Nathan Roach, NSW
“Taking a friend’s advice to invest in a ‘sure bet’ turned out to be a mistake. So I learnt not to trust the ‘next big thing’ and now stick with more secure options."
My investing journey
I was lucky enough to have saved a fair bit in the lead-up to 2020 and when the pandemic hit, I had a comfortable buffer, which gave me a bit more confidence to bite the bullet. Because of COVID, a lot of shares started to fall in price and a few people suggested it was a good time to buy.
A habit that’s helped me
I don’t over-analyse my portfolio. When I first got into stocks, I looked at how much they were going up or down every single day. It was a useless activity that caused unnecessary stress. If specific stocks spike or drop on any given day, it would cause me to make snap decisions, such as buying or selling. More often, I’ve found holding on for the long term has served me well.
My investing philosophy
I like to buy shares in blue-chip companies that have been around for a while. I’ve found investing in blue-chips or exchange traded funds (ETFs), to be generally less volatile. Even if stocks seem to be going up and down at first, I’ve noticed a general upward trend in these over the years. And if I ever do feel nervous about some of my investments, I remind myself that I have a savings buffer.
One mistake I’ve made
Taking a friend’s advice to invest in a “sure bet” quickly turned out to be a mistake. So I learnt not to trust the “next big thing” and now stick with more secure options.
Jessica Tedja, WA
“Start small and build up your investment amounts.”
My investing journey
I started micro-investing at 22 and bought my first individual shares at 23. After getting married, my husband invested with me. We were able to invest all his income while living on my lower income, which significantly strengthened our portfolio and set us up for early retirement.
The most confusing part in the beginning
The sheer number of options, platforms and strategies available was overwhelming. I experimented with various approaches, which was time consuming; reading quarterly reports and conducting analyses took a lot of effort. Now I have a passive investing strategy focused on certain ETFs so I can enjoy life while it does its thing in the background.
Current goals
We want the option to work part-time in our thirties and retire in our forties if we choose to. We’ve set multiple smaller goals towards our retirement, as they provide milestones to keep us motivated. Our top three goals are: fully offset our primary residence by March 2026, save $100,000 in cash by June 2026 and build a million-dollar share portfolio by early 2028.
Tips for anyone who wants to get started
Automation is a game changer. Set up direct debits for bills and automate your investment contributions – that way, you pay yourself first and reduce the temptation to spend that money. If you’re nervous, start small and build up your investment amounts as you gain confidence.
Krish Waje, NSW
“Make sure you’re using money that you don’t need today.”
My investing journey
I was first exposed to shares in 2019, when I was working at Apple and we got company shares through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. From there, I started speaking to people who knew a bit more about investing and was introduced to the CommSec Pocket app. It’s so easy to use the platform that I got quite into it. For a while, I’d constantly watch the charts, buying when I could and selling when it was a good time. Now I hold a diverse range of stocks across different markets.
One thing to be careful of
Make sure you’re using money that you don’t need today. If you don’t have money for what you need today but you’re investing, it’s probably not a good idea.
A habit that really helps
Set-and-forget investing so it doesn’t even need to become a habit. In the CommBank app, you can set it to automatically invest a portion of your pay each month so you can just forget about it.