How To Ease Your Way Into Investing For Beginners

Do you ever feel left out when it comes to investing?

Are you terrified that if you make the wrong decision, you could end up broke, homeless, or worse? After all, nobody ever dreams about going from riches to rags, right?

Well, if fear has been the thing holding you back from getting your slice of the stock market pie, then today is your lucky day!

In Part 10 of my Empower Series, I spoke with stock investing educator Mable Nunez. She has been helping new investors confidently take those first brave steps into stock market investing for over a decade. In this interview, she shares some of her best advice on how to ease your way into investing for beginners.

So, are you ready to learn what you can do to get started? Great!

As usual, you have the option to enjoy this interview in either video or text format. 

So, choose your format and dive right in!

First, tell us about your background.

Okay, sure. So I’m a Dominican immigrant.

I was born in the Dominican Republic, and I moved to the United States when I was nine. I went to public schools all of my life and I grew up in the Bronx in New York City. It is a neighborhood of mostly minorities and people that have economic struggles sometimes. 

So I grew up in that environment, and then I was the first in my family to go away to college. It was like, unheard of in my generation in my family unit. So it was one of the best things that ever happened to me because college is where I learned about the stock market. And you know, everything kind of snowballed from there.

DeShena:  

Excellent! That’s quite an accomplishment. I’m sure your parents are proud of that. 

So have you had any money struggles?

I think any immigrant that comes from another country and tries to make a life for themselves has money struggles. So I grew up in that. 

In terms of my family trying to make ends meet, my mom worked in factories. When we moved to the states, my dad worked at fast-food restaurants. 

So, I remember, we were the definition of poor. 

We were poor. 

But the thing I remember is that we had everything that we needed.

Like yeah, I never felt like I didn’t have food or didn’t have clothes to go to school. 

My mom was, and still is going to the Salvation Army and buying clothes there. I used to be embarrassed about it when I was younger.

Like, oh my God, I’m wearing like clothes that are second hand. But, you know — they made it work! 

Even though we had limited means, I remember my packing things when I went to college. And I didn’t just go to college; I went away to college. So they had to pay for a dorm and you know, all these other expenses that they didn’t have before. 

Somehow, someway, they made it happen. And I know that it was a struggle for them.  

I think watching them make ends meet with what they had, is what influenced my money habits today.

Yes, I do recall having all those struggles growing up, but thankfully, it wasn’t to a point where I felt like I didn’t have what I needed.

DeShena:

As a kid, yeah, we feel embarrassed if we have to go to the Salvation Army. But you know what? I shop at the Goodwill. My daughter was actually even working there. You can find a lot of good stuff. And it’s a great way to save money. 

Of course, as kids, we don’t think like that. But you know, as long as you have everything you need. And that’s part of the premise behind my website of being extravagantly broke. People often feel that they need more than they need or spend for more than they need. 

It’s like, do you really just need a huge mansion to live in with 30 rooms that you probably won’t even see half of them? Or, do you just need a nice, comfortable home that is safe and where you can take care of your family? You know, you have all the necessities. So I focus more personally on living comfortably than living extravagantly. And that has really helped my bank account!

How did you start Girls On The Money?

Wow, so it’s like my baby, and I get so emotional. So, when I started, I discovered the stock market as a senior in college. So, I became obsessed.

I didn’t know anybody that invested. But every time I tried to have a conversation with someone about investing, 99% of those people were men.

My female friends were like, “What are you talking about? Who invests? Are you a millionaire?”

They were thinking it was only for a certain type of people. And through my class, I learned that “no,” you don’t have to be a millionaire.

[#1] Anybody that has some type of income can invest. 

So fast forward many years. After I got an MBA and my bachelor’s in finance, the name girls on the money came to mind. Like out of nowhere. It’s like a gift from God. 

I became very excited because I could finally fulfill a mission which was to teach more women how to invest.

Then, when I finished my MBA, instead of going towards an investment bank or figuring out what career to choose in finance, I decided to start working on Girl On The Money. 

Well, I started officially around 2013. My original intention was to have a blog talking about investing. But it transformed into courses and all that stuff. 

DeShena:

It’s interesting that you say that women don’t know too much about investing, and they’re like, Are you a millionaire?

I probably had that mindset too, at some point, thinking that investing was for rich people. So it’s good that you’re bringing that awareness that anybody with an income can invest.

How do you help women start investing as beginners?

Yeah, so I talk about different strategies, I educate people on what to look for in an investment, I stay away from telling people, okay, buy this stock or buy that stock — that’s not my thing.

I don’t feel good about that. I feel good about giving people the tools to do it on their own. 

So I’ll teach you:

• [#2] That if you like a stock, look into it. 

• [#3] Make sure that they’re profitable. 

• [#4] Make sure that they are going to be around for many years. 

I want to give you a better chance of making a profitable educated investment, as opposed to telling you to buy a particular stock. 

Because with the stock market, you never know. So I could tell you one day something is going to be a good stock. And then the next day something happens [like a pandemic], and it falls apart. 

So that is not my approach. My approach is, number one is education, and teaching people how to do it on their own. And that’s what my blog posts are about, on girls on the money. 

Have you faced any challenges with investing?

The number one challenge that I hear from people is that they are fearful and don’t want to take that first step.

They say, okay, I read the books. I have all this knowledge. But I’m still scared. 

That was my personal situation, as well. Because just to give you a timeline, I learned about the stock market in 2004, right before my undergrad graduation.

I was so obsessed that you would think that I would just jump and buy all these stocks because I’m so excited about it. 

But NO. I was very scared. 

So I channeled my passion into:

• [#5] Reading different blogs about investing

• [#6] Reading books about investing for beginners

• [#7] Listening to podcasts or whatever was available back in the day

And I was still scared until 2008 came around because that’s the year that I met someone who taught me how to open an investment account and how to buy a stock. 

There’s a difference between reading something and then doing it. So when he told me how to do it, I was like, Oh, my God, this is so easy! So I bought my first stock. And the rest is history.

Just taking that first step, I didn’t buy thousands of dollars worth of whatever — [#8] I bought one share of one stock that I really liked. And then, that kind of broke the fear. 

I always tell people, I bought my first stock in the summer of 2008, and the market crashed like three months later. So it would have been a perfect chance for me to get discouraged.

And it was the complete opposite. I was even more enthusiastic because all of these other companies that I wanted to buy and were too expensive were now all on sale! 

So I always tell people that are scared to invest that if the market crashes, guess what?

That’s probably the best thing that can happen to you. Because then you can buy amazing things on sale. And if the market starts going up, I think it’s a win-win. 

The main thing is just to get away from that fear. Just take that one step. 

DeShena:

Absolutely! Absolutely! I do think people do have a lot of fear about it. They just feel like it’s beyond them. But like you said, just learning even how to purchase that one stock helped you to set aside that fear so that you can purchase one more stock and then move on from there. 

What has been the most rewarding part of educating women about investing for beginners?

Yeah, just getting feedback, not only from my students but the people that follow me on Instagram or read my blog. They’re telling me, Oh my God, I thought investing was so hard. 

And you know, the way you explain it is so simple. Like, I’m getting it now. I’m not an expert, but I understand what everything means. 

The same with my books. My first book is a very simplified book about investing for beginners. I get emails from people telling me I read your book, and I get it now. Things make sense.

So getting that feedback, either from my students or just from people that follow me on social media.

They tell me how I took them from somebody that thought investing was for a whole different class of people to understanding that it was for them also. And that they could actually do it as well. That’s a very fulfilling thing.

DeShena:

Excellent, excellent! It’s good that you’re out there raising that awareness for women. And I certainly hope more women will tune in and learn more about stocks and investing for beginners. 

I mean, even me, myself, I’ll be reading. I need to know more about investing. I’m debt-free, but now my big goal is to grow savings and start investing more. So I personally actually do need to learn more about that myself. So I’m glad that now I know where to go.

What is the main advice you have for women who want to start investing?

Yeah, so I like what you brought up about how you’re debt-free, and now you want to graduate into other parts of your finances. 

*Related post: The 3 Best Things I Did To Become Debt-Free.

Honestly, that is a priority. 

When people tell me they want to buy a stock and what can I buy? Like, you got to track it back a little bit. [#9] First, do you have a foundation set before you start investing? 

[#10] The ideal thing to do is get rid of most or all of your consumer debt. 

[#11] Then, have an emergency fund that you can tap into. You don’t want to be investing, then something happens, and you have to cash out your investment account. That doesn’t make any sense. 

So you’ve got to have your foundation set. That’s extremely important! And after that, [#12] I will say to save with the purpose of investing. 

[#13] You can have a separate account where you’re saving maybe $50 a paycheck, a $100, or whatever it is that you can afford. And have that account be the money that’s designated towards investing.

[#14] Make a list of companies that you like and feel will be around for many years. Do your research. And then, like you said, just take that one first step when you buy one share of something that you like.

The purpose of that first investment is not that you’re going to be a millionaire. 

The purpose of the first investment is that you took action.

And that will motivate you to learn more and take more steps toward building a nice portfolio of different companies. 

DeShena:

Great advice, I love it! Taking action, that’s what it’s about. But getting rid of consumer debt is a big one that we all really need to work on that. That’s what I try to help people realize on my website Extravagantly Broke. That you can live comfortably without living extravagantly. 

I mean, I never feel like I want for anything. We have everything we need. I love to travel. That’s what I prefer to spend my money on than luxury cars. And so it’s just about having that priority and spending intentionally. 

Mabel:

Yeah. I love your content because it’s so important. What you share with your audience is the foundation that will take [people] to that next level. [People] cannot just jump into doing all these random things when you don’t have your foundation set. So I think what you share is extremely important.

Do you have any resources or tools that you can recommend for women?

Yes, for investing purposes, read books about investing for beginners. I have a couple of books on Amazon.

So the first one that I wrote, which is the one that I would recommend for beginners, it’s a stock market mini-lesson on investing for beginners. 

That is a very basic book about investing for beginners. If somebody is an expert, they’re going to think this is very simple. 

The second book is stock analysis 101. Here I teach people how to analyze individual stocks and to make educated decisions. But that’s like a more advanced book. 

So I will say start with the first one and listen to podcasts about investing for beginners. My favorite podcast for years is the Motley Fool. When I started to learn to invest, one of my goals was to research, and they have amazing podcasts. 

I’ve listened to so many podcasts about investing because I’m obsessed with the topic. But I always go back to their podcast. So if you like podcasts, listen to those.

And asks questions. [#15] Find somebody that you can trust that you can ask questions to. Learning to invest is a journey. It’s not something that you’re gonna learn in one day or the next. It takes time.

I’ve been investing for 11 years, and I’m still learning. It never ends. So just [#16] take baby steps. You know, you learn as you go. And take action.

Do you have any advice for women who aspire to be entrepreneurs?

Yeah, I say if you are passionate about something, start working on it and start sharing what you’re passionate about. 

We live in such amazing times where there’s social media, and you can post your work everywhere. 

Everybody can see you are really talented, and they want to follow you and learn from you. So nothing really stops you from sharing what you know with the world, whether it’s a product or a service. 

All social media platforms are free, so you can gather followers and show people what you can do. 

I would warn entrepreneurs about taking a step from being a part-time entrepreneur to full time, be very careful! I ran girls on the money for years alongside my full-time job. 

Even though at my full-time job, I wasn’t passionate about it. And sometimes I felt down and like, Oh, my God, like, what am I doing here. But it was a great stepping stone in terms of saving my money, so I could eventually go full-time [as an entrepreneur].

So sometimes, when I see those social media posts about following your dream and forget everything else, I think that’s kind of an irresponsible approach.

You have to prepare to go full time into entrepreneurship. It’s not a walk in the park. It has ups and downs. And you have great months, and then you have months not as good as the last one. 

So, you have to love what you do. And, you have to be persistent. But, having a foundation where you say, I’ve saved some money, so if I have a month that’s not that good, I can still be okay.

That gives you peace of mind. And you can continue to be confident with your business. People who just jump into entrepreneurship with no foundation is a very risky and dangerous thing. 

So my advice is to take it one step at a time. If you hate your job, I understand. 

I’ve been there. It’s a common thing.

But just keep thinking, that it’s okay. I’m going to be saving my money so that I could eventually do [what I want] full-time, and I won’t have to depend on the job. But, you have to prepare!

DeShena:

Absolutely! Thank you for that inspiration because that’s where I am right now. Like, Oh, my gosh, I’m so ready to make that leap. But then it’s like, I still want my steady income. So, for the time being, I’m hanging in there! And I’m still trying to work and grow my business and blog on the side. 

Do you have any promotions, courses, or activities you want to share?

Yes. So I teach a stock investing 101 boot camp every quarter. So that is a five-week class all about stock investing for beginners. Also, I have other courses about dividend investing and about ETF and index fund investing.

And if anybody has questions about any of the classes, they can find information on the blog GirlsOnTheMoney.com. Or you can email me at hello@girlsonthemoney.com and just ask me about the upcoming classes. Also, I’m on Instagram @girlsonthemoney.

Any final thoughts on Investing for Beginners?

The last thing I would say is don’t get discouraged thinking that investing is hard or that it’s not for you!

I came from a whole different country. I didn’t speak English when I got here. And somehow, I found a passion, and I educated myself in it. And now, I feel like I’m successful in what I do even though I’m still learning.

But if I was able to do it, so can anybody else! 

So you know, it’s just about educating yourself and making sure you’re learning from credible sources. There’s so much information on the internet, and you want to be careful where you learn your things from.

But if you want to learn investing, you can 100% do it! 

It’s just a matter of wanting to learn the skill and taking action to do so.

That’s a great takeaway. Thank you so much, Mabel, for sharing your knowledge and helpful tips on investing for beginners.

Mabel is the founder and Chief Education Officer at Girl$ on The Money – a stock market investing education company targeted to women, minorities, and individuals that are underrepresented in the world of investing. She is passionate about teaching about various investing topics. Mabel’s goal is to empower through education and encourage action so that individuals can take their finances to the next level. 

Mabel is also a best-selling author. She teaches highly rated courses around the topics of personal finance and investing. Through all of her resources and social media platforms – she shares what she has learned (and continues to learn) thanks to 10+ years of investing experience and 2 finance degrees.