Five (not so smart) reasons why you don’t invest

I don’t have enough money to invest

It seems to be a common misconception that investing money is only for a small fraction of rich people. You might think that maybe you’re just a student and not have any surplus income to spend or maybe you are already working but have to pay off your debts and you don't have extra money to spend on investments like those rich guys. While it is true that you should first pay off any debts, things have changed drastically over the past years when it comes to mainstream access to investing. What you may be missing when you say “I don’t have enough money”, is that you can now start investing with very small amounts. In fact, there are easy-to-use platforms (such as Bitpanda) that let you start investing from €1 with a minimum deposit amount of just €25. Also, regular savings plans can be set up at Bitpanda with a minimum amount of just €25, which means that as soon as you are able to invest this amount per month you can start. It can’t get lower than that, can it?

I don’t have a degree in finance and don’t really know anything about investing

Why not learn something new? Especially something new that might bring you some extra income. You don’t have to take a special course in finance to learn how to invest. Believe us, you can find everything online. Every good investing platform has its own educational space just like the Bitpanda Academy. Make sure you take your time with this point and find as much information as possible. And remember what we wrote above: you don’t have to start investing large amounts of money. Start small and see where it takes you. If you’re unsure which digital asset to pick on Bitpanda, you should check out the Bitpanda Crypto Index which allows you to easily invest in the whole crypto market.

I don’t have time to monitor my investments

You probably have a full-time job or are studying and have your day packed already, so the last thing you want to do after a long day is to look at the financial news and monitor your investments. We get it. But there are also other ways to learn how to invest without spending countless hours researching and monitoring the market. Try to set up a savings plan starting from €25, define how often you want to invest (weekly, biweekly or monthly) and pick any digital asset on Bitpanda (even gold or the Bitpanda Crypto Index). It takes you about five minutes to set this up and then you’re good to go. And if you’re worried that you might pick an asset which does not perform as well as you would imagine, keep in mind that you don’t invest too much of your money. Make sure to diversify between different asset classes like precious metals and cryptocurrencies and keep some of your money in cash in case you need it.

I am afraid of losing  money with investing

If you’re really worried, then you should start investing small amounts first and do your research as we mentioned in the first two points. Take it step by step. Trust us, the more you will learn and the more experience you have, the less you will be afraid. There is a saying that “time in the market beats timing the market” which is a pretty interesting thing to consider when you invest in rather volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies. Prices can increase rapidly, but can also fall as quickly. Your goal should be to buy for the lowest price possible, but timing those moments can be hard and a savings plan that takes out the emotion helps. Overall, you should also keep in mind that as long as you don’t sell you haven’t realised any losses (or gains), so “losing money” only happens when you sell.

What about all those scammers out there?

Well yes, the scammers are out there. But there are several security measures you can take to protect yourself. For example, you should set up your two-factor-authentication (2FA) and use strong passwords you create with a trustworthy password manager like LastPass or Dashlane. Also, have a look at this article about how to spot scams in 2020. It will help you better understand how scammers work and give you the knowledge to be able to react to potential scams. Unfortunately, as most of us handle more and more of our daily financial business online, criminals move online as well. So it’s critical to educate yourself about this topic and make sure to be a bit paranoid when it comes to emails from people you don’t know, or phone calls from unfamiliar numbers or weblinks you see on the internet in general. Educate yourself about how malware works, what phishing means and use individual passwords for each service.

Are you interested in investing? Start growing your personal portfolio with Bitpanda.