I’m scared to start investing in stocks

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This year I’m trying to sort out my finances, put about a third of my money in savings, another third in bonds and the rest in investments. Leaving some over for immediate spending of course.

I know the general advice is to invest in a tracker fund if you’re new to investing but the thought of putting a third of my net worth away for 5 years with the risk of its value dropping is really scary.

How did you overcome this fear?

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Comments ( 11 )
  • donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
    1 year ago

    scared money dont make money

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      1 year ago

      Thank you for this comment, it helped me push through the mental barrier. I invested for the very first time 2 weeks ago and have made £34 so far, a small start on a long and potentially rocky road but a start nonetheless.

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  • hauntedbysandwiches
    1 year ago

    Pick stocks that never fail...big companies.

    Also invest in ETFs you can't really go wrong.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      1 year ago

      Thank you for commenting I appreciate the encouragement, I went for an index fund in the end so pretty similar. I’ve made £34 so far, the start of a long journey.

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  • KholatKhult
    1 year ago

    Gold

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      1 year ago

      Thank you for commenting. I’ve chosen an index fund to start me off but when I’m earning more I’ll have a look at investing in gold.

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    • bigbudchonger
      1 year ago

      Not a bad idea at all. Gold always does well in a crisis, and the world's heading for a recession.

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  • 1WeirdGuy
    1 year ago

    Ribinhood offers 4% APY which is good if you're worried about stocks and then you can invest when you think the market is rovering.

    SP500 is a really good stock which outperforms most. I like to just put 100 or 200 a week in there from savings and over time put more and more. When the market is doing poorly its better to invest. You arent gonna put money in to take it out in a few weeks you put it in there with the intention of leaving it there for years.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      1 year ago

      Thank you for this comment. I picked another index fund in the end, but will hopefully be able to return to full time work this year (had to reduce to part time due to my health) and will have a look at those to start regularly putting money away and maybe chancing some riskier investments.

      I’ve made my first ever passive £34 on stocks thanks to the encouragement on this post, the start of a long journey.

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      • 1WeirdGuy
        1 year ago

        Idk your index fund but i wouldnt eveb worry if that 34 goes to -34 because it'll almost certainly recover if its a decent index fund. A lot of index funds do better than stocks. I think you're better off going with those. Because to lose your lifes savings on that is harder than just banking on one big company. SP500 is 500 top companies. Youre betting on the entire US economy.

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  • Biggles
    1 year ago

    You should be scared. Stocks are risky, and you can lose real amounts of money. It's rich man's gambling - you need to realize you can lose the money you put in - and there are entrenched players who regularly break the rules to steal from the rubes. If you still want to dabble - don't drop more than you can lose, and diversify - consider strongly low cost index funds that split the risk over a large number of strong stocks, or things like bonds or real-estate if you are especially risk-averse. Look in particular at your own finances - if you have ANY consumer credit, paying that off is a far, far better investment than any stock, as is investing in a 401k or equivalent. Stocks are for extra money you can afford to lose.

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