AN005: Plant Those Investing Seeds

Like all good things that grow, your financial future begins with planting a seed.

Last week I shared some thoughts about investing vs saving. The tl;dr (too long; didn’t read): Savings is an important element of your financial plan, but similar to planting seeds, investing is how your money will grow to enrich your future. So let’s take a look at what you may want to plant in your investment garden.

Have you ever been to a garden store and stood in front of dozens of packets of seeds? The packages alone can be considered works of art. You can find seeds for a single fruit or vegetable, or for a particular purpose such as attracting bees. Others seeds are marketed as a mix, designed to bring a burst of multiple colors and textures to a garden.

Your choice of “investing seeds” is similarly diverse. While investing in the stock market is as common as growing tomatoes, your choices of where to invest are plentiful. Just like a seed packet for an individual fruit or vegetable, you can invest in the stock of a single company. Or, you can seek out a mixed seed packet by investing in a mutual fund, which is a managed collection of stocks. Your investing options are endless, from real estate and art, to classic cars and other collectibles. Each is available in investing, the way seeds are available in a garden store or seed catalog. There are many ways to grow your money over the long term. It’s easier than you think.

Choose to Commit

“But how do I choose what to invest in?” is the lament I hear most often from women — usually right before they throw up their hands and say it’s too confusing, deciding to deal with it later. But choosing your specific investments is Step 2. Before we get there, we need to begin with the most important step: Committing that you’ll do this for your future, and by when. Taking and celebrating even this tiny step puts you further down the path.

Did you commit? (Of course you did. Who wouldn’t want to grow their financial future?) Congratulations! Your financial garden is going to be amazing, a unique and expressive reflection of you.

Show Me the Money!

So what’s next? Your path to investing may start more easily than you think, based on offerings from your current company. To begin, ask your benefits team (or search Google) to see if your company has a retirement plan that you can participate in, and sign up. (If they’ll match a portion of what you contribute, all the better.) This may be a 401(k) if you work for a private, for-profit company, or a 403(b) if your employer is a nonprofit or government entity. 

If you’re currently enrolled in a retirement plan, you already may be contributing some portion of your paycheck on a regular basis. You can confirm this by checking your most recent pay stub, either in physical or (often) digital format. If you’re already contributing, well done! Pull out your account records and check on the status of your plan. That money may be sitting in a cash account waiting for you to decide where to invest it, which you can do with a few simple clicks. 

If you’re not here yet, don’t worry. It only takes a few dollars to get started. Maybe you can begin by setting aside $5 or $50 for investing — or make an agreement with yourself to invest a mere $5 per week, which you can choose how to invest next week. There are many investment paths that can get you there — which we’ll cover down the road.

So let me ask you: Have you already declared that you’re heading to the seed store, commitment in hand? If so, I want to hear what got you started. If you haven’t, what’s standing in your way? I’d love to hear your story, too. Drop me a line at athena@terrilonier.com.  

Remember, your financial journey will last a lifetime, but like all good things that grow, it begins with planting a seed. 

It’s worth it. 

And you’re worth it.