The views expressed in this article are based on my personal experiences and opinions, and do not constitute financial advice. Please do your own research or speak to a licensed financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

I made my first “investment” when I was 18, armed with nothing but curiosity and a questionable sense of confidence. I started trading forex because I saw someone on YouTube turn $100 into $10,000. How hard could it be, right?

Turns out, very. 

At 19, I dabbled in crypto, made a bit on Bitcoin, lost a bit on altcoins with names I’d rather not repeat. It was messy, impulsive, and frankly, not very strategic. But it sparked something important: I became curious about how money could grow over time.

I didn’t realise it back then, but I was learning one of the most valuable lessons early on: the earlier you start, the more time you give your money to work for you. 

What finally made it click

It wasn’t until I was 24 that things started to come together. I was in my second full-time job and had a more stable (read: closer to the national average) income. I’d watched my savings grow at a painfully slow pace in regular bank accounts, and I started wondering if there were better ways to make my money work harder. 

That was when I decided to do things differently. To say it was life-changing would be an understatement.

In 2021, I jumped down the rabbit hole of personal finance, doing research on the S&P 500, NASDAQ, various industries and individual companies. I read extensively and discovered that the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual return of 6.47% p.a. since 1957, and that’s after adjusting for inflation. This spurred me to start dollar-cost averaging into ETFs (exchange-traded funds) like VUG and VTI on the 25th of every month (yay, payday). I started small with about US$400 per month and focused on being consistent.

Over time, I began adding individual companies to my portfolio, not because they were trendy, but because I understood what they did and believed in their long-term potential. 

That’s when my real investing journey began. No more guesswork. Just a steady, long-term approach. Keep reading to see what I look at when choosing companies to invest in.

What I look for when choosing companies/funds to invest in

I believe in keeping things simple, and one of the important lessons I’ve learned is this: only invest in the companies you understand.

If I can’t explain what a business does in a couple of sentences, I probably shouldn’t be investing in it. I like companies that are part of everyday life – brands I hear about, use or notice growing in the world around me. You don’t need to be a financial analyst; you just need to stay curious and pay attention to the world around you. 

For example, here are some of the companies and ETFs I’ve invested in, and why:

• Apple (AAPL): Just about everyone I know – and their parents – own an Apple iPhone. Their ecosystem is sticky, and I don’t see people switching out for other brands anytime soon.
• Microsoft (MSFT): A quiet giant. From Windows to Cloud (Azure) to AI (OpenAI), their systems and services continue to bring in steady revenue.
• Google (GOOGL): If the internet had a backbone, it would probably be Google. Google Chrome dominates the browser market and the company generates majority of its revenue through advertising.
• Nvidia (NVDA): The unsung hero powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. If AI is the future, NVDA is a pickaxe in the gold rush.
• Palantir (PLTR): A tad niche, but I believe in their long-term vision and data-centric solutions. Clients include governments and institutions. 
• Crowdstrike (CRWD): Cybersecurity is getting more important and CRWD leads the market. 
• Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG): Offers broad exposure to high-growth companies, including the ones above. Great if you don’t want to pick companies.
• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI): A solid all-rounder to balance out my tech-heavy picks. If the US economy grows, this grows too. 

I try not to invest based on hype. I invest based on what I believe in, great products and services that people use, and what I think will still be around (and thriving) at least a decade from now.  

How to start investing (without overthinking it)

If you’ve ever thought, “I’ll start once I figure it all out”, you’re not alone. The truth is: you learn by doing, and you’ll never feel like you’ve figured it all out. You just need to get comfortable taking the first step and you’ll feel your confidence grow along the way.

Here’s what helped me:

1. Start with what you can afford to lose

You really don’t need thousands. I started with US$400 a month. Pick an amount that won’t stress you out and be consistent with it. This consistency matters more than trying to find a perfect entry point. Open a brokerage or investment account. There are plenty of beginner-friendly platforms out there that let you invest in local and international markets. Look for one with low fees and an interface that’s easy to navigate. One Funds platform that doesn’t charge platform fees or impose any sales charge is dollarDEX, so your money is fully invested. You can start investing with as little as S$100, making it beginner-friendly and accessible. Most platforms now allow you to purchase fractional shares (e.g., investing in 0.5 shares instead of 1 share), which is why you don’t have to start with thousands.

P.S. Don’t forget fees. Most platforms charge administrative or trading fees. These can eat into your returns over time, especially if you’re making frequent trades. Look out for things like commission charges, currency conversion fees (for overseas stocks) and monthly platform fees. 

2. Stick to the basics at first

You don’t need to pick individual companies or stocks from day one. You can start with broad ETFs like CSPX or VOO, or index funds such as the Infinity US500 Stock Index SGD or Infinity Global Stock Index A SGD, all of which track the S&P 500 and MSCI World Index. They give you broad diversification and let you ride the general wave of economic growth.

3. Automate your investments

Set it and forget it. I invest on the 25th of every month – payday. This takes the emotion (and potential pain) out of it and turns it into a habit, not a decision. 

4. Don’t freak out when the market dips 

Markets go up and down, and that’s normal. If you’re investing in the long-term, a red day is just… another Tuesday. If anything, it might be a chance to buy your favourite companies on discount.

The key is to just get started. Even if it’s not perfect. Because once you get some skin in the game, you’ll find yourself learning faster, caring more, and tuning into the world around you with a whole new lens. If you’re new to investments, this article might help to break down some financial jargon.

The cost of waiting

Around the same time I started investing properly, some of my friends were on the sidelines. They weren’t lazy or clueless; most of them just didn’t feel “ready”. They wanted to wait for the right time. Or save a bit more. Or just read one more article, watch one more video, or ask one more friend.

Some of them sat out of market dips (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic), thinking it would drop even lower, and eventually entered bull markets at peak prices. One of them still talks about Tesla like an ex that got away.

To their credit, many of them eventually started investing too. And now that they’ve stuck with it for a while, they get it. They’ve seen how their money grows and realised that waiting didn’t protect them, it just delayed the benefits.

Here’s the thing, investing isn’t about waiting for the perfect moment. It’s about being consistent, month after month, and letting time do its thing. Every year you could’ve had your money working for you is a year of compounding lost and a year of experience missed.

When you start early, you realise the short-term ups and downs don’t matter as much – because you’re thinking years ahead, not days. You don’t need to get it perfect. You just need to get started. And there’s no better moment than now to let time work in your favour.