#InvestingTruths: Anthony on Investing Early to Combat Inflation

Beat inflation – that was the number one goal that drove Winnipeg-based lab technician Anthony1 to invest for himself in his early 20s. "When I was younger, a double cheeseburger cost $1.56," says the 27 year old. "Nowadays, it costs more than $2 – and it's minus one slice of cheese." To Anthony, keeping his money in a chequing account meant losing money over time. "I tried to figure out ways to at least offset that, if not save up more for the future." Figuring it out involved a lot of independent research. “I'm self-taught in a lot of things," says Anthony. "Even in university if a course didn't have in-class marks, I would skip class and study on my own, and I would be ahead of the class." Anthony didn't read a bunch of books or take an online course. "I kind of casually taught myself – 30 minutes, an hour for a few days a week, I'd just read some stuff, watch a few videos. And then occasionally, in conversation with people, we'd talk, we'd have some discussions about things." Though this approach isn't for everyone, for Anthony, it's been a worthwhile endeavor. "I think it's important, if you have the time and energy to do whatever you can to help yourself financially," says Anthony, who also works part-time as a strength and conditioning coach. Here he shares some of his investing story. Q: Tell us a bit about your investing journey. How did you get started? A: I got wrapped up in the whole crypto currency craze, so that was my first foray into investing, as well as marijuana stocks. I was pretty fortunate when I did those things. I got in early and then I was net positive, a significant amount. So I kind of just took that and ran. Some people hold it for too long, but once I get a certain amount that makes it worth my time in my eyes, I get out. Nowadays, my portfolio is more secure, with things like stocks and index funds. Q: It sounds as though the amount of risk you take on has shifted since you first began investing. Is that fair to say? A: Definitely. There was a big craze with day trading, where a lot of young people tried to make money in the very short term. And most of those people tend to lose money or make less money than they would if they were to just have invested in a typical index fund. I still do the occasional short-term thing here and there, but that's with money that I don't care about. Reacting emotionally usually produces a worse outcome than sitting back, analyzing, being methodical, having logic, being calm. Q: Speaking of “caring," how do emotions play into your investing? A: I've dealt with some of the most volatile assets you could ever imagine. With crypto, I could literally wake up one day and make a few thousand dollars, or a few hundred, or lose a lot. So that kind of attenuated me quite a bit. I try to use logic over emotion. Reacting emotionally usually produces a worse outcome than sitting back, analyzing, being methodical, having logic, being calm. I value money but the money I put into the market, I'm fully at peace with losing all of it. Even with everything going on right now, when the markets crashed and everything, I didn't take out anything because I didn't know enough. Instead of selling – like a lot of people did and they ate massive losses – I was calm because I was okay with losing whatever I had in there. So I could just sit there and say, “Let's see how this plays out. It's already gone down a bunch. What's the worst that can happen?" And obviously the situation is a little bit better now. Q: What guides your investment decisions? Do you have a strategy? A: It's been an aggregation of things over the years – mostly the internet, some YouTube videos, things like that, and then friends and my dad as well. But fundamentally, if you were to look underneath all those fancy terms, it just comes down to something that I see that there'll be value in in the future. I try to consistently put money into the market every month, on a regular basis, just because you never know. My most fundamental goal is to be net positive. I care more about the direction, rather than magnitude. Q: What are your goals in investing, both short- and long-term? A: My most fundamental goal is to be net positive. I care more about the direction, rather than magnitude. But the more I can have lined up for the future, whether it's retirement down the line or future endeavours, or if I want to use dividends to pay for a vacation or something like that, that's always nice to have. It'd also be nice to be able to have more freedom down the line, work whenever I want or don't work if I don't want to, just have a lot of flexibility. Q: How confident are you as an investor? A: I think there's a fine line between confidence and just being blindly arrogant about it. When you invest, it's not fully in your hands. You choose what you put money into, but at the same time, there are other factors that come into play that affect it as well. Q: Do you have any tips for someone who's just starting out as an investor? A: To me, investing is a privilege, it's something you have to earn. And if you have bills to pay, if you are trying to pay for food, rent, whatever, that always comes first. Because if you need cash flow right now, especially with everything going on these days, keep your cash value. That helps set the tone for my next point: Don't be emotionally attached to the money you put in.