Waiting to Invest? Why Now is the Best Time to Start

“Is now a good time to start investing in the stock market?” 

I hear this question all of the time, regardless of what the market is doing. Whether it’s up or down, people still hesitate to invest their money. 

It all boils down to fear.

Like, hello, Amanda, I don’t want to go broke thanks to something called Dow Jones; I don’t even know what that is. 

Totally valid! 

But the longer you wait to start investing, you’re actually losing money. 

I’ve literally left what is probably hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table because I put off investing because I didn’t understand it and it made me nervous.

The stock market? Okay, sure, that’s for business bros in suits. 

Me and the S&P? Nah. That’s for rich people. I’m just a regular girl living a regular life. 

Don’t make the same mistake I made. Let’s take a look at why you should start investing today (really like yesterday, but we’ll settle for today). 

Why Now is the Best Time to Invest

Right now is the absolute best time for you to invest.

At the time I’m sitting down to write this blog post, the economy is pretty strong. Inflation is high but has been slowly decreasing, unemployment is still relatively low, and what’s been called The Great Reshuffle seems to be dying down.

But interest rates are still high compared to recent history, and it seems like everyone and their brother is looking for signs of an impending recession (manifesting bad juju, much?).

Despite all of the signs of economic health and prosperity, people are still nervous about what the future will hold. 

Here’s the thing, when it comes to the economy and the stock market, there will never be a time without what ifs. 

What if the market takes a dive? What if the market improves? What if rates decrease? What if they increase? What if Google lays off all of their employees or Amazon goes under or…

Take a deep breath, Chicken Little. The sky is not falling. 

Unfortunately, what the market does is completely out of our control. It’s also out of control of the billionaires and the fancy schmancy guys in suits on Wall Street, so you’re in good company.

What we can control though is when we take advantage of opportunities. If the market is down, well then now’s a great time to gobble up cheap shares like Mrs. Pac Man gobbling up those cherries. If the opposite is true and the market is hot, hot, hot, well now’s a great time to dive in and start getting almost immediate returns on your investment. 

Regardless of what’s happening with the market, your money cannot work for you if it’s not invested. Period. 

Opportunity Cost: Waiting to Invest is Expensive

You want your money invested ASAP because of compound interest. Compound interest is your secret weapon for earning money in your sleep (seriously). It protects your dollars from inflation and helps you become the rich girl (or boy) you deserve to be. 

Let’s look at an example of how this works.

Let’s take our girl Mandy who invests $1,000 a month. GO, MANDY! 🎉

In 30 years, Mandy could have $1,359,398 (we’re assuming an 8% yearly return for this example; this figure is a strong average, so feel free to use it if you want to run your own calculations).

That growth is 🔥! 

But let’s say Mandy gets nervous and decides to wait for the “best” time to invest. Two years go by and she misses out on $215,333. 

And if she waits 10 years, she could miss out on $810,255! 🤯

Now even if you’re not investing $1k/mo, remember it's just an example. Whatever you can invest now matters and has a HUGE impact over time.

Compound interest is why we want to start investing today! We don’t want to leave any money on the table that future us could have put to good use.

Riding the Ups and Downs of the Stock Market: How You Can Protect Your Investments

There’s absolutely no guaranteed way to ensure your investments in the stock market won’t take some type of hit at some point. (And anyone who claims they can do this for you is lying to you, by the way). But there are some smart investing moves you can make to protect your investments from the ups and downs of the market.

1. Start now: Don’t wait for the perfect moment. The absolute best time to invest is right now.

2. Be consistent: Automating your investments can help ensure you’re making regular contributions to harness the superpower of compound interest. You can’t second guess yourself if your dollars are automatically going to your investment accounts.

3. Be Patient: Ignore the headlines. Ignore the naysayers. The number one mistake people make when investing is getting into a tizzy and pulling their money out at the first sign of “danger.” Be patient. We’re in it for the long haul. Your money will recover from any bumps in the road thanks to compound interest.

4. Diversification: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You might love Tesla and want to buy up an ungodly amount of Tesla stock, but if it takes a dip, your whole portfolio will suffer. Spread your investments across different assets to help mitigate loss and maximize growth. That’s why I personally LOVE index funds!

5. Don’t Wait: If you want to take vacations, take your kids to the beach, sit on your porch or hike on a Tuesday… whatever that dream life is for you… You need money for it and investing is going to get you there. How could your life be different in a few months if you started today?

You don’t have to do this alone. Join my live FREE investing class where you’ll learn:

👉🏼 How to not worry about your money just one day disappearing into the black hole of Wall Street 

👉🏼 How to start investing with literally $1 (You do not have to be rich just yet. I’ll show you step by step how to invest $1 in real-time.)

👉🏼 What accounts to open & what to buy

👉🏼 How to make your money work for you

Ready to get started?