By: Faith Forster, Managing and Graphics Editor 

Growing up, I was taught to save money, how to balance a checkbook, and plan for the future. As I got older, I learned how to invest money to help finance my future. This is the advice I’d like to offer. 

I’m guessing you’re wondering how to do it yourself, right? First, open a bank account with both a savings and checking account (if you don’t already have one), preferably with a brick-and-mortar bank. From there, your savings account should be the one left alone. The checking account, on the other hand, should be used for paying bills.  

Once a decent amount of money is saved, then you can start to invest.  It is proven that just leaving your money in the bank is not sufficient. The stock market is what you would use to build your wealth over time. 

Education is key to investing. You need to read and do research to understand the market and potential opportunities. There are many options to consider depending on what is right for your situation.  

Tutorials, as well as financial advisors from large brokerage firms, can help you get started. Opening a brokerage account is a big deal that, in the long run, can change your living situation significantly. But learning your way around the market first is essential.  

The best way to start is to open an account with a major financial organization. Charles Schwab (who bought out TD Ameritrade in 2020) is a good option. It’s free to join, and there is access to professional-grade investment tools to help you on your journey. One piece of information I would like to add, is that the stock market is like a roller coaster – while you may go up, you can also go down. Now, you would need to factor in inflation.  

Inflation degrades the value of saved cash over time. Investing provides an opportunity to beat that. The current bank interest rate is 0.5% in a traditional savings account. With the current inflation rate of 3.4%, your saved money becomes worth less. Meaning, in a year it is worth 2.9% less in value. But the stock market yields an average return of 10% per year. This is about 7% above the rate of saving your money in a bank.  

The key point to this is the Time Value of Money. A principle that the money you have now is worth more than the money you will have later. Even if identical in amount. 

In the first stages of investing, a wise choice would be to invest in an ETF. An ETF is an Exchange-Traded Fund that holds multiple assets. When you buy a share of an ETF, you invest in a broad array of stocks. The diversification diminishes market instability.  

A recommended ETF to invest in would be one that follows the S&P 500. This is a stock that tracks 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the US. These low-expense S&P 500 ETFs would include SPY (State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF), and IVV (iShares Core S&P 500 ETF). 

 The takeaway here should be to never forget that the research you do gives you the power you need to win with your money. The goal is to have your money work for you, rather than you working for your money.