There are a few things in life that are as gratifying as getting your salary credited into your account. You work hard to make your money, and when that “credited” notification pops up on the screen, it is a reminder that your hard work pays off. It is a moment of celebration, and it is a motivation to keep putting your best foot forward as you start making financial gains.
So, you take stock of your salary and… Um… Now what? Who or what do you listen to when it comes to your investment journey? You will definitely want to make smart investments and prudent financial decisions, but there are so many pieces of advice floating about — how can you tell which is real and which is a myth?
It is crucial to the validity, stability, and growth of your financial portfolio that you know good advice from baseless inputs. We thought we’d make life a bit easier for you, help you understand how investing can be gainful, and share some of the most common myths about investment — and bust them!
Myth #1 — Investing is a complicated process.
It absolutely is not! If there is one thing you take away from this article, let it be the knowledge that investing does not need to be a complicated process. This myth has sadly been a very persuasive one and it often discourages young investors from starting their investment journey. So, it goes without saying that busting this myth is closer to our heart at Deciml than any other! And here is the bust — investing requires information, knowledge, and regulated institutions in place. But, once you know where you want to invest, and how much for how long, your payments toward those investments can be entirely automated. For instance, investing through Deciml does not require you to physically facilitate any investment transaction. You just set your investment options and those funds are automatically credited toward your investments on a daily or weekly basis. The onset of smart investments and micro-investing is proof that investing is not a complicated process in reality.
Myth #2 — Saving and investing are the same thing.
We’ll start this one out with the one thing saving and investing have in common — they are both strategies that you can employ to accumulate money. But that is where the similarity begins and ends. So how are saving and investing different from each other? Firstly, and most importantly, the returns on your savings will never be as high as the returns you can earn through investing. Savings do not make your money multiply, but investing does exactly that. Another key difference between simply saving and investing is that the former does not offer you any protection against inflation, while the latter does. Savings are a way to accumulate money and do just that, while investing gives you the option to let your idle money make more money for you, albeit, over a period of time.
Myth #3 — You need large amounts of money in order to start investing.
You absolutely do not need huge lump sums of money to start investing. With a micro-investing app like Deciml, you can literally start investing with ₹5 — and immediately start earning interest on your investment. The trick to successful investments for young investors is investing regularly over a period of time — irrespective of the amount of your investment. At Deciml we are (obviously!) huge advocates for micro-investing, which means you invest a nominal amount daily or invest through your spare change to enjoy the benefits of compounding interest over time! This myth is a dangerous one because it can dissuade young investors from taking the plunge and starting their investment journey with small amounts. But, as soon as you start earning, you can invest through apps like Deciml and start diversifying your investments from the very start.
Myth #4 — The market can be timed.
Is it important to know whether you are in a Bear or Bull market? Yes. Is it important to know how much time your investments will take to mature? Absolutely. But can you pre-determine the exact right time to invest? Not so much! Even the most seasoned investors will tell you that predicting a good time to invest in any market is at best an abstract and volatile endeavor, and at worst a flat-out mistake. Of course, this does not mean that information about the market is a myth in its entirety — it simply means that nobody can confidently say that “this is a good time to invest and the current market scenario is completely risk-free”.
So, we bust the ‘market can be timed’ myth by saying this — you can adopt strategies that mitigate your investment risks or invest at a time when the market is relatively stable — but thinking that knowing the current market scenario means you can know how it will be tomorrow is a rookie mistake. You can find out more about this myth here.
Keeping these myths in mind can steer you away from making poor investment choices and can redirect you to making small and consistent investments as you earn more and more. Keep in mind that your financial freedom will eventually depend on whether or not your money is making more money for you — so invest now — it is the smart choice.