The STASH app is a great investment vehicle for anyone looking to build wealth. It has allowed many to slowly build positions in the stock market which, over time, has shown to provide better returns than the average savings account. For a long time now the stock market has been the primary vehicle of the wealthy to both build and maintain wealth. With the STASH app that luxury is afforded to anyone willing to work toward a brighter future. Here are my rules for those starting out in the stock market with the STASH app.

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1. Be Cautious

Don’t confuse being cautious with being safe. If you are young you should be choosing risky investments for your portfolio. Realize, Netflix is a risky investment, only because tomorrow the stock might drop 20% just because. Tesla is a risky investment, mainly because their stock value is so much higher than their competitors, meaning they are outperforming the sector. If you had invested in either of these companies when they first came out you got a pretty good return (>100%) that doesn’t make them any less risky. When I say be cautious I mean do not put all your eggs in one basket. If you are investing in the stock market, you should also have an emergency fund and a savings account because in the blink of an eye, we may have a market crash. That’s the facts.You don't ride in a roller coaster without a seat bet do you? Okay, think of the stock market as the ultimate roller coaster. In order to get great returns in the stock market you are risking losing something, but don’t use money that you may need in the near future to invest in the stock market. If something happens and you need the money then you may be forced to sell at a loss which is not our goal.

2. Invest in what you know

If you are starting out there is a high chance you have never heard about this small biotech company looking to cure HIV with their latest wonder drug. But there is a chance that you have a Netflix subscription, or own an Apple iPhone or use Facebook on a daily basis. For anyone starting out I recommend to invest in the companies that you know and that you personally use. There is a reason why you bought an apple iPhone, or spend 3 hours a day on Facebook. It is because you enjoy those products. So if you enjoy that product there is a high chance that others enjoy that product as well. Also, when you invest in a company that you personally use you know that your investment is going toward your own use. That’s just smart.

3. Be consistent

My second rule of investing wants you to be consistent. In my early days of investing I had to save up $500 dollars before I could buy a single stock just because the math didn’t make sense otherwise. With STASH you don’t have that limitation. But whether you want to start small or start big I am a fan of building a position overtime. So buy the stocks that you like and add to it either every week or every month. To this end you should also turn on Auto-Stash. A feature of STASH that makes your investing automatic. This allows you to keep investing whether your investment goes up or goes down. So even If you only have $20 to invest in the stock market each week, over the course of a year you would have invested over $1000 and with appreciation that investment could be worth over $1200 by the end of the year. Versus waiting until you have saved $1000 to start investing and you will need it to all go up from there.

4. Diversify

Normally diversification means buying stocks in companies that are in different sectors of the stock market. So owning Netflix and Google is not diversified. Owning Netflix and JP Morgan that is diversification. Those two stocks are not in the same business and have nothing to do with each other. But when I say, be diversified, I want you to be equally invested in ETFs and stocks. My rule is that for every stock I own I should own 1 ETF. So if I own 4 stocks then I should also own 4 ETFs. This helps to keep me from going overboard with individual stocks.


Here’s why the Stash app is great for beginning investors
5. Start Small

Winning in the stock market is a marathon and in reality the stock market has been here before most of us were born and it will be here after we die. Sounds grim I know but it’s the truth. Now if Stash is the first time you are investing in the stock market don’t think you are about to be the next Warren Buffet on your first try. And if you don’t know who Warren Buffet is then that is even more of a reason for you to start small (also look him up, he is awesome). So even if you have $500 a month to invest in the stock market, just invest $100 a month for the first three months. One of the tried and true aspects of the stock market is that, what you think you know is not what you know. Make sure you like your investments and increase it over time. Even if you like something there is a good chance that it will go down. Before Amazon’s massive run to $1800 it had hit a high of $1400 before pulling back to the low $800s. Since then it has run up to $1800 over the past year and a half. The point that I am making is that even the best stocks will go down at some point. So there is no need to rush in, by spreading out your investments over time you reduce your risk.


6. Buy Low, Sell Higher

If you stick to the plan I layed out ☝️ by being consistent then buying low this won’t matter. If you decide to invest in a specific group of stocks each week or month you are going to end up buying when they go low anyway. However if you are using STASH like a brokerage and want to put $500 in one stock and watch its return until you sell then this message is for you. There is a high likelihood that whatever price you buy your stock at will not be the lowest price. Towards that end, always be looking to buy more. In fact when I first buy a stock/ETF I want it to go down for two reasons. Firstly, if it goes down then I get to lower my cost of buying that stock. This means that once the stock starts going up my return will be even better. Secondly, when a stock goes down I look at it like a sale. You know that pair of Jordan’s (guys) or that Coach handbag (ladies) that you have had your eye on, when you see it go on sale what do you do? You buy it! That’s how you need to condition your brain to look at these stocks. You should say wow google is down 10% from its high, that is a 10% discount compared to if I bought it when it was up there.

7. Know your stocks

The most important rule of investing is to educate yourself. I do not care who you are, the fact is that you are not going to fall ass backwards into a 100% gain. You need to know where you are putting your money. If I told you to give me $100 dollars would you want to know what I am going to do with that money? That is what is happening with the stock market. When you give Apple $100 of your money you are loaning them your money so that they can improve their company. By that right you should know what they are going to do with your money. Make sure you listen to the latest news. Listen to earning calls. Find out what is their 10 year plan and do you support it. What is their competition doing. If this sounds like too much work for you then stick to ETFs or the moderate risk fund. The easiest way I find to do this is I track my stocks on the Yahoo Finance App.


8. Be realistic

The biggest problem I see with STASH investors is unrealistic expectations. The stock market has returned an average of about 10% for the past 100 years. On the plus side this means you can just put your money in an ETF that tracks the stock market and you could double your money in about every 7 years, thanks to compounding interest. On the negative side most people actually return less for their own portfolio 😔. If this is your first time investing be realistic. Stick to the plan we have laid out ahead but also understand that you are not a market wiz or a computer genius but that is okay. By sticking to the plan you can still become wealthy. Don’t let FOMO fl🤬ck your portfolio up. You may see on FB that someone has gotten a 20% return. Ok cool. But just as easily that 20% return can turn into 3% over the next week. Don’t believe me ask GE investors how they feel.

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Bonus Rule: Turn on Smart Save

This is not a hard and fast rule but I think it is one that can help you maximize your returns. Stash allows you to turn on Smart Save. A feature that will add extra funds to our Stash account. It may be only a couple of dollars every so often but I have used this as an opportunity to reaffirm rule 5. Buy low sell high. When my smart save returns go into my account I invest them into the stocks that have underperformed. This ensures that I am buying low and selling high.

There you have it, these are my rules to get you started STASHing. I know you weren’t expecting homework but I know you can do it. Let’s build a portfolio for you to give others FOMO. You are investing in your future, so this should be one of the most important things you do. You can do this, no scratch that we can do this together. Let’s make this money honey!