…………How I got on the path to financial literacy
Beginning My Path to Financial Literacy
I graduated law school at twenty-five years old and got my first job as an 
Assistant District Attorney at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Over time, this job allowed me to save money and maintain a savings account for the first time in my life. After five years, I had saved enough money to consider investing and making this money work for me.
I am truly #blessed to have attained these successes so early in my life, but beginning on a path to financial literacy can happen at any age. Don’t feel discouraged if you are starting later in life, just start with a plan and execute-anyone at any age can become financially literate!
How I Set Financial Goals
I decided that I wanted to start investing with little risk and in a way that was easy for a beginner. I choose to use an App called Acorns (there are many such Apps out there, but I choose Acorns because it had the best reviews). Acorns automatically rounds up every purchase that you make with your linked debit card and takes those cents and invests them in the market for you. You choose your level of risk and other factors and Acorns charges a $1 fee a month for the service. After about a year with Acorns, I made two thousand dollars and decided that it was time to take my investing to the next level. Acorns.png I came to this decision by weighing my savings versus how much of that I was willing to risk on investments. My happy percent is 20% of my total savings that goes to investments.
The next step in my financial plan was to invest with a broker and start taking more risk. I met with my broker monthly and picked his brain for all the tips and tricks that he uses when investing.
Here are a few things that I learned:
5 Tips From The Pros:
- Start With a Plan
- Always Diversify
- Take Risks
- Do Your Homework
- Invest In Stocks That You Believe In
For me I put these into action by buying many different types of stocks in many different markets that others may find too risky. I also always do my homework and try to stay with stocks that I believe in (no animal cruelty or sweat shop labor support here).
Obtaining Financial Wealth
After years of investing with a Broker, I decided that the way I would obtain real financial wealth was to invest on my own without a broker on and save the fees. Investing on your own is hard work and takes a lot of reading and staying abreast of the markets. I try to read at least two articles a day about stock performance and watch at least one hour of financial programming. If you do your homework you can also invest in the market and obtain true financial wealth.
Top 5 stock publications to read: Money Magazine, Bloomberg Business Week, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Investor’s Business Daily
