After graduating from college, I thought the hardest thing was finding a job. After finding a job and working for a few years, I quickly learned that the harder part of life was figuring out how to manage my money.

In this blog post, I will share with you 10 easy steps to starting an investment portfolio. By following these steps, you can begin to invest your money intelligently and save thousands of dollars in the process.

1. **Create a Budget**

The first step is to create a budget. Everyone needs a budget; whether you are single or married, have kids or no kids, work full-time or part-time, or make $25,000 or $250,000 per year – you need a budget. By creating a budget and sticking to it, you can begin saving money for retirement and future investments.

2. **Pay Off Credit Card Debt**

After you create a budget and start saving money each month, you should take those savings and pay off any credit card debt that you may have. Paying down credit card debt can help improve your credit score which will allow you to take advantage of better interest rates on loans in the future (for buying cars, buying homes, etc.). Ideally, you should be able to

Why invest?

To make money.

To fund retirement.

To send your kids to college.

And, most importantly, to protect yourself from the rising cost of living.

Once you decide you want to invest your money, the next question is how to do it. Investing can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. Here are 10 easy steps to get started:

1)Decide what type of account you want

If you want to withdraw money before retirement age, use a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). If not, use a traditional IRA or 401(k). Both types of accounts offer tax advantages (more on those later), but with a traditional account, you pay taxes on the money when you withdraw it in retirement; with a Roth account, you pay taxes on the money now and avoid paying taxes in retirement.

If your employer offers a 401(k) plan with a company match, that’s probably your best option — especially if you can afford to contribute enough to get the full match (basically “free money”). You can also invest in an individual retirement account (IRA) or a taxable brokerage account (which has no tax benefits). A mix of these options is best for

Whether you are a seasoned investor or just starting out, there is always something new to learn.​

As an investor, you have many options when it comes to investing your money. The type of investments you choose will depend on your goals and risk tolerance.​

The first step in setting up an investment portfolio is to figure out what your investment goals are. Once you know what you want to accomplish with your money, then you can determine which investments will help you reach those goals.​

There are many types of investments available: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate and more. You can even invest in yourself by investing time and money into learning new skills that will make you more valuable in the workforce or starting a business.​

If this is all sounding overwhelming, don’t worry! We’ve put together some tips for getting started on your investment journey so that it’s easy as pie (or cake). And remember, it’s never too late to start investing!​

1) Figure Out What Your Investment Goals Are​

It’s important to set goals before investing because they will help keep you focused throughout the process. Without goals, investors may find themselves jumping from one opportunity another without ever making any real progress towards their financial dreams. For example,

1. Decide what you want to invest in.

2. Do your research.

3. Determine the best investment account for you.

4. Open an investment account and fund it (aka put money into it).

5. Choose an investment strategy for your goals and risk tolerance.

6. Start investing with a mix of stocks and bonds, based on that strategy and the amount of risk you are willing to take on.

7. Keep building your portfolio over time through dollar-cost averaging to help mitigate the impact of market volatility on your investments, while hopefully buying low, selling high and re-balancing periodically throughout your investing timeline to maintain a healthy asset allocation.*

Getting your first job is a huge step in any young person’s life. As you start to earn and save money, you might look for new ways to invest and make your cash work for you. Once you have established an emergency fund, it can be a good idea to consider investing as a long-term strategy — as Warren Buffett would say, “The stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient.”

Step 1: Set your goals.

Step 2: Assess your risk tolerance.

Step 3: Determine how much time you need before making a withdrawal.

Step 4: Determine how much money you want to invest.

Step 5: Decide on the right investment account for you.

Step 6: Determine how often you will add money to your portfolio.

Step 7: Find a financial advisor if necessary.

Step 8: Choose your asset allocation.

Step 9: Pick your investments within each asset class.

Step 10: Rebalance when necessary.

1. Start with the basics

The first step toward building your investment portfolio is to understand what you’re investing in.

2. You don’t need a lot of money

3. Don’t let fear hold you back

4. Diversify your portfolio

5. Keep up with inflation

6. Monitor your investments

7. Don’t get greedy

8. Prepare for the worst-case scenario

9. Create a long-term plan and stick to it

10. Educate yourself