Practical, Tactical Advice for How To Get Started Investing in JA when you have very little disposable income.

I got this question via DM today that I thought it was a great question that a lot of beginners have but perhaps are too afraid to ask.

//Thread.

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Question:

I try to save like at least 5,000 to 10,000 per mo. but I end up going into it because
1. The car may take it.
2. Little ones school may take it
3. Supermarket
This happens even though I make a budget. Just not able to stick to it for one reason or another.

This is a great, great question because it reflects the 'messy' nature of real life. My response was targeted specifically to this scenario, but you can modify it to fit your specific needs.

I am assuming a stable income (regardless of size). Your mileage may vary.

I know exactly how this person feels. Being married with 3 young kids, I fully get it. If it isn't one thing, it's another. Something always comes up. But, you have to get militant with it. The most important thing is to start and just develop the habit. No matter how small.

To start, go and open a new bank account/credit union with a different bank than you normally do business with. For the first few months, you want to make it very hard to take this money out, so don't get a debit card or even online access. Ideally it should be out of your way.

Out of your way preferably, so you reduce the likelihood that you will try and pull the funds. It should also have a low opening balance requirement (per @JCKNIGHT2 Sagicor Bank E-advantage & JMMB Bonus Saver & Ezaccess have a $1K minimum). Remember: NO DEBIT & ONLINE ACCESS.

Or if you can't find one, find someone you can trust that will hold you accountable and literally put $1K in an envelope and give it to them to keep for you safely.

The idea is to allow you to accumulate some amount of savings and not be able to touch it.

Then, every month, take a manageable amount out of your paycheck. Since we know $5K was too much before, cut that in half and do $2,500...heck it could be even $500. The point is, just do it with something. Take that money and add it to the envelope or deposit to the new account.

Keep building up that envelope/new account until you reach $10K JMD. Once you reach $10K, go to any broker that requires at least $10K to open an equities trading account. I would suggest @JMMBGROUP's EMMA Account because that's what I use and I am familiar with...

But it can be any one you feel comfortable with. In fact, check out this article by @rtrowe about choosing one - https://www.everymickle.com/blog/pickabroker

Note though that some of those fees have been modified -- e.g. JMMB now only charges 0.75%, down from 2%.

Then once you have that account open, I am going to suggest doing something that I would NEVER suggest as an ongoing strategy and some can consider (rightly) irresponsible but what we are fighting against is inertia and we are trying to do behavior change. So that's the context.

Your first thing is to just buy something with the $10K. Preferably one of the 'staple' companies that are 'conservative' and 'safe'. But really any company that is a large brand that you are familiar with. From $GK.ja, $WISYNCO.ja, $FTNA.ja, $JSE.ja, etc.

You need to buy just 100 units of any stock, so you could buy 100 units of a stock at $25 and spend about $2700(ish) after fees & commission, and buy 300 units of a stock at $10 and spend about $3,200(ish) after fees & commission and still have cash leftover.

Normally I preach that you should make sure you are buying at the right price and the right price is based on valuation (both relative and absolute) and that is correct, but for now we want you to just get that feeling of owning your first stock. This is a significant milestone.

The first time your trade goes through successfully, and you personally own some shares in any company....you get a rush. Well....I did anyway. But what I want you to do is get that feeling of accomplishment. All of those months of scrimping and saving led to this. Be proud.

Sure...you can't retire on this...but this is just a habit that you will cultivate. Then once you have made that first purchase, then you can modify the saving habit to go from that other bank account/envelope to your equity account.

Every 3 months, you increase your savings.

So your savings habit will look something like this:
- Months 1 - 3: $2,500/mo
- 4 - 6: $3,500/mo
- 7 - 9: $4,500/mo
- 10 - 12: $5K/mo

You have trained yourself to live without that savings every month, so just keep upping it little by little until you hit your limit.

Then as you accumulate savings, you do two things every month. You invest in your education and invest in equities. You need to start making educated decisions. Invest in my classes (self-serving, I know), and invest in @rtrowe's classes or any other classes. Buy books, etc.

So you develop a habit of investing in education and making investments every, single month.

Now, there will be months when you couldn't make the $2,500 and could only find $800...that's fine. Don't feel no way. Put the $800 in the envelope/account. Just do something.

Next month, don't try to make up for the deficit because it is much more likely to cause you to abandon the habit altogether. Just revert to the $2,500 or w/e level you are at.

Once you develop the habit and have good muscle memory, then you can make up the shortfall if u want.

But for now, focus on just putting away anything.

Just keep reading, learning and investing. Keep moving. No matter what.

If you miss a month and can't put away anything, that's fine. It happens to the best of us. Just try to get back on the wagon next month with the $2,500.

Before you know it, within a year or two, you will have accumulated $50K in your equity account that you deposited (plus any gains you may or may not have made) and you will feel light years better.

Then you can begin optimizing your returns and becoming more sophisticated.

If you stick to that, and when you are ready, hit me up. I have a bunch of recordings of classes you can buy access to and catch up. The most important thing is to start & keep going no matter what.

Be like the Buffalo in this video and never give up. https://twitter.com/marcgayle/status/1186005563487985665?s=20

Once you develop the right habits, over time, you will build financial independence for you.

We are at a unique time in our history in JA where the next 10 - 20/30 years, assuming nothing knocks us off course, will be unprecedented in terms of wealth creation.

You can start with as little as $100 or $500 and just keep going. The power of compounding is real. The sooner you start, the better off you will be.

Hope this helps at least 1 other person get started.

Good luck and keep me posted.

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