Making money is the easy bit. And then spending it, of course. But it’s the keeping it that proves most difficult. The trick is to keep your spending under wraps while saving as much of your earnings as you possibly can.
But saving will only get you so far. Inflation is the highest it’s been in 40 years and while interest rates are being hiked up, to the highest level since before the financial crash, the rate you’re being paid to keep cash in the bank is embarrassingly low. Banks are profiting at your expense.
They’re busy borrowing away less than the base rate (now 4%) – let me know if your current account pays you anywhere close to that! My bank pays me as little as 0.6% per year in interest. What a joke. Though luckily you’ve got a way to actually grow your money to a whole lot more than a piddly 0.6% and that’s through investing your money into the stock market.
Growing your savings through the Compounding Machine I like to call investing can grow your wealth so that you can meet your financial objectives (like buying a home and retirement). Your savings are only gonna stretch so far. You need to take it to the next level. (Psst: read here how to put your confidence back into your finances!)
We’re lucky that with the growth of investment platforms, getting started really is as easy as 1-2-3. It’s not like the old age where you needed to call up your broker to place a trade!
Avoid this trap
Most people get caught up in the rat race. They go to work to pay their bills, earn more, to spend more, to pay yet higher bills. They care too much what others think of them. Hence their Rover and swanky house in the neighbourhood they can’t quite afford. Read here the shocking truth why more than 36% of those earning >$250k are living paycheck to paycheck!
So come age 60, they aren’t quite faced with debt-free retirement. The decades when they should be enjoying the fruits of all their hard work. Guess again. They’re still paying back their mortgage. My dad met someone who’s in his 50s with a ÂŁ500K mortgage. This means that he’s gonna work well into his golden years paying it off. Not a nice thought at all.
All of this can be avoided if you live below your means. Why kill yourself just to live in that fancy neighbourhood where prices are 20% (or more) above what you can realistically afford. Or why bother taking out that hefty 9% interest loan on a swanky car – I got shocked at these higher rates. Read here why credit cards are cool but completely crazy!
Before you invest, the joy of making money must to be greater than the pain of losing it. How so? Well, investments will go down every now and then. That’s a given. And just look at 2022’s disaster! Both bonds AND stocks lost ~20%. But if this causes you so much pain, you might want to sell out and you might never return. You have to take the good with the bad.
And remember, a loss is only a real one when you sell your stocks. But if you hang onto them you ain’t got no loss. But many sell on the down and buy on the up (if they’re still around). Sounds dumb but human psychology is a tricky beast.
When your investments rise in value (capital appreciation) this should make you as happy (if not more) as you were sad when they fell in value. And that’s how you’ll be able to stick around for the long-haul. And this flight ain’t a 2-hour trip. It’s a 30-hour one with a stop-off. But when you arrive at your destination, boy will you be glad you had stuck around.
Okay, let’s get to it. These are 3 (of many) ways in which you can make money all while you get your beauty sleep. Some of it will be passive, some (like your own rental property) will probably be a little less passive! But, they can help grow your wealth and set you up on the path to financial freedom which I bet is what we all want.
Stocks
Stocks are shares in listed companies i.e. ones that are on a stock exchange such as the Footsie or S&P. So when you buy a stock in any listed company, you own a (teeny tiny) part of it and you are what’s called a shareholder!
So, where do all the juicy returns come from?
Well, they come from two places.
#1 Capital gains
This is when the share price rises above the price at which you bought it. So if you bought shares at ÂŁ10 and it rises to ÂŁ12, your capital gain is ÂŁ2 (or, you’ve made a profit of 20%). Shares tend to rise in price on good news and fall on bad news.
If a company has decided to buy some of their shares back this will also help prop up their share prices. Growth companies will often continue to reinvest their cash to grow even more. They will not be handing out income (not just yet anyway) and your profits in these sort of companies will mainly come from a rise in its share price!
When you’ve investing for growth, there will be lots of ups and downs. But if you’re invested for the long-term (>10 years) then you should be able to ride out the bumps along the way.
Investing for the long-term is not nearly as hyped up nor as glamorous as all this short-term speculative “fun” but it’s the best and most assured way to make you money. So stick around till the end. You won’t regret it.
#2 Income
Generating income from the stock market comes about through dividend stocks. This is when companies dish out a proportion of their profits back to you – its shareholders. – in dividends. These are usually paid out quarterly but it can vary from company to company.
It’s worth pointing out that high-yielding stocks aren’t exactly your growth ones. The fact that they’re paying out all of this cash to shareholders means that they don’t really have any other ideas of what to do with their cash.
Income stocks are great for earning a bit of passive income but they’re not usually going to give you capital growth. Although they can help cushion your cash during times of inflation. As ever, diversify, diversify, diversify! It’s important to have a mix of stocks so that you get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Top Tip: Each year, you’re entitled to some income and profit that is tax free. For the year 2022/23 you’ll have an allowance of ÂŁ12,300 in capital gains and ÂŁ12,570 in income tax. Any gains above that threshold and you’ll be paying tax on it.
But, the good thing is, if you hold your stocks in a tax wrapper (like an ISA, LISA or Sipp), you don’t pay a single dime in capital gains tax or in income tax. This means you get to keep all that profit and income for yourself. Nice one!
Real estate
Investing in property is a fantastic source of passive income and a good hedge against inflation too which if you can’t tell has got me in a tizzy.
When you buy a buy-to-let (BLT) property, you put some capital upfront and have a mortgage. You get paid rent which should cover the cost of your mortgage bill each month and leave you some extra on the side.
Your property can also rise in price which is great because with leverage (taking on a mortgage), you’re entitled to the gains of the entire property, not just the bit you’ve paid for.
But there are many many things you need to take into account before you splash out on your very own crib-for-rental.
Buzzing economy?
Before you dive right in, you must check out if there is a local economy. If the answer is yes, this means that there will be scope for price growth and your place will be easier to rent out than if it were plonked in an area where unemployment was high. Remember, prices are cheap for a reason!
My friend who was buying her first rental property a few months ago told me how she went to the local estate agent and asked them is there a buzzing local economy to which he replied “No, no”. And that was the no-no she needed.
You’ll need lots of cash
Such a purchase needs a big chunk of capital to be put up and managing tenants requires good cash flow not to mention excellent babysitting skills! Boilers can break down (with no warning!), there could be mould, or literally anything that requires quick cash so if this is something that could be for you, make sure you’ve got a nice pile of cash for tenant-related stuff.
Oh, and it’s important to be too far away from your property so that you can come to the rescue (which will happen more often than you think). Your emergency fund will hold a lot more cash since you’ve now got this new baby of yours (ahem, mortgage) to look after.Â
So definitely don’t rush into this purchase. Mull over it and then mull over it some more.
Crypto
This asset class was all the rage during the crazy bubble that was 2021. It was the last dance after a decade of funny money. It’s safe to say though, blockchain tech is here to stay. It has some pretty incredible use cases. All you need to do is talk to anyone who lives in a country with a crap banking system (or none at all) and they’ll sing its praises. Ahem bitcoin.
I would say this though: don’t go investing your home deposit savings in crypto but rather invest a little here and there. Invest enough that if it does well you’ll do well but not to much that it’ll rip the shirt off your back!
If you invest 1% of your portfolio in crypto and it goes belly-up, well, you’ve lost 1%. I bet most of us could deal with that. But don’t just invest in something because all your mates are doing it. Though I bet now the crypto party crowd is pretty much hungover! Do your research and ask yourself: am I comfortable with this volatility? As we all know, when it comes to volatility crypto wears the crown.
Start small and see where it goes. As always, do not invest more than you can afford to lose. I’ve spoken to people who have put thousands into crypto. I asked them if whether they had any savings accounts, other investments ect. The answer was no. After the crypto crash of 2022 (you can read about that disaster here).
So be sure to diversify across many, many different areas. That way you’ll protect your portfolio and give you some peace of mind.
Patience is underrated
As with everything, nothing happens overnight. Compounding is a really slow process. It’s literally like watching grass grow. You can’t really see any change day by day but suddenly the grass has grown! Just when you and looked away.
Investing is a game of patience and consistency. That’s it. But it almost sounds too simple that many dismiss its powers. Hang in there and don’t try to run away. You could end up running away from your future fortune.
So let markets do their thing all while you do yours. One day, the two will collide.
Disclaimer: This blog is not investment or financial advice. It is my opinion only. This blog is not a personal recommendation to buy/sell any security, or to adopt any such investment strategy. Always do your own research before you commit to any investment.
Knead Your Dough 