HOUSTON — In the past year, a lot of us started dabbling in day trading and investment. But it can be hard to keep up with all the news about cryptocurrency, NFTs and trending stocks.
Certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell offered Brandi Smith some tips about how to invest like a financial grownup.
BOBBI: I would really caution everyone to think about what you value and what your priorities are before you get on the bandwagon with all of this noise. Know your sources. Know what your goals are. Know what your resources are. And be really careful before you get into that.
BRANDI: There are so many headlines and I feel like people get caught up in them, caught up in this wave, and don't necessarily always do the requisite research to know when a good time to get in is.
BOBBI: The biggest thing I worry about right now is that people aren't properly vetting their sources of information. There are amazing people out there on social media. There are great resources on TikTok, for example, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot of bad actors out there as well. So do your homework, but make sure your source is someone or someplace that you really have vetted and has your best interest at heart.
BRANDI: Another thing you mentioned folks should look out for is the fees associated with some of this.
BOBBI: However you invest, someone has to get paid and that's OK. We all accept that. But when you invest in some trading platforms where, for example, trading is "free," you have to understand where that company is earning their money. The other thing about fees to understand is that even mutual funds and the assets that you buy in your retirement plans within your work plan do have fees, so be aware of those and make a smart choice factoring in the fees when you decide on any investments.
BRANDI: And you should definitely have different buckets.
BOBBI: Understand what your goals are. Are you investing part of that money for retirement? Treat that money differently than the money that you are investing to, maybe, buy a home in 10 years. Treat that money different from the money that is maybe the money that you might have put aside if you were going to go gambling in Vegas and it's just your fun money.
For more tips about investing, visit Bobbi's website.