Learning how to invest is a key skill everyone should learn. Although the stock market is not for everyone the benefits if done right often outweigh the risks. This article will expose the best ways to learn about investing, I wish I had known about these resources sooner.
From the best books to online resources there are resources that anyone can take advantage of so that you can start investing today!
Learn from investing books
Before jumping into investing, you need to master some skills to help you become a wise investor and minimise you chances of loosing money, books are a great way to start.
There are some really great books out there can help you with investment terminology and help you create the right skill set and mindset to learn about investing.
I actually wrote a full article about the best investing books out there which you can check out here.
But if you want to cut to the chase and know which books I loved then you should check out the Intelligent Investor, it is the pinnacle of investing books and know as the go to book used by famous stock brokers like Buffett. It covers all the terminology and what to look for before investing.
Then the great thing about books is they are low cost so you don’t really need to worry about paying for expensive courses.
- HarperBusiness
- It comes with proper packaging
- Easy to read text
Learn from Stock advisor services
If you are short on time and really just want to buy vetted stocks by trade experts that will help you develop your wealth then a stock advisor service is a good way to go.
I personally use Motley Fools share advisor service which emails me every month with 2 stock picks they have vetted. It’s a genuine service that I found useful when first starting to this day. The membership includes starter guides to help you get onto the right tracks.
For instance, on top of the monthly picks, you get access to what they call their starter stocks that everyone should have to build a stable portfolio.
I also learned the best lesson from Fools share advisor which is to have at least 15 stocks in your portfolio this stops the risk of you losing money as you are casting your net wide
From a cost point of view yes you pay a annual subscription but for me personally it has paid for itself with the money I have made back from buying shares I would not have known about otherwise.
For me I don’t have time to be researching lots of shares so this service is a no brainer.
Related article: Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review
Motley Fool Stock Advisor: Join now for 50% Off!Use a stock simulator
What is very cool these days is that you can for free get access to stock simulators. This is exactly what is sounds like a program that allows you to invest fake money into the stock market and gives you what would happen real time on current stock market conditions.
It can be a useful risk free program to practice what you have learnt in books or in your research. Using this method will take time if your are looking to invest for the long haul because of course you won’t experience returns instantly the stock market is about the long term view.
But what I liked when using this method is it give me a little bit of confidence before I bought my first stock. I used an app on my phone to simulate (Trading 212) but there are lots of different apps and websites available.
With this method its best to learn some basics before trading or it could hurt your confidence so I would recommend using the steps above first.
If you want to a free share today use this link to get started with 212
Learn from Investing forums
Once you have a idea of the basics a investing forum can help you develop your passion. Participating in a good reputable forum can help you develop more advanced strategies.
Then of course it’s also great to build a network and connect with like minded people who can share with you their experiences.
A few examples of forums to add to your research list are:
Value investors club – Although it is not a typical forum or board, there is always lots of activity, feedback and constructive criticism to any stock analysis that has been posted. You can sign up as a guest straight away but If you want access to the full benefits, you need to write about a small cap and submit it. If it is approved, you’re in the community. There’s a high rejection rate as they want to keep their quality high. But the best things in life require a bit of effort right.
Financial Wisdom Forum – although targeted at Canadian investors there is something for everyone in this forum and its free and easy to join.
Read articles
Finding good articles are most of the time a free and great way to start your path to being a skilled investor. The most popular and reputable website is investopedia, I also find Motley fools blog to be very useful and Yahoo finance is a good site the curates a lot of content that is interesting to read and keeps you up to date.
Study the greats
Learning about great investors from the past provides perspective, inspiration, and appreciation for the game which is the stock market. Even just reading past quotes from people like Peter Lynch will help you develop a good mindset and avoid the pitfalls that put people off the stock market.
Related article
- Best investment quotes: 20 quotes that will blow your mind
Follow the stock market
Sites like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance will expose you to information on trends and gradually build your confidence. I personally have the Yahoo Finance app on my phone. I find it super useful as I can track companies I am interested in on the stock market and it will curate me relevant articles. The best part is that it’s free! There are lots of investing apps that can help you so do check them out.
Use social media
Depending on your platform there are lots of resources on social media. Consider following investors on Twitter, joining groups on Facebook.
Then Quora and Reddit have great resources where you can post and get your questions answered. Again these are free resources.
YouTube is another rated resource if you prefer to watch videos, there are plenty of great resources that are free minus a few adverts. I am personally a fan of Nate O’Brien. He does really detailed and resourceful videos on investing, check out one of my favourite tutorial videos below:
Podcasts and Blinkist
If you prefer to learn as part of your day then this option could help compliment some of the other methods I have listed in this article.
I have found the best way to learn something new and stick to it is to incorporate it into activities that are already apart of your day.
For instance I walk my dog ever single day I can combine this activity with learning with Podcasts and apps like Blinkist.
What is Blinkist you ask? Well, its a really cool app that summarises non-fiction books into 20 mins audio ‘blinks’ and summary text to read. Of course its no replacement for a real book but I love to use it daily to feed my brain key insights. The intelligent Investor I mentioned earlier is available is summary format through Blinkist.
You can find out more information on Blinkist here.
Take a course
Another option if you are not really a books fan is to invest in an online course from places like Investopedia. I put this as a point 10 as they are quite pricey and it’s not something I have needed to invest in so far, between books and Fools Share advisor service I have learnt enough to keep my investments stable.
But this is not to say this option isn’t right for you, each person is different.
The benefits of choosing an investing course are that you can set your own pace and take the time to really comprehend what you’re being taught. A good investing course can help you identify your investing goals and make a plan to reach them.
Final thoughts
No matter what your learning style is there are lots of ways to learn about investing. My recommendation is to use a combination of the methods I have shared in this article and then as always add your own research.
It doesn’t matter what point you are in your life you can start to invest if you choose, the key is to build your skills first to enable you to make wise decisions.
Then my advice is to research, invest for the long term and spread your investments. Follow these and you won’t go far wrong.
I hope you have learned a little more about ways that you can learn about investing, Please give this article a thumbs up or share if it was useful it helps me keep this site useful to more people 🙂
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