The Quick-Start Guide to Investing

It’s always fun to chat with Glen James. 

Glen is an award-winning author, financial educator and podcast host who has built a reputation for making money conversations practical, honest and highly relatable.

On a recent episode of the START WELL® podcast we discussed his latest book, The Quick-Start Guide to Investing: Learn How to Invest Simpler, Smarter and Sooner, which recently won both ABBA Book of the Year and Personal Finance & Investing Book of the Year.

As both a financial adviser and a mum, Dawn thinks it’s one of the most accessible finance books she’s ever read – and highly recommends it to young people who want to start investing but aren’t sure where to begin.

Here are a few key moments from the conversation. 

Start with your why

When people think about investing, they often jump straight to shares, ETFs or property. But Glen encourages people to start with a question.

“I want everyone to chill out and step back – and find a bit of a bedrock about why you want to invest,” he says.

“People get excited and they want to do something awesome, but then they need a new lounge suite, or want to go on holiday – then they go to the investing account. So I want to remind everyone what we’re doing and why.”

Understanding why you’re investing in the first place can make it much easier to stay the course when life inevitably throws other priorities your way.

Have a strategy, however small 

Many young people feel caught between enjoying life now and planning for the future.

There’s travel to experience, houses to save for, careers to build and plenty of competing priorities.

Glen’s advice isn’t about putting your life on hold, but knowing what your strategy is so you’re not flying blind. 

“The underlying thing I would encourage young people to do is have some kind of plan or strategy in place, however small.”

Don’t forget to invest in your career 

One of the points that really hit home was Glen’s view on career development.

“Your income and your career is the best asset you’ll ever have,” he says. “It’s a huge portion of your wealth plan. So why wouldn’t you want to pay attention to it?”

While investing often gets the spotlight, building skills, growing your earning capacity and creating more opportunities can have an enormous impact on your financial future.

For many young people, investing in themselves may be the most valuable investment they make.

Keep it simple

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from our conversation was that successful investing doesn’t have to be complicated.

It’s less about chasing the latest trend and more about building good habits, understanding your goals and putting a plan in place that works for your life.

The sooner you start, the more time those habits have to work in your favour.

Listen to the episode here: The Quick-Start Guide to Investing: Glen James