Debunking the Top Investment Myths | Summer Series

Bryce: [00:00:32] Welcome to the Get Started Investing feed summer series brought to you by superhero over six episodes, we're going to be hearing from members of both the Equity Mates and superhero community and covering some of the biggest questions for anyone starting their investing journey. As always, I am joined by my equity buddy Ren. How are you going?

Alec: [00:00:51] I am very good. Bryce. Great to be with you for another episode of the summer series. There's a lot of misleading information out there in the market. There's a lot of beliefs that are unfounded. There's a lot of stories that don't have merit. There's a rumour going around that you have actually never made an investment in your life. 

Bryce: [00:01:10] Well, that's massively untrue. 

Alec: [00:01:11] And so today we're talking. All things are myths, investing myths. 

Bryce: [00:01:17] That's it. Myths and barriers. So over the last four episodes, we've covered investing goals or styles. We've asked, what is the biggest investing mistake you've made? One thing you wish you knew when you started investing, and today we're covering the biggest barriers or myths that you faced when you started investing. And we do have all of our guests returning to answer this question. So it's a massive episode we can't wait to get stuck in. But before we do, we must shout out a big thank you to Superhero, who are proudly supporting our summer series. Superhero allows you to buy Aussie and US shares and ETFs with no monthly account fees, and you can now earn Qantas points with superhero. But massive Ren we've been fortunate. We've got Courtney, Queenie, Molly, James, Alisha, Leigh, Simon, Justin, Dylan. They're all returning. It's going to be great, plus a bunch of others. Josh, there's so many. There's so many returning. 

Alec: [00:02:16] Basically, if you've listened to the last four episodes, it's everyone that we've spoken to. 

Bryce: [00:02:21] We're going out with a bonanza. What was one of the biggest myths that you faced around this?

Alec: [00:02:26] There's some pretty common ones that we speak to some of these guests about, so we don't need to talk about too much. Do I have enough money to start investing? Investing isn't for me. I'm not an expert like all of that stuff I think is pretty important, but we don't need to rehash it. So in terms of myths that we don't really talk about and this one is going to be controversial. So I'm interested to throw it out there and see what you have to say. Biggest myth that I have since realised is not true is that the daily finance news has anything to do with investing. 

Bryce: [00:03:04] Well, yes, 

Alec: [00:03:06] what I saw on about 7:15 on the ABC every night was in any way related to investing. Yes, things are growing and growing. That was my only exposure to investing. Qantas was up two percent. The S&P 500 was down four percent. Gold. Here's a chart for gold over the last month. That's what I thought investing was, was a bunch of tickers and numbers moving day to day, but it was completely uncorrelated to the real world. You know, Coles could be up or down and you know, they're going to sell pretty much the same amount of groceries that they sold yesterday. But their share price can do wild things. And I just thought it was this uncorrelated world that sat over there and the real world was separate to it. And it was just numbers on a screen and you had to understand that world to make money in it. But what I've learnt is that the numbers on the screen, the day to day noise that that the way that we report financial news, it's just all unnecessarily confusing. And all you need to do is understand the real world and what's going on with real companies led by real people to make money in the stock market and you can cut away a lot of that noise that seems to exist. 

Bryce: [00:04:20] Bye bye, Alan Kohler. 

Alec: [00:04:23] Look, it's nothing about Alan in particular, like it's a it's systemic.

Bryce: [00:04:27] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. 

Alec: [00:04:31] So that's a myth. We're also talking barriers here. So is there any barriers that you face that you've overcome in your investing journey? 

Bryce: [00:04:41] One would be around the feeling of always needing to be right. When you make an investment,

Alec: [00:04:48] you have a need to always be right. Full stop. 

Bryce: [00:04:51] Why? Yeah, I felt as at the start of my investing journey, you know you would you would make less investments because you would be fearful that it wasn't always going to be the right investment. And there was plenty of choices out there and plenty of things to choose from and and you felt like it had to be the best investment possible. And whilst that is true, I've since learnt and I guess by myth busted that even the best fund managers don't get every single investment right? And so getting into the minds and mind frame of knowing that when you go in to make an investment, the likelihood of it not being right is probably more so than not. But you only need, as we've spoken about many. In the show. You only need three out of 10 investments to go gangbuster

Alec: [00:05:36] three out of 10 you done the maths on that? 

Bryce: [00:05:39] and you're doing well. So yeah, a barrier of feeling like you need to be right all the time is is one worth overcoming sooner rather than later?

Alec: [00:05:50] Yeah, I think tied to that, you'll also always searching for the very best idea. If you're a professional fund manager, if you're Warren Buffett, if you're Hamish Douglass, that is your job to find the very best idea. But if you're an everyday punter like you and I, there's nothing wrong with the 10th best idea or the 20 best idea being the starting point. And as you look for better options, yeah, there's plenty of ways to make money in the stock market, and there's plenty of stocks that will make you money in the market. You shouldn't lose like a wink of sleep about whether the ASX 200 Index ETF or the S&P 500 Index ETF will do better over the next year or two because they will likely over the long term. Both make you money. Yeah, this is a saying that I often say you guys get sick of me saying, but a barrier that I think was important for me to overcome was not letting perfection be the enemy of the good. Because good can be great if you let it compound over a long period of time. Yeah, good is good enough.

Bryce: [00:06:52] Good is good enough, yes. All right. Well, without further ado, let's jump in and hear from our amazing contributors, from the Get Started Investing feed community about their barriers and myths? So what is the biggest barrier that you faced when you started investing or you're currently facing now? Or what is one of the biggest myths that you've found about investing?

Courtney: [00:07:21] Yeah, I think in terms of a barrier, it was just how naive I was. I almost feel in a way I didn't really have a barrier because mom and dad made it so accessible to me, and they were naive as well, and they probably didn't ask the right questions that they needed to. So I didn't have anything stopping me because I didn't realise what I was getting myself into, and I didn't realise how complex the investing landscape is. That was probably my barrier or lack of barrier.

Bryce: [00:07:53] What about now? Does that mean you face more and more barriers? 

Courtney: [00:07:56] Yeah, I think like it's hard now because I hear a lot of people speak to it about it on podcasts that they get analysis paralysis because I'm reading so much now and I'm listening to so many different opinions that you know now it's like, Oh, it's so hard to make a decision because you just want to make sure you're making the right decision, especially because of what's happened with the stockbroker that I did go with. 

Bryce: [00:08:24] So choice paralysis, I get that it's so hard and I can imagine when people are starting their investing journey and you're looking at all the ETFs out there available. And I mean, there's what, 60000 stocks in the world or something? 

Alec: [00:08:36] Yeah, yeah. Well, it's like 240 ETFs in Australia. 

Bryce: [00:08:39] Yeah, yeah. I can imagine how difficult it is to just make that one single choice. But I feel once you make the choice, it all kind of opens up from that. 

Courtney: [00:08:47] Yeah, definitely. And I did get that my boyfriend and I recently just like opened an account together and we invested into the Nasdaq 100, so that was exciting 

Alec: [00:09:01] So in terms of investing myths, you know, you started fast and loose as you describe it. Were there any things you believed about the stock market then that you've since changed your mind on? 

Courtney: [00:09:13] I think I had this perception when I was younger that my money would just grow. And although I did just leave my money there to, I was very set and forget like I just would buy a stock based off the good old Motley Fool. And then I just leave it there, and I would, you know, I didn't really feel this need to touch it or anything. But looking back on my portfolio and how my shares have progressed throughout the last nine to 10 years, that however long they've been in there, you know, some of them haven't gone so well. 

Bryce: [00:09:48] What is the biggest barrier that you found when you started investing, or perhaps one of the biggest barriers you currently facing? 

Queenie: [00:09:56] I think one of the biggest barriers is just the lack of information out there. I think now it's like a lot better than when I started is around six years ago. I just did not know that you could start investing with small amounts of money, so I thought that I needed to save up $5000 and then that's how I could start. But if I knew that, you know, you could start investing with $5, I would have started way earlier. And I know we already started quite early. But it's just like, it's crazy that people still think that you need heaps and heaps of money to start investing and you need to be really wealthy to already start. So I think now it's great, you know, platforms like like ours, you know, we're telling people that you actually don't need a lot of money to start investing. I think that was one of the biggest barriers for me. What about you guys? I'm curious.

Bryce: [00:10:46] Biggest barrier. I didn't really have one 

Alec: [00:10:53] Bryce isn't used to being asked a question. Biggest barrier, I think. I mean, I think for me, coming from a family that didn't talk in investing in stocks was there's like such a knowledge gap, but it's also like knowing how much you need to know similar to you, like looking back and realising you actually don't need to know that much. You can just buy an index that has a little bit of everything, and the market gets more productive and efficient every year, and it generally goes up over the long term. I just didn't realise that that was the thing I thought you had to know everything about a company and really understand how the market works. But I bought an individual company, lost everything. I told that story a number of times. But looking back, if I could tell myself, you don't need to know everything, you don't even need to know close to everything. You can basically know nothing and just buy a little bit of everything and start there and start to understand it that way. I think for me, I would have started a lot earlier.

Queenie: [00:11:56] Yeah, yeah, it's so true. It's I think it's just that uncomfortableness talking about money like you don't want to look like you're bragging or you're showing off, but it's like there's a way that you can talk to, you know, your friends and your family about it without coming across like that, you know, and I think the more that we can talk to our friends and our family about it, the better. Because really, then like everybody can improve their knowledge, like we can all share ideas and learnings.

Alec: [00:12:21] So yeah. And I think you deserve you and deserve a lot of credit for that because like Bryce and I never talk about like how much money we have, but you guys are very open and like, you know, you really breaking down the taboo around talking about money. And so I'll give you a lot of credit for that. 

Bryce: [00:12:36] I don't have any money to talk about. 

Alec: [00:12:37] Yeah, I haven't quite built up the courage to go on tik-tok and do something similar. But maybe one day I 

Queenie: [00:12:43] think it's good because it's like I feel like we cannot. We only hear about the people that have like crazy, like millions of dollars, like he's a billionaire and you're just like, Wow, I'm never going to be like that rich. But when you hear about somebody that's like twenty five, like has two hundred and ten thousand dollars invested and, you know, makes $10000 a month, you're like, Oh, yeah, that's like, That's OK. That's not crazy then, but it's pretty good. I guess people are like, Oh, you know that that is realistic, right? So yes, I think people can kind of relate to that, and it's just nice to be open about this stuff. 

Alec: [00:13:22] So that was the biggest barrier. Looking back to know when you started with any myths or anything that you believed at that time that you've since realised were wrong. 

Queenie: [00:13:32] Yeah, that investing is risky and investing is gambling because I think that there are so many ways that you can invest in a safe way, like you don't have to be like, I was investing in cryptocurrency having no idea like just that, that is not investing, you know, like that's what people hear about. They hear their friends like, Oh, I lost heaps of money in crypto, and it kind of freaks people out because they're like, Oh my gosh, like, I don't want to lose my money. Like, that's scary. But yeah, it's what I was doing was not investing. And there are ways that you can actually invest in a safe way. Like you said, ETFs. Yes, there is the potential for them to go down. But if you have a look at the returns from the stock market over the past 100 years, like some use a negative, some years are positive. But the positive views definitely outweigh the negatives. And I think the most important thing is to just know that, to know that some years are going to be negative some years your portfolio might not be looking so great. But the key is to just have conviction in what you've bought. Do research on what you've bought block out the noise of like people talking about 10x returns on like the latest crypto coins and just stick to what you know and. Yeah, I think that when you invest that way, yeah, you will do. Because you have conviction in what you've fought and you can hold through those periods where maybe there is a year where there's negative returns. 

Bryce: [00:14:55] Yeah, yeah, something that that generation I don't think has experienced probably as much as our parents, which is that, you know, extended bear on market. We've had some pretty significant flash crashes with the GFC and with Covid. But I think, you know, the markets have just grounded out and just keep pumping up massive returns, I think. My fear is that too many people think investing is too easy now. Just put money in the market that goes on. Stocks only go up. Yeah, I think I couldn't agree more. I think one thing when I was starting as well is that, you know, there was that feeling of, you know, you need to have some sort of an education in finance to really understand what's going on and understand the world of macroeconomics and markets and how it all links together. But I think it's been proven time and time again that people who are trained and professional investors more than likely get it wrong themselves. Ninety five percent of fund managers can't get it right. And like, we're testament to the fact that you don't need to know or be trained in finance and that sort of stuff. So, yeah, 

Alec: [00:15:58] so true, we should probably clarify just because you said ninety five percent of fund managers can't get it right. They can't beat the index over the long term. They can't get it right a lot, right? Yeah. 

Bryce: [00:16:15] So you have helped over 15000 people get money savvy, and I'm sure that you've heard a lot of myths about investing or barriers to start investing. So what in your mind is one of the biggest myths about investing?

Molly: [00:16:31] You know, one of the biggest myths is that it's really hard and you need lots of money. So a lot of women I speak to, you know, they're really scared that they're going to lose all their cash. And, you know, we do make that comparison that if you were to put your money in a, you know, ASX 200 ETF and you lost all your money, that means the top 200 companies in Australia went bankrupt and would have probably bigger fish to fry right now. But yeah, I think it is. Our misconception of like investing is really hard, like the practical sense of how do you actually buy an ETF is really hard? And what I you know, what I always say is like, if you can put something on eBay and buy, you know, a dress on eBay, or I don't know a man thing like trying not to sound stereotypical here like a PlayStation. You know, if you can buy stuff online, you can buy it as an investments online. In fact, if you can log on to a Zoom call, you can buy ETFs online because, you know it is a similar process to buying anything online shopping. You know, you find the thing you want. You put money in your account or you. You buy it with a debit card and then you get a confirmation and then it gets sent to you. So it's been very overcomplicated in the past, but it was a really hard thing to do. But it's actually so simple. And you know, once you get set up and a broker and you can have that automation going where it just takes money from your account and it's investing while you're sleeping, you know, it couldn't be easier. 

Bryce: [00:17:55] Yeah, I completely agree. I don't think there's ever been a time where it's been easier and cheaper to start to start investing. So there's no excuse now to not be in the markets in some way.

Molly: [00:18:06] Yeah, and and you don't need that much money. I'm always like, you can get started with like 50 bucks and get started with 500000 people like once. You don't have 

Queenie: [00:18:13] to like $10000. I'm like, No, you don't.

Molly: [00:18:16] You can start small tippy toes in the water. Yeah, absolutely. 

Bryce: [00:18:21] So they show what is the biggest barrier you found to invest in? 

Molly: [00:18:24] I think that initially it was probably not having an understanding like it's the same thing that so many people and it's I Get Started Investing feed so brilliant. I think people get really caught up in this. Like, What's a broker? How much money do I need to invest? What's brokerage all of those little details? But I also think that more like sort of amorphous barrier is people thinking that they need to have $10000 dollars to invest. I've definitely learnt that you can really just as long as you're disciplined, as long as you're you've made the decision that you want to invest as long as you're putting away. One thing that I found really helpful for my journey is knowing that I can just transfer when I've got $200 surplus, I can just pop that in my brokerage account with so well, I use personally and I can just have it sit there until I've got two grads. Or if I'm feeling really excited to get that money into the market like a thousand bucks, you can just work away until you've got enough money back to buy a parcel of shares. 

Alec: [00:19:33] And you know, if you think back to those earlier days when you was starting investing, trying to figure it all out, was there anything you believed at the time which you've since realised you were wrong about? It was just a myth. 

Molly: [00:19:45] I mean, I think for me, investing has shifted, I think, over the last like ten years. When I first tried to start, you know, try my hand at investing, I felt like it was really difficult to know how to actually do it. I think that that knowledge is a lot more democratised now it's out in the open, but now that there's a lot more knowledge out there, and I think also from an app perspective like a user interface, that investing has become a lot easier. You know, instead of just desktop versions, we've got apps on our phone. I would just say that like the biggest myth would be that that it was difficult. It's not difficult. And you can do it well. 

Bryce: [00:20:30] They should. We thank you very much and let's hear from our next community member. So, James, when you first started investing, were there any sort of myths that you had and are there any barriers that you also face when you started investing? 

James: [00:20:44] Yeah, it's a great question, and I didn't actually have any myths towards investing growing up. My great granddad was the stock market investor and my mum had picked it up from him. You know, my parents didn't own a lot of money growing up, but we never went without. We always had plenty of presents at Christmas time and plenty of family holidays. And I had really seen the advantages of just making some sensible decisions from a young age, and despite knowing all that and knowing I should be investing. And how important it is, especially to start as such a young age. I did face a lot of barriers, and a lot of those were my own mental barriers. Getting stuck in negative behaviour patterns and negative thought patterns and really overcoming those barriers were a big, important part to having any sort of investing success.

Bryce: [00:21:34] How did you overcome them? 

James: [00:21:35] So it started off by hitting rock bottom and realising that I can't keep doing this on my own and I really will need some help. And I had to find the right help. I had been through several therapy programmes that were free with Veterans Affairs, and they often do bit more harm than good. They missed the point and they weren't helping me at all, and I was very reluctant to go and pay for a therapist while I had three free options available. But I had to find the right person and a friend of mine was always pestering me, she said. You got to go and find, you've got to go and try this therapist. He works outside of the health system is completely different. And after a lot of convincing, I finally went, went through with it and booked myself in. And it was definitely the best $10000 I've ever spent is completely changed my life, and it's enabled me now to make some better financial decisions and also better life decisions. And as I've been able to make better life decisions, I've been able to save more money and put more into the market. And as I've had more success in my investing in the markets, I've become more hopeful and positive about my future outlook for myself, which is then also rebounded back to my mental health. So they've both gone hand in hand for me. 

Bryce: [00:22:53] Great to hear, and we appreciate you sharing your story. Let's hear from another community member.

Alec: [00:22:59] So Leigh one thing that we love to hear from people we have on Get Started Investing feed is some of the things that they believed when they started their investing journey that they subsequently realised they were wrong about, you know, these investing myths that so many of us believe when we're outside the markets looking in. So if you think back to your early days just starting out as an investor, was there anything that you believed that you subsequently realised you were wrong about? 

Leigh: [00:23:27] You have many things, many things. I think the first thing that comes to mind is that you to be a good investor, you have to be a maths or business mastermind. You know, I had self limiting beliefs that I couldn't learn investing. And actually, anyone can. And you don't have to also get to Warren Buffett status, as the interest says. But you can do really, really well just by doing simple things. So, you know, start, start small and make incremental gains in your knowledge and your capability, and those things will compound just lucky interest. 

Bryce: [00:24:11] Well, what is it? What are some of the biggest barriers that you found, you know, when you started investing or perhaps seeing other people face at the moment? 

Leigh: [00:24:20] I probably have to overwrite any conditioning you've had that investing is gambling because it's simply not like if you have any logical process about your investing, you're going to be stacking the odds in your favour. Whereas gambling is the opposite, like the gambling is having the house with the odds in their favour. It's just the opposite of investing. The other thing is just that the process in itself is difficult. Signing up for a brokerage account and in any shape or form is really easy. And then to execute an investment is also really, really easy these days. So we're very fortunate to live in this age where it's at your fingertips. 

Alec: [00:25:02] Yeah, yeah, we did an experiment. Is it quicker to buy Amazon stock or Amazon socks like socks off Amazon? But we timed both of them, and I think it was like 30 seconds to buy Amazon stock and 34 seconds to buy socks from Amazon. So it is. It is just as easy as online shopping these days. 

Leigh: [00:25:26] Exactly. 

Bryce: [00:25:27] And yeah, you're right, setting up accounts. I mean, we both set up Super Hero pretty easy as well and well on our way.

Alec: [00:25:34] So it's so easy to set up an account. I've got four different brokerage accounts now. 

Leigh: [00:25:40] I have a few. I love taking advantage of the new user rewards. Oh, I know I just can't help it. It's free money.

Alec: [00:25:50] But hey, you know, we talk about diversification. I embody diversification in everything now. Yeah.

Bryce: [00:25:58] Well, again, we appreciate you sharing your your experience with the Get Started Investing feed community, and we will now hear from our final one. So, Simon, when you started investing, what was one of the biggest barriers that you faced 

Simon: [00:26:13] as a dad of a young family, so finding money to invest and invest regularly is pretty hard. Even just getting a savings account going is really hard. So I think the biggest barrier or myth was that we needed a lot of money to start investing. A few years ago, I started off a little raise account and just the rounding up every time I bought a coffee or anything like that. And eventually I got that that little bucket of money. So 500 bucks and thought, Okay, I'd like to start doing my own little, picking my own shares and bought my first shares. From there, I realised, you know, the jump on the online forums and I say, people say how much they're putting putting away into shares quite regularly. It was never going to happen for us with a young family, but $500 every few months is manageable for us and it is growing slowly. And I know once the kids get a bit older, we get a bit more free cash that we'll be able to put more in. But I think it's working well for us at the moment. So yeah, just having having lots of money is a bit of a myth. 

Bryce: [00:27:09] Yeah, I completely agree, and it's a real shame that is coming through the community in these episodes. You know, so many people really get pulled off from starting their investing journey because they think that, as you said, you know, you see all these people online saying that they're putting away 10 grand a month or they have 50000 to invest. And that's just not the case and not necessarily the reality of it. And we're living in a time at the moment where it's really easy to start investing in very, very small amounts. As you said, rise is a fantastic way to get started. So I'm glad you've brought that to our attention and and particularly with the family as well. You know, we have a lot of people in the community who do have kids and, you know, trying to work out how they can still build wealth in the stock market. And I think your message is pretty clear that you can do it. You don't need to be put off by the fact you need thousands of thousands of dollars 

Simon: [00:28:02] to get going. Yeah, definitely. 

Bryce: [00:28:04] So Ren, before we hear from our next guest, we're going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsors and then we'll be right back into it. 

Alec: [00:28:12] So we're now joined by Justin Baldori. Justin, what was one of the biggest barriers you found when you started investing and how did you overcome it? 

Justin: [00:28:20] biggest barrier is an easy one. I always think about this back in the day is that I thought I needed $100000 to invest and then some on the side, and it wasn't for like just random individuals like myself. The biggest barrier there was seeing all that on the TV and everything that investing gets portrayed as you think, man, I can't do that. It is way too hard, but it's when you really break that down. There's so many different ways for investors to access markets through ETFs. Some of these stocks, you basically just need a phone or computer with an internet connexion, and you're good to go and obviously a little bit of research. I just jump into it because that could end pretty bad. But that barrier of, you know, you have to be super wealthy, and it's only for those people, $5000 suits on Wall Street. It's just completely not what it is like. I bought stocks the other day I was sitting in my pyjamas on my couch, so it's, you know, the complete opposite. So once you can overcome that, and once I did and the doors are open, so biggest barrier, you don't need to be super rich, super wealthy and have all this mega wealth behind you. Everybody can get started investing. How's that for a little plug for the podcast? 

Alec: [00:29:29] I love that very on brand. And I think, you know, that's that is a massive myth that we hear over and over again in the Equity Mates and Get Started Investing feed community that I don't have enough money to start investing. So glad we're busting that any other myths that you hear from people that subscribe to your YouTube or people that you talk about investing with that you want to take the opportunity to bust. 

Justin: [00:29:51] You know, a lot of people do think the stock market is a game, but I like to not think of it as a game, but more like a journey or, you know, community and all that type of stuff, because it's actually more to it than trying to bet on the next hot stock and become a millionaire in three days. So myth busted. I'm going to say the stock market isn't a game. We should really take a long term approach we've taken as a game. It could go a little bit south for investors. I know personally I can't speak on behalf of anybody else, but personally, when I take it as a game, it just doesn't end very pretty. So I'm going to bust a myth that the stock market is a game nice one. 

Bryce: [00:30:27] Well, couldn't agree more. Do your own research and yeah, love that idea of trading the stock market with a long term time horizon because we all know that the compounding effect really kicks into gear the longer you stay in the market, so couldn't agree more. Justin, thanks for that one. And we will now hear from another community member from Get Started Investing feed. 

Alec: [00:30:48] So we're joined by Dylan. Dylan, what was the biggest barrier you found when getting started investing? 

Dylan: [00:30:54] To me, I think the biggest barrier was that you need to have a heap of money to start off. Yeah, obviously there's a bit of a belief around, but make sure you pay off your house first and all this type of thing and then and then start to invest. But it's not something that you need to have a heap of money, especially these days with know the micro investing and all that type of thing. But yeah, there's definitely an ability to get in at a low level. The rates that we talk about all the time around, brokerage and things like that are all coming down. So it's something that's not a wholly the capital is required and it's not as difficult as what a lot of people think it is unless you turned 18 a bit while back and the first thing you did is open a tab account and put a bet on an old man about now I don't do that open, you know, open a superhero account and jump on an buy some shares, and he has done that. But yeah, I'm always encouraging sort of younger people to get involved as much as possible in the investing and even contributing more to super and things of that. 

Alec: [00:31:56] So we're joined by Tash of Tash Invest's, we're talking about barriers and myths when people got started investing. So if you think back to your early days trying to figure out the stock market, the property market, all of that. What were some of the biggest barriers you found to getting started? 

Tash: [00:32:14] The information is made to say really complex when it's really not like investing in index funds and ETF is actually quite simple. But finding really simple information is really hard. I think you think you need a lot of money. You probably need a finance degree and only like fancy people in suits can invest. It's like not even the case at all. It's actually really simple. Also just the method. It's hard, but yeah, and like finding accessible information? Definitely. Yeah. 

Alec: [00:32:37] Well, I think you deserve a lot of credit for making a lot of that information accessible. So Tash invests if people are feeling overwhelmed on that theme of it being overwhelming and confusing. Were there any myths or any beliefs you had about investing that you've since realised you were just completely wrong about? 

Dylan: [00:32:54] Yeah, you need

Tash: [00:32:55] a lot of money. Like, I saw a lot of them in Edmonds. Initially, it was like, Oh, you need five 10 K to invest in like the Vanguard fund, whereas like you can actually put five dollars into spaceship, you can save up and invest into an ETF because, like Pelaez brokerage for you on super brokerage fragrances, so many other options, you know that much money and you also don't need a finance degree as well. 

Dylan: [00:33:12] Mm hmm.

Bryce: [00:33:13] Yeah, it's a common one that has been coming through. But I also think it's a great time now that we talk about this a lot on the show that, you know, it's never been easier to actually Get Started Investing feed through those apps like Raiz and spaceship in those sorts of things. So gone is the excuse that you don't have enough money to get started 

Tash: [00:33:30] and time as well. Like you look at it and it looks really complex and you have like that image of the guy like the trader sitting there watching all like the charts of the 10 screens when really it's not like that, you can set it up and have a look at it ever again, and it does really well. 

Bryce: [00:33:41] Yeah, I'd love to hear it. Well, thanks, Tash. Great to hear from you as always, and we'll now hear from another community member. So, Maddie, when you first started investing back when you 18 buying those Apple shares, what was one of the biggest barriers that you faced? 

Maddie: [00:33:54] One of the biggest barriers that I faced was not knowing where to look or how to research individual companies and individual stocks. And in that way, the biggest myth that I came across was investing in individual companies is the best way to go about investing, which is what I learnt from my dad. And I feel like it's a huge myth because there's always a new hot stock or company in the market, especially with the crypto world right now. And while, well, they got a lot of substantial media attention, they're not necessarily worth the consideration is putting into your portfolio. I think one of the biggest things I've learnt is not put all your eggs in one basket. You might be familiar with the saying, but so many successful investors take that message to heart like myself by diversifying my portfolio and spreading out my investments in a variety of stocks. So there's obviously always risks involved. By choosing only one stock or company to invest in, you could leave yourself open to losing everything as the company goes under. And I've found that in my couple of investments after Apple, I bought into hearts and to single stocks that either had just hit the market or were rallying really well, and I've lost 70 80 percent of my investment. So at the end of the day, it's not how much money you have that you don't miss. Like this and this information stop you from taking advantage of the benefits of smart investing like ETFs and what they have to offer.

Bryce: [00:35:19] So what was a myth that you had at that period of time that you've since discovered is not truly reflective of, you know, investing in the stock market? 

Maddie: [00:35:29] investing in individual stocks is the best if that's the myth that I have debunked. Nice. 

Alec: [00:35:36] Yeah, that was a myth that I had to debunk. I. I've told this story a number of times on the podcast, but the first couple of investments I made were individual stocks. The first one didn't end well, and I wish I knew that ETFs and index funds were a thing back in the day. So hopefully money through your Instagram money with Maddie and through podcasts like this, we can help people avoid the same mistake or at least bust that myth that we both fell victim to.

Maddie: [00:36:04] Yeah, hopefully people don't fall into the same trap like we did.

Bryce: [00:36:07] So, Maddie, thank you for your time, and we'll now hear from our next community member. 

Alec: [00:36:11] All right, so we're now joined by Josh and Josh, we're talking all things investing myths and barriers that the GSI community faced when they were getting started investing. So thinking back to your early days, starting out as an investor, what were some of the biggest barriers you found to getting started? 

Josh: [00:36:31] My biggest barrier is talking about finances of parents. You know, a lot has changed since my parents had to sign up for a house deposit, and that generational difference and the economy as a whole is so large. So unless you've studied economics, you simply just don't know the real difference between our economies. For example, my dad supposedly and very persuasively bought his home for roughly $60000 in a small country town, and he expects, likewise with my wife and I earlier this year when we got married. He gave us quite a large sum. He gave us $10000 to put it into a home deposit one day and expected to just put it in a savings account. But I wanted to respect him and do as you wished. But I also knew that just putting into the bank and just letting me $40 is over 12 months. That long term deposit wasn't a wise investment, so I took a lot of, yeah, just sharing and explained to him that half in Geelong, which is where I live at the moment, is five, six and $4000. So although he gave me a huge amount of money to start that journey, yeah, $40 every 12 month period just won't cut it. 

Alec: [00:37:48] It's a funny one that you talk about. I definitely have similar conversations with my parents today. I think my dad, he was saying the first house he bought was seventy two thousand dollars. So very similar story to your folks. And you know, now I'm in Sydney and it's not seventy two thousand. It's seven figures if you want to buy a house in Sydney. But the other thing in terms of generational difference, my mum often speaks about how money was a real taboo subject in in her house. And the irony of May now speaking about money and investing publicly on a podcast isn't lost on the family. I don't think it's 

Josh: [00:38:26] absurd how much the generational difference does occur. Like, you know, my family's honest so every single cent goes back straight into the business to the idea of putting stuff aside and handing it to another business. 

Alec: [00:38:39] So that's barriers. If you think back to your mindset, you know, back when you were getting started. Was there anything that you believed about the stock market or investing generally that you've since realised was a bit of a myth? 

Josh: [00:38:52] Yeah, definitely. The idea of shares and investing into the share market is being risky. I think that there is a world where it is very volatile and you can lose a lot of money. But with the rise of like ETFs, I think that helps minimise the risk and helps increase our success in the in the investing space. 

Alec: [00:39:14] Nice one, Josh. I think that's some great insight there. It's not as risky as you think. If you're focussed on the long term, that's always a good note to end it on. So we'll we'll leave it there and we'll hear from you in our next episode where we speak all things investing resources. 

Bryce: [00:39:34] So we've got Rachel here. Rachel, what is one of the biggest barriers that you faced when you started investing, or perhaps a myth that you thought about investing there is no longer true? 

Rachel: [00:39:44] I'll go with a myth. I probably have two of them. The first myth that I heard is that you need thousands to invest. You absolutely don't. You obviously need money, but you don't need thousands. every day is a good day to invest, so you can even start with $50 to invest in one of those micro investing platforms like Acorns or Stake. And the second myth that I've heard is that it's really risky. Of course, it's risky if you don't do your research or if you don't ask for help. But if you actually put in the time and read on the internet on different types of platforms, if you ask people who are more experienced, it's not risky at all. And also, you know, if you invest in managed funds like ETFs and it's a lot harder to fail. 

Bryce: [00:40:28] Every day is a good time to invest. I love that. I think that's something I haven't heard before, but I think that's a great quote. So props to you and your financial advisor.

Rachel: [00:40:37] It's a good one. He also says to me, which is he also said to me, sometimes when stocks are dropping, he calls me up and says, Rachel, this stocks on sale. What do you think? 

Bryce: [00:40:50] That's it. That's the that's the Buffett move as well. Buy when others are fearful. So yeah, I love that. There you go! Ren plenty of barriers and myths. Some very common threads, though, that I'm sure well, that we've all faced when we started our investing journey. So I think the takeaway is you're not on your own when you're when you're feeling stuck or that things aren't panning out the way that you thought they would. We're all in it together, so stay with us. We've got our final episode coming up and it's a great one. We're discussing the best resources that you can use on your investing journey. So a massive thanks to superhero who have supported this series superhero. Allow you to buy Aussie and US shares and ETFs with no monthly account fees, and you can now own Qantas points as well with superhero. Eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and fees and charges apply for the final one of the series. We're back next week and we'll see you then.