How I Made My Money Work for Me: My Investor Journey

Everybody on the Gram is talking about passive income.

No, you don’t need to launch 4 businesses, 97 courses, and write 15 E-books in order to make money while you sleep. Because let’s face it, not everyone wants to start a business. It takes a lot of time AND money. And if it requires a lot of your time, then the money you’re earning isn’t truly passive income.

What is Passive Income?

Making money without much stress has a nice ring to it, right? That moment when you at home and voila! There’s an alert on your phone notifying you that there’s a deposit coming your way. If you want alerts on your phone to be money notifications rather than thirsty messages from guys in your DMs, then you need to start generating passive income.

Active Income requires the constant input of time to generate revenues while passive income is money that you don’t have to work for regularly. I am not saying you should get lazy, but the idea still sounds good anyway.

Unlike active income, passive income is often generated from cash flow from dividend stocks, bonds, real estate investing, royalties, ad revenue, etc. Any of this will require an upfront investment of capital. With enough shares in stock, dividends can give you profit amounts that will appear in six-figure income per year. Who wouldn’t want that?

Limiting beliefs about money and insecurity has caused a lot of women to shy away from more financial conversations and strategies, I was once one of those women. Today, more and more women are taking charge of their financial prosperity and it is so inspiring to see.

 

 

So, why is passive income important? Does it really matter to most investors?

 

Girl, TIME is your most valuable resource! Yep, that’s right! We all wish we could have more of it. Time is the ultimate equalizer because no one has more than others. Beyonce, Michelle Obama, you, and I all have the same 24 hours available to us.

What matters most is how you utilize & maximize your time. Passive income should be a top priority for you because you don’t have to do much to get the cash flowing.

One of my favorite finance experts, Robert Kiyosaki, says:

“My rich dad taught me to focus on passive income and spend my time acquiring assets that provide passive or long time residual income.”

 

My Investor Journey

I started investing two years ago in my early twenties. The minute I learned about compound interest, I knew that I needed to invest immediately! I currently invest in stocks, bonds, options, index funds, exchange-traded funds, residential REITs, and medical REITs. Every month, I receive passive income in the form of dividend payments without lifting a finger. 

I am a very confident investor now. I am constantly studying the market, analyzing financial statements of public companies, and reading about foreign relations, upcoming IPOs (initial public offerings), and I’m a member of an investor group which allows me to further develop my investing practice.

BUT, things weren’t always so easy. When I first started investing, I opened an account with a brokerage firm that charged crazy high fees. My initial investment was $5000 which may seem like a lot, but it wasn’t. The firm that I used had fees of nearly $7 per trade, which may not seem like a lot, but it was for a new investor with a fairly low balance.

What’s even worse, is that I had no idea what my money was invested in. But even if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference because I had no idea which companies were “good” investments and which companies were “bad” investments.

Anyone that knows me knows I’m a control freak, especially when it comes to money! I hated not knowing whether or not my money was really working for me. I decided that I would completely take charge of all my investing efforts and make my own investing decisions.

If you’re reading this post, I’m proud of you. Reading has become a lost art, but I believe what the librarian at my elementary school told me, “readers are leaders”! I read every single book about finance that I could get my hands on. Most were nonfiction, but a few were fiction books which still taught me so much.

My Faves:

1. Rich Dad, Poor Dad

2. Cash Flow Quadrants

3. The Essays of Warren Buffett

4. The Richest Man in Babylon 

5. The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need

6. Invested

7. The Intelligent Investor (which is a really dense book, but helpful nonetheless)

 

 

I committed to reading 3-4 books per month, this is a practice that I still continue today. Within four months, I started choosing where I wanted to invest my money and how much I wanted to invest. I felt so empowered because the entire finance industry is a bit intimidating. Many people, especially women and people of color, shy away from it because we don’t want to be taken advantage of or made to feel inferior for not being stock market geniuses. If fear, confusion, or intimidation has stopped you from learning how to invest or take control of your investments, set those limiting beliefs on fire then bury them. You had to learn everything that you know so far, investing is no different.

I also attended every conference and seminar, I reached out to mentors, and forced myself to watch hours of CNBC even though I had no idea what they were talking about. But soon enough, I did. I understood because I committed to the goal of managing my own finances and I am relentless at achieving my goals.

 

Advice for Newbie Investors

1. DON’T leave your financial future in someone else’s hands.
2. DON’T shy away from becoming more informed about your money.
3. DON’T be intimidated for not knowing everything about everything, no one does.
4. On that same note, DON’T be afraid to admit what you don’t know and ask for help.
5. DON’T stop learning. Read, attend conferences, listen to informative podcasts and learn as much as you can about investing.
6. DON’T let overwhelm discourage you
7. DON’T think about it, be about it. You have to start!

 

If the thought of finance and investing still make you want to pee in your pants. Check out some of the books I recommended above and start small. You can open an account with Robinhood, an online-brokerage with no minimums and no trading fees. I personally have a Robinhood account because it is free of fees and convenient to use.

If you have questions, don’t be afraid to use me as a resource. Send me an email or leave a comment down below!

Xo,

Your Finance Fairy Godmother