00:00If you are waiting to invest because you don't earn enough, you could be making a big mistake.
00:05What if investing is just like getting in shape?
00:10This is a marathon, it's not a sprint when it comes to investing.
00:15But you don't run a marathon on your first day out, and you don't start with the heaviest
00:19weight first.
00:20You start small, get used to it, and go from there.
00:23And just like working out, it's about building good habits.
00:32We talked to 2020 millennials about how they invest.
00:36Many of them told us they don't.
00:38Why?
00:39Because they're waiting to earn more first.
00:42But you can't wait until you're strong enough to lift the big weights, right?
00:46I would say you always have enough money to invest.
00:50Well, it's never been cheaper to start small with investing.
00:53And missing out on time in the market is not something you can make up for later.
00:59Over 40% of millennials from the ages of 23 to 38 haven't ever put part of their paycheck
01:04into financial products.
01:06Exactly half of those non-investors said they might start when they earn more.
01:10And they had some other reasons for not investing too, like focusing on savings, or just not
01:16understanding how to do it.
01:18But you don't need to be an expert to start a portfolio.
01:21Most millennials we surveyed have been investing fewer than five years.
01:26Using an app or some sort of robo-advisor site is a really easy way to get started.
01:32Most are using simple, no-fee trading apps.
01:36Just $10, or maybe even less, is enough to build a diverse portfolio on some of the best
01:41investment platforms out there.
01:43Thinking you need to be rich to start investing is a myth.
01:46About a quarter of millennials set aside less than $100 per month.
01:50And more than half put less than $500 into the market.
01:55$100 a paycheck is much better starting off in that capacity in terms of investing to allow
02:02that money to grow over time than it is to say I'll do absolutely nothing and only think about the
02:08short term.
02:09It may not seem like it, but now is actually the best time to start investing, no matter when now
02:14is.
02:16Even in this now, the coronavirus pandemic has not changed people's long term outlook.
02:22Over half of millennials are sticking to their pre-pandemic strategies.
02:26Investing really should be a long term game.
02:28You know, you want to be thinking at least five to ten years down the line.
02:31Whether you dream of retiring comfortably at 65 or quitting work to travel the world in your 30s,
02:37the simple truth is that the earlier you start investing, the easier it will be to reach your goals.
02:42Your investments won't always be heading straight up.
02:45They'll dip sometimes, but over the long term, the stock market tends to go up.
02:50Even though research shows investing lump sums of money can be more lucrative,
02:54most people don't have the ability or confidence to do that.
02:58Small amounts of money, even $10 at a time, is better than nothing, as long as you're consistent.
03:04That strategy is called dollar-cost averaging.
03:07Dollar-cost averaging is essentially putting in the same amount of money at a regular interval.
03:14And so it could be, you know, every two weeks you're putting money, you know,
03:18taking money from your paycheck and investing in your 401k.
03:21Think of it like taking a walk every day versus working out really hard once or twice a week.
03:26Both are good choices, but one is probably more attainable than the other.
03:30Whatever amount you have to invest, it can be scary to think of pouring it all in at once.
03:35And that's okay.
03:37Habits start small and momentum builds.
03:40Just because you can't bench your body weight on day one,
03:42doesn't mean you shouldn't start at all.
03:44What industries are really rising as a result of this pandemic?
03:49Is this an opportunity to think about investments that are going to be more profound
03:53in those particular industries?
03:56The millennial investors we heard from are putting their money into healthcare,
04:00IT and energy.
04:01They are avoiding real estate investments.
04:04The bottom line is millennials tend to think investing is harder than it is
04:08and that they can't afford it.
04:10But that's just not true.
04:12You've got more to lose by not starting today.
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