Kickstarting My Girlboss Investing Journey
For the past month, I’ve been attending investing classes.
They’re hosted by a family friend, and my parents coerced me into going, telling me I should learn to be smarter with my money now that I’ve finished my degree. Shock horror, I am the youngest person in the class by at least a decade.
We learnt that investing is not a hobby and it requires time: time to study charts, to do fundamental and technical analysis, to buy, to sell, and to wait. We unpacked investing jargon: candlesticks, stop-losses, index funds, compound interest, and positional trading. It was stressed that we should “never catch a falling knife”—never invest in a stock just because it's cheap in the present, as you don't know if or when it will rise in value again.
Slowly, I started feeling flutters of empowerment in my belly. Maybe the financial world is for me. I wonder if I should preemptively write ‘girlboss’ in my LinkedIn bio. Elon Musk, eat your heart out.
With that being said, I haven’t actually invested a cent. I sit in the corner of the class, head down, typing diligently but never engaging in discussions. Learning the theory doesn't mean jack shit if I’m not willing to take a leap of faith and trust myself. I’ve always excelled at academics, yet upskilling my financial literacy feels so unnatural to me. I would rather be proudly ignorant than actually admit I want in on the elusive world of finance bros. If you’re anything like me, here’s a piece of advice—lose the attitude.
Money does make the world go round, it can buy happiness, and wealth is health. You, with your hemp tote bag and thrifted cardigan, are not going to single handedly dismantle capitalism by refusing to learn how to grow your wealth. The only person this disadvantages is you. You can vote to tax the rich and also become an ethical investor. If you don’t know where to start, check out www.mindfulmoney.nz for information on how to invest your KiwiSaver into an ethical fund that aligns with your values.
This week, Salient answers your long-standing questions about money.
Our first feature investigates StudyLink’s shortcomings and, for all of you who are both dependent on and resentful of StudyLink, I highly recommend reading it. Later on, Bridget breaks down inflation using Scrumpy metaphors, Lauren does the math on how paid parking exacerbates our cost of living, Joseph figures out why we don’t use cash anymore, and I share student-friendly advice from a financial activist.
The news section also SLAPS this week. We break down the shitshow that is VUWSA’s potential exit from NZUSA, calculate exactly why Te Puni Village costs so damn much to live in, argue in support of the Free Fares campaign, and so much more. News is important. Read it.
Whoever you are, whatever your financial situation is, this week I implore you to think more about money. Talk about it. Learn about it. There may be a dormant girlboss inside all of us.
Ngā manaakitanga,