Why millennials need to invest for the future
NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - Consider this: millennials are the largest generation in history yet when it comes to investing, a recent survey from Bankrate.com shows only a third have money in the stock market, compared to half of Generation X and baby boomers. So why is that?
"Part of it is, we experienced 2008 and it makes sense why that would scare us about what the stock market means," personal finance expert Erin Lowry says. "But it's also an education issue."
Lowry, the author of "Broke Millennial," says millennials can put their love for technology to use and learn how to invest in the stock market right from their phone.
"We have a lot of different options to get into the stock market," Lowry says. "Apps are a great example. There's been a big gamification of investing."
For example, Stash is a mobile app that seeks to simplify investing.
"We believe that our customers should be buying investments on a regular basis through all the market noise, the ups and downs, and doing it over the long term," CEO Brandon Kreig says. "With Stash, we curate investing. So we take a look at your financial picture and we recommend investments where we think you should start and then from there you can invest with intent."
Kreig says 86 percent of Stash users have no prior investing experience but because they are diversifying their stocks, they are taking a lesser risk but a risk nonetheless.
"If you have a really keen interest in something like technology, you don't want to put all your money into one stock like Apple," Lowry says. "But you also don't want to be just investing into one sector. You want to be diversifying amongst many different options."
With financial advice available right at their fingertips, millennials should start investing as soon as they can, Lowry says.
"Failing to invest is crippling your options in the future," she says. "If you are not putting away money now to save for the future you are ensuring that you're going to be working until the day you die because you are not going to have that nest egg."