Before You Invest in Stocks, Here Are 2 Critical Steps You Must Take

A person viewing a stock trading app on a smartphone at a desk — FreshSplash/Getty Images

The 10 Greatest EntrepreneursClose

Buying your first share of stock can feel like a frightening leap. Savvy investors know, though, that what comes before that first buy order matters far more than which stock ticker symbols you choose.

Experts we spoke with said that getting a plan on paper is the first step to long-term success, which involves some financial housekeeping: Building a solid emergency fundand identifying the “why” behind your investing, before choosing an approach you’ll actually stick with.

Key Takeaways

Before investing in the market, you should have an emergency fund that covers three to six months of essential living expenses.
Write down a simple plan that includes the types of investments you want, the amount you’ll invest each month, and when you’ll review your portfolio. This helps you avoid making emotional decisions.

1. Build a Safety Net Before You Build Wealth

Stocks have been an excellent way to build long‑term wealth (averaging about 10% in returns annually over the past several decades), but they’re also volatile, with swings in either direction. A 20% drop in a bad year can happen. Without a cash reserve, a surprise medical bill or job loss can force you to sell your stocks at the worst time (when their price is down), instead of waiting for the price is rise again.

For this reason, experts put emergency savings at the top of their investing checklists. “Never invest money you might need in the short term,” Prince Dykes, founder of Royal Financial Investment Group, told Investopedia. “Before diving into stocks, ensure you have an emergency fund that covers three to six months’ worth of living expenses—mortgage, groceries, health insurance, utilities—kept in an account separate from your primary checking, so you won’t have to sell investments to cover expenses in a pinch.”

Set the amount you need to feel secure and automate contributions on paydays, allowing your funds to grow on their own. It’s only after this buffer is in place that you should start putting additional money at risk in the market.

2. Define Your Goals

Investing without a goal is like driving without a destination—you may end up nowhere particularly helpful. So start by naming your “why”—such as “retire at 65,” “save for a down payment in seven years,” or simply “beat inflation over time.”

Take the Next Step to InvestAdvertiser Disclosure

https://746eaebfc103543b174304b895c4191d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html

Then, match each goal with a corresponding time horizon and the amount of risk you’re willing to take (stocks carry more risk than bonds, etc.). “Are you comfortable with high risk, or do you prefer a more conservative approach? These factors will help determine the type of investments you make, so it’s important to clarify them before jumping into the markets,” Dykes said.

For goals that are more than 10 years off, a portfolio weighted toward stocks makes sense. For near-term goals, consider shifting from stocks to bonds or cash-like funds, such as CDs and high-yield savings accounts.

Choose Your Path

Once you’ve built an emergency fund and defined your goals, you can choose how you want to start investing. While you can always change your strategy down the road, most beginners follow one of these common approaches:

DIY indexing: Low‑cost, broad market index funds instantly diversify and outperform most active stock pickers over time. Liz Frazier Peck, financial advisor and author of Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands: How to Teach Young Kids About Finance, notes that you should only invest in stocks and funds that you understand. “Avoid investing in companies where you don’t understand the fundamentals of their business,” she said.
Robo-advisor autopilot: Apps and their algorithms manage allocation and rebalancing for a modest fee—great for hands‑off beginners.
Human-advisor partnership: If your finances are complex, a professional financial advisor can help you take care of your taxes, insurance, and retirement at once.

Whichever route you choose, put the plan on paper. Include your target asset mix, your monthly contribution amount, and a schedule—quarterly or annually—for rebalancing and reviewing your portfolio. Mark dates in your calendar to revisit the plan as your life changes or financial goals evolve.

The Bottom Line

Before you consider looking at a stock chart, secure a cash cushion, set out some clear goals, and put those intentions into a simple, written investment plan. These unglamorous first steps form the quiet scaffolding that lets every future share purchase compound toward the life you actually want.

要点总结

在投资股市之前，你应该准备一笔应急资金，足以支付三到六个月的基本生活开支。
制定一个简单的投资计划，包括你想投资的类型、每月投资金额以及何时查看投资组合。这有助于你避免情绪化决策。

1. 在积累财富之前，先建立安全网。

股票一直是积累长期财富的绝佳途径（过去几十年平均年回报率约为10%），但其波动性也很大，价格可能大幅上涨或下跌。在市场低迷的年份，股价下跌20%的情况也可能发生。如果没有现金储备，突如其来的医疗账单或失业可能会迫使你在最糟糕的时机（股价下跌时）抛售股票，而不是等待股价回升。

因此，专家们将应急储蓄列为投资清单的首位。“永远不要投资那些你短期内可能需要用到的钱，”皇家金融投资集团创始人戴克斯王子告诉Investopedia。“在投资股票之前，确保你有一个应急基金，足以支付三到六个月的生活开支——包括房贷、食品杂货、医疗保险和水电煤气费——并且要放在一个与你的主要支票账户分开的账户里，这样你就不必在紧急情况下出售投资来支付这些开支了。”

设定一个让你感到安心的资金数额，并设置自动缴款，让资金在发薪日自动增值。只有在积累了足够的缓冲资金后，你才应该开始将更多资金投入市场，承担风险。

2. 明确你的目标

没有目标的投资就像没有目的地的开车——最终可能到达不了任何有用的地方。所以，首先要明确你的“为什么”——例如“65岁退休”、“七年内攒够首付”，或者仅仅是“长期跑赢通货膨胀”。

然后，将每个目标与相应的投资期限和你愿意承担的风险水平相匹配（股票的风险高于债券等）。“你能接受高风险吗？还是更倾向于保守的投资方式？这些因素将决定你的投资类型，因此在进入市场之前明确这些因素非常重要，”戴克斯说道。

对于十年以上的长期目标，构建以股票为主的投资组合是合理的。而对于短期目标，则可以考虑将部分股票投资转向债券或类似现金的基金，例如定期存单和高收益储蓄账户。

选择你的道路

建立起应急基金并明确目标后，就可以选择投资方式了。虽然以后可以随时调整策略，但大多数初学者都会遵循以下几种常见方法之一：

DIY指数投资：低成本、覆盖面广的市场指数基金能够立即实现分散投资，并且长期表现优于大多数主动选股者。理财顾问兼《超越存钱罐和柠檬水摊：如何教孩子理财》一书的作者莉兹·弗雷泽·佩克指出，你应该只投资于你了解的股票和基金。“避免投资那些你不了解其基本业务的公司，”她说。
智能投顾自动驾驶：应用程序及其算法以适中的费用管理资产配置和再平衡——非常适合无需亲自操作的初学者。
人机协作：如果您的财务状况复杂，专业的财务顾问可以帮助您同时处理税务、保险和退休事宜。

无论你选择哪种方式，都要把计划写下来。计划中应包括你的目标资产配置、每月投入金额，以及按季度或年度进行投资组合再平衡和审查的时间表。在日历上标记日期，以便随着生活变化或财务目标的调整，重新审视你的计划。

底线

在考虑查看股票图表之前，请确保手头有足够的现金储备，设定明确的目标，并将这些目标写成一份简洁明了的投资计划。这些看似不起眼的第一步，如同脚踏实地的支架，能够让你日后每一次股票投资都朝着你真正想要的生活不断增值。