New to Investing at 54 Seeking Simple Strategies and Advice | Beginner Investors

Jana's post

Beginner Investors · 11mo

I am 54 and new to investing and am feeling overwhelmed with all of the information online. I want to keep my investing simple and have started with 1 share of $XEQT. I plan to set up bi-weekly deposits into my TFSA.

Questions:

1. I am thinking I should just keep putting money into that ETF. If this makes sense, should I aim for a specific number of shares and then start on another etf or stock?

2. What would you recommend for a complimentary investment to go along with my $XEQT .

3. If I did add another investment, what would be a good % breakdown for me, a beginner. Would it make sense for me to keep the majority in $XEQT ?

4. I have read that getting to the first $100k is the longest journey. With the small amounts that I am able to invest, I may never reach that amount. But I would sure like to try! I am hoping with time that I will feel comfortable with the buy/sell process and be able to make some of those decisions.

I love reading all of your posts. Especially, since everyone seems to do investing a bit differently. It’s very educational! Thanks!

36K views

157 Comments

Twenty-five And Invested

@25andinvested · 11mo

You have alot of wild comments explaining how to use dividends to supplement income... that isnt how this works. Your money is almost always better off just sitting in you core etf(s) and xeqt is fantastic, you cannot speed run your returns, but you should find ways to maxamize savings and make more money to invest. That is what you control.

Crazy Canuck Investor

@crazycanuckinvestor · 11mo

Hi Jana,

You’re getting a ton of great comments that’s one of the best parts of Blossom. Lots of different voices, and everyone brings something a little different to the table.

I started investing in April 2023 at the “ripe old age” of 50, so you and I aren’t far apart. I’ve tried growth ETFs, dividend ETFs, covered-call ETFs, individual stocks, and even a robo-advisor for my kids’ RESP. Every step taught me something, and some of those lessons were learned the hard way.

One thing I’ve realized is that investing your money is only one part of the whole picture. The account you use, your risk tolerance, your time horizon (and you have lots of that ahead of you), and eventually how you’ll withdraw your money , these things matter just as much.

Looking back, I would’ve started exactly where you are: something simple like XEQT. It gets your money working immediately while you build your confidence and learn at your own pace. There are other all-in-one ETFs too with their own pros and cons, but the simple approach is a great first step.

Since you’re new, I’ll also mention one thing you’ll see a lot here on Blossom: covered-call ETFs. They’re incredibly popular, and those high yields can look really tempting , especially when you’re just starting out. Nothing wrong with exploring them, but it’s important to know they come with risks and trade-offs that aren’t always obvious at first. The big yields can pull you in, so just make sure you understand how they fit your goals before jumping in. Not “don’t invest,” just “learn first.”

DIY investing is accessible, but it doesn’t mean you’ll have all the answers right away. Almost three years in, I’m still learning. I’ve ridden the roller coaster up, felt it drop, and picked up lessons every time. It’s a bit like being back in school… except the tuition is real money.

If you want people to learn from, here are some creators I follow:

@canadiantshirt
@moementumfinance
@karyungtom
@brandon
@robinhaney
@ryley
@mr.financial
Ben Felix
@smallbird.financial
@bradleytalksmoney
@paulsantori

I could go on but the list is long

Books: The Intelligent Investor
Podcasts: Rational Reminder, The Canadian Investor, Global Value

And don’t forget Blossom’s Learn section ,great foundation without being overwhelming.

If you want to follow someone who also started later in life, I share my journey here:
https://youtube.com/@THECRAZYCANUCKINVESTOR-od4gv

Take anything I say with a grain of salt ,I’m just sharing what I wish I had known at the beginning. The learning never really stops, but neither does the satisfaction of watching your money grow.

You’re off to a great start. Keep going ,your future self will thank you.

LM @retiredyoung · 11moEdited

Well …. I’m gonna be the one who may be disagrees with some of the other posts.

I started doing this in 2006

Lived through 2008

Retired in 2013 at the age of 37

Made mistakes has some great successes

So if I could give advice to my younger self, this is what it would be

1. Don’t buy shit you don’t need.
I know everyone likes to go straight to the whole how to make a shit ton of money
But nobody ever goes to how to save a shit ton of Money. I’m not saying don’t buy anything. I’m just saying think about it.. think how many hours you had to work to buy that item. And then think how many years sooner can you retire if you invested that money and didn’t buy that item.

People think that in order to get rich, they have to make more money, but really people usually spend more money after they make it. It has a far more to do with savings than making money.

#2 Don’t have any debt. I know there’s a lot of high rollers on here who like to borrow money and throw it in the stock market. in a bull market, this can make logical sense. in a bear market this is going to destroy you. So unless you’re highly psychic, don’t play this game.. I live through 2008 it could possibly destroy you. Pay off your debt first before you think about investing your money. The stress reduction of being debt free is priceless (you should have an emergency fund)
3. There are a lot of people who love their dividends.. and I’m not opposed to dividends. A dividend have their place.. so unless you’re really good at stock picking. I wouldn’t waste my time with dividend paying ETFs or stocks.
Every time you get paid a dividend, it sits in your account and isn’t making you money. So if I was telling my younger self again, who didn’t rely on the income to live off of, I would tell myself to buy hxs and hxt and hug.
They don’t pay dividends so in the long line they make better money. Because they don’t pay dividends there is no dividend tax to pay to the United States government, and there’s no dividend tax to pay to your government.. which is more money in your pocket.
3. Figure out your risk tolerance.
And from there, decide your percentages. Say 50% in the S&P 30% in the TSX 20% in gold.. I don’t care what you decide. That’s up to you but figure it out and stick to it. Just keep adding into the one that might be low and or selling off the one that might be too high in adding into the one that might be too low.. this takes out all the emotional trading.
4. Stay away from cover called ETFs.
I know there’s guys here claiming to make 80 grand a month, I’m telling you in the long run they tend not to do as good. In the last three months, I’ve been pulling in $50,000 a month and that’s with a large amount of money in cash because I sold a house. I don’t care if I’m getting paid in dividends, and I don’t care if it’s sitting there in non Div funds. I care that the overall portfolio goes up.
So don’t get trapped into cover called ETF or Dividend and payouts. Focus on overall performance.
5. Max out your TFSA FIRST
6. Max out your RSP second only if you need the tax right off otherwise it’s a pain in the arse when you retire.
7. Then open up a cash account and start putting money into that.
8. Block button on here is your friend.
9. The youngest traders on here tend to believe they are the best experts.
10. Don’t be consumed by it. Find something, (etf) and buy continually. You’ll do better in the long run. Don’t overthink. Don’t strategize. Pick 2-3 ETFs, pick your %, then just robotically invest.

First hundred thousand is hard you’re right
Even if you’re made 30% you might only see 300 bucks and it seems like nothing, all that-skimping and you might as well have just had a good night at a hotel, (that’s what your brain will tell you) Don’t listen to it..
Next big milestone is 1 million. Once you hit that it will snowball so fast you won’t believe your eyes every time you open your portfolio. Remember when you’re sacrificing to buy something you might like to have but know you don’t really need, that someday you’re gonna be free., free from debt, free to tell your boss to f off, free to do whatever the hell you want.

After you’re retired IF you prefer dividends, then you can slowly start moving things around, but by then you’ll have more experience under your belt

Crystal

@crystalorchids · 11mo

Another thing you might want to do to help your portfolio grow is buy a 2nd etf that pays a regular distribution. You could use that distribution along with your money to build more XEQT.

EQCL, for example, is literally the same underlying holdings as XEQT but pays a distribution every month.

Or you could switch it up and choose something more narrow to help get the money flowing.
If you are considering an income fund to support your XEQT, I recommend looking around the websites at Evolve, Harvest, Hamilton & Global X Canada.

HHIS is a fantastic one for income as well. It pays 26 cents per share that you own around the 9th of every month.

Combining this with whatever you can afford to add will help you build up your XEQT quicker and the shares of HHIS are only around $13.

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