Learning how to invest your own money is one of the most important skills you can have. After all, money certainly does make the world go ‘round. The beauty of investing money is that it doesn’t require a high school degree, nor does it require a hefty time investment. All it takes is a basic understanding of business and the confidence to build a strategic plan.

For many of us, money and investments aren’t popularly discussed at home. Parents tend to stray away from discussing their salaries or financial relations with their children due to insecurities. However, it is crucial for our generation to practice financial independence in order to make the most out of our buck. The most common types of investments are stocks and bonds, with stocks representing a partial ownership of a company while bonds are a form of “I owe you.”

There are many more types of investments to take part in, but stocks and bonds make the most sense for beginners. The first tip for investing smart is to use all your extra money to pay down debts such as mortgages, credit card, and student loans. If you have interest payments above 10%, you are better off paying off your guaranteed debts that can inflate in value over time. Prioritizing debts is crucial before starting any type of investment.

If your debts are low or completely cleared, then you can start investing into stocks, bonds, or funds. By taking that extra change behind the sofa or dollars lying around the house, you can double, triple, sometimes even quadruple your money. The last strategy when investing your money is to understand the difference between saving and investing. Although investing offers lucrative opportunities to make more than you already have, saving will always guarantee personal financial safety. If the stock market was to crash and you lost your job, your investments would be rendered useless and you would lose almost all of those funds immediately. As effective as it is to invest your money within our massive market, people should prioritize saving a set amount of funds before entering the risky field of investments today.

<David Yi /Oxford Academy 11th Grade>