Today we are talking all about investment and personal finance with Amy Than and Cindy La. Amy and Cindy are finance content creators and the founders of How Is She Rich.  Their goal is to help their audiences achieve financial freedom and literacy by educating them based on their personal experiences in the industry. 

 

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Meet Amy Than and Cindy La

Amy Than and Cindy La are self-made investors who started from nothing and both built up a 7 figure net worth by the age of 30. Their goal with @HowIsSheRich is to help everyone reach financial freedom by sharing everything they’ve learned on their journey.

 

What are some tips/best practices you would give to people just starting their investing journey?

 Cindy started off by acknowledging some common investment myths: it can seem overwhelming and scary! The majority of people don’t know how or where to start. She continues by reassuring us that, most of the time, this is just a scare tactic so people will hire investment services to work for them rather than trying it out on their own. 

She then introduced one of her main themes for the episode: You don’t need to be an expert or do a ton of research on the nitty gritty details to start investing on your own right now! She continued by saying that you don’t need to be rich or be an expert to save up a lot of money for retirement. Compound interest is no joke; it will add up.

She gave a couple of examples of the investments we can be making right now that people may not be fully utilizing. First, 401k matching! If your employer offers this, take it! She emphasizes that this is a great resource to start saving and investing in your future from a source that is consistent and doesn’t require an initial ‘investment’ of your personal funds.

Second, she said Index funds can be a great place to start if you are just beginning your investment journey as they are made for people new to the investment world who want a hands off approach to investing.

 

What are your tips for people looking to start and revamp their budget?

Amy began by stating one of the most common mistakes people make when creating a budget, and that is being too granular when tracking their expenses. Amy explains that it is difficult, if not nearly impossible, to always line up 1 to 1 when counting pennies. This causes frustration with yourself, your financial situation, and your budget

Amy addressed this concern by telling our audience what we can do to overcome this overwhelm: focus on consistency! Do something that works for you and keep doing that. 

She elaborated by saying that keeping a more general budget can help you stay consistently on track and aware of your budget. 

For example, she has an overall budget for monthly fixed expenses and an overall budget for monthly fun! She said this is as simple as saying, ‘Ok, I get $500 per month to do absolutely whatever I want with.’ Then, you have a limit for what you want to spend on ‘fun’ without having to worry about every single miscellaneous purchase and whether you have the money for it, because a lump sum is already accounted for in your budget! 

She ended by saying that you should also be consistently adding to your savings so that you are able to spend this ‘fun money’ while having the reassurance that your savings are also being added to.

 

How much do you recommend people put into their savings? 

Cindy answered this question by stating a general ‘best practice’ rule of thumb: the 50, 30, 20 rule. This means, 50% goes to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings and investing. She noted that this is a general starting point and should be catered to your specific financial situation and cost of living. 

Building off of that, she stated that a good goal to have and work for is to have 6 months worth of emergency savings stored up.

From there, Amy added that a great way to passively add to your savings is to invest! She said one of the best things about investing is that you can let time do the work for you. You don’t have to invest large sums of money; start with what you can and let time do the rest of the work for you!

Finally, both Amy and Cindy emphasized this important message: you can’t put a price on experiences and fun memories, so don’t be afraid to spend what you have! While they agree that making sure you have some money to consistently put into savings or invest is important, it is EQUALLY as important to spend what you can on fun things that will help to relax and treat yourself.

They followed this up with clarifying that you should spend money on fun things WITHOUT feeling guilty. Doing so will help you make wiser financial decisions, avoid impulse buying, and avoid the stress that comes with financial planning!

 

Do you have any recommendations or resources about how to approach today’s real estate market because it is so crazy right now?

Amy started off by addressing the fact that putting 20% down is a fairly outdated notion. If you would like to make a real estate purchase, there are many effective ways to be able to do this within your financial means that don’t require such a large down payment. 

She also says that while interest rates are on the rise, this should not deter you too much from making a real estate purchase if you really want to! She concluded that you can always refinance down the road, but you can’t refinance out of a higher purchase price.

Building off of that, Cindy mentioned that it is also important to have a good understanding of debt. There is good debt and bad debt. And you do not have to be debt free before making an investment! She supports this by saying that if your debt has low interest rates, it is more profitable for you to invest your extra money rather than try to pay off that debt early. 

 

What is your general baseline advice for people who are looking to clean up their finances?

Cindy and Amy answered this question by giving 3 simple steps: 

  1. Create a budget! You need to know where your money is to know where it’s going. Take a look at the income you have coming in and distribute where it needs to go (fixed expenses, savings, etc.).
  2. Start your emergency fund with 6-9 months worth of savings. 
  3. Lastly, get the 401k employer match. Don’t miss out on that free money!

 

They wrapped up by saying that a budget and finances are a very personal thing! So focus on doing what is best for you and what works for you, and not what everyone else is doing.

If you’re ready to start working on your financial security and investment plan, connect with Amy and Cindy by checking out the links below!

 

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Busting Investment Myths With Amy Than and Cindy La

November 9, 2022

Investment