Quick ways to get started with investment in 2021

One of the most common resolutions that people make when the new year comes around is to ‘save more money’, ‘build up a savings pot’, or even ‘invest for the future’. Getting into a better mindset financially and investing some of the money that you make is a fantastic way to set yourself up for a productive and successful year, but it can often feel difficult getting started, particularly if you have no prior investment experience.

Looking to get into investing your money in 2021? To help provide you with some inspiration out of the gate as we come to the end of January, we’ve compiled a short list of quick ways that might help you to get started. Good luck with your investment journey!

Figuring out your financial situation

Before going ahead with any investment strategy, if you haven’t already, you need to make sure that you have the right amount of money available to comfortably invest. While a long-term investment strategy can be something that gives you financial stability in the years to come, if you don’t have the right amount of funding initially, you could struggle with immediate payments and commitments. Take some time to analyse your expenses and bills, regular payments etc., and think about whether you would be secure in the event of an emergency. Often when investing your money is tied up for long periods of time, so you won’t typically be able to access it on-the-fly. Savings accounts and alike that have those quick-access options tend to have lower interest-rates as a result of this.

Tip – If you haven’t got the money to put into the sort of investment strategy that you’d like to just yet, then set yourself some savings goals for 2021, and perhaps continue to learn about investment methods and do research in preparation for the right moment. Just because you aren’t going to invest yourself right away, doesn’t mean you can’t go and learn about the sorts of markets that you’re interested in.

Choosing the right type of investment for you

Once you’re financially sound and have an idea of the sort of capital that you can afford to allocate towards a new investment strategy, you then want to think about the type of investment that is right for your lifestyle. From stocks and shares to physical property investment, there are a ton of different types of dynamic assets, some more volatile than others.

If you’re someone that doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands, you might decide to go ahead with a more hands-off approach, choosing a more hard-wearing asset or handing it off to an advisor that can deal with your portfolio on your behalf (or even a robo-investor through your smartphone if you choose). If you like to keep a keen eye on your finances, on the other hand, then something more opportunistic and fast-paced might suit your hands-on attitude better.

Research your chosen investment path

Taking the time to do the right amount of research will ensure that when it comes to making your investment decision, you make one that is the best for you and your finances moving forward. There are thousands of different free resources online that you can jump into right away, but make sure that you’re only taking in information from reputable sources – either opinion leaders that can back up what they’re saying, or facts-based analysis that you can check and verify.

Make sure that you also apply the information to your own personal circumstances and capital so that you can weight it up. Remember, just because a strategy has been lucrative for someone else in the past, doesn’t mean that it will trend positively for you, too.

Tip – Don’t have time to sit and read guides on different types of investment? Try looking for a podcast, perhaps, or an audiobook that you can digest as you go. RWinvest, for example, an award-winning property company based in the UK, provide a range of different written guides, videos, podcasts and even infographics, giving those interested in the developing property market the chance to decide for themselves how they want to learn.