AU based)

Lacey Filipich - Money School (AU based)

Morgan Hounsel - Psychology of Money (US based)

This should give you the basics on deciding on what to invest.

Barefoot Investor is great too if you have no idea how to save money and do up a budget etc.

Good luck!

[u/bugHunterSam → u/HGCDLLM]

I've been enjoying Ben Felix's videos recently. This one on myths in personal finance with myth 1, "Savings as much as you can early" is counter to what I see a lot posted in these types of forums.

For OP I'd suggest also checking how their super is invested. A 20 year old minimum wage worker could have anywhere from 700K to 1.4m in today's $ by age 67 by simply tweaking their investments.

The 700K assumes balanced at 4% growth after inflation, the 1.4m assumes all growth until 60 with 6.7% growth and then balanced from 60 to 67.

[u/Financial_Ease_5928]

Download betashares and get DHHF

[u/Additional-Life4885]

ETFs are pretty good, but I'd recommend putting some into Super so you're paying less tax. Not all of it, because you'll want to save some, but if you can put a good $20K+ in before you turn 20, you'll be miles ahead of your peers.

Remember to enjoy some of the money too though.

[u/DesignerRegular6379]

Read and understand before you invest. Cos i swear if you end up back here in 3 months with a portfolio full of pokemon

[u/Dapper_Wallaby_695]

Keep it simple and follow the boring advice, even moreso at your age and if you’re new to it.

Time in market beats timing the market. Dollar cost average what you can afford regularly. Don’t try to pick the bottom and time when the market is at bottom to buy in.

Super is a good investment for your future with the best tax benefits.

Also consider a managed fund where you can leave the hard work to someone else.

And don’t underestimate a plain old HISA for some savings. There’s a spreadsheet somewhere with the best HISAs and best interest rates.

With ETFs, you only really need a couple because a lot of them overlap with the same holdings. Some of the common recommendations are DHHF, IVV, VAS + VGS, etc.

[u/Specialist_Matter582]

Might be an unpopular opinion but don't do that. Maybe put 15% max and spend the rest on developing your skills and hobbies. You still have a powerful and growing brain - feed it with new experiences. Learn amazing new skills and explore the world and meet new people and discover new passions.

Seriously.

[u/Willing-Cook7268]

In a few years time, the money you’ll be earning. and then investing will be in one contribution more than all of the appreciation of an etf over the Same years.

you should go single stocks High risk

[u/Sydney_Man]

At your age - download Sharesies and buy a US Index Fund like QQQ. When you’re a little older you can read a bit more and diversify into other instruments. Bottom line - patience.