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Investing 101: How to Do It Better
Your money deserves better.
Victoria Christie & Lara Buchar
January 31, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
JANUARY 31, 2025
Talking Points
Welcome back to another special edition of Financial Fridays with Facet*, the financial planning membership. 💰 💸 Today’s topic is about how to get better at investing your money now so you can get closer to your financial goals sooner. Facet CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals Kathy Griffin, Meagen Wagner, and Jeanette Beatty share their best investing tips, whether you have $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 in your bank account.
Investing 101: How to Do It Better
Here’s a not-so-surprising statistic: Only 53% of millennial women feel confident in their investing abilities, according to a 2022 study from Merrill Lynch.** That’s because so many of us weren’t taught the basics from a young age (think: stocks, bonds, mutual funds). If you’re part of the 47% who want to invest in their future but have no idea where to start, keep reading…
Make a plan
Before you spontaneously purchase a stock you saw trending on TikTok, ask yourself these questions, according to Wagner.
✅ What goals are you investing for? (A new house? Student loan payments? A trip?)
✅ What is the timeline for those goals? (6 months, 1 year, 10 years, 25 years?)
✅ What level of investment risk are you willing to take?
✅ What level of investment risk is appropriate for your goals and timeline?
If you’re having trouble answering these big questions on your own, a Facet CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional is there to help you narrow in on your money-saving goals.
Know your options…
Diversification (investing across the broad market) is a major 🔑.
🧾 Retirement savings accounts like Roth IRAs and 401(k)s let you withdraw your tax-free money once you hit 59 ½ if you’ve had the account for more than five years. You can open one any time (the sooner, the better) and start contributing to it regularly, but be careful of withdrawing the money before that magic age—you might face financial penalties, says Wagner.
🧾 Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) “are a good way to create a well-diversified portfolio without having to purchase and hold thousands of individual stocks and bonds,” says Wagner. “Not all ETFs are created equally though, they come at a cost. ETFs have expense ratios charged by the fund company for managing the fund. These expenses can exceed 1%, but there are many low-cost ETF options out there with expense ratios of less than 0.10%.”
… and know your risks
Wagner warns against putting a significant amount of your hard-earned cash in an individual stock (what if it crashes all of a sudden?) or alternative investments like cryptocurrencies, “especially if that high level of risk is not in line with your goal time horizon or personal risk tolerance,” she says.
⛔ Be careful of percentage-based fees (AUM fees). An assets under management (AUM) fee can be charged monthly or quarterly, and it is essentially a commission charge that gets paid to your traditional financial advisor. It all depends on your portfolio size and the types of investments you’re making. Always make sure to ask!
Think about future “you”
You’ve got time on your side, so use it! Make compounding interest your BFF, according to Beatty. It’s when you earn interest on both the money you've saved and the interest you earn. Ca-ching! “Saving early on frees up career options later on,” says Beatty. “Your growing investments could someday be the nest egg for your small business, supplement your income as you pursue a passion project, or let you take a sabbatical by 45.”
🤑 Community challenge of the week: Outline your big goals and allow them to dictate your small purchases. “It’s much easier to go through your credit card statements with a fine tooth comb when you have a meaningful goal in mind,” says Griffin. Getting takeout for the third time this week or putting that $45 towards your “Italian Summer Getaway” savings account? The answer seems obvious to us! 😉
Figuring out the perfect investment plan based on your age, income, and goals is hard. You shouldn’t have to do it on your own. That’s why Facet memberships take all of those factors into account with a personalized financial roadmap—just for you. 🛣️
Book a free, no-obligation intro call with Facet to learn how you can make your money work for you, not the other way around.
*Sponsored by Facet. (“Facet Wealth, Inc”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser. This is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. Facet’s specific investment management services vary depending upon the chosen service level. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
**Merrill and Ipsos, “Women, Money, Confidence: A Lifelong Relationship,” February 2022.
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Snacks
🧠 Wait, is brain rot an actual symptom of being on the internet?!
📵 ICYMI: Phone Free February is the new Dry January.
🗣️ “Hey, what’s up guys!” The TikTok influencer voice is taking over the world.
💞 This delightful Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin interview is the only thing getting us over the fact that it’s still January.
👀 The Real Housewives is much deeper than you think, people!
THE STUFF WE LOVE
Staff Picks
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 Sleepy Body Lotion, Lush, $15 / 3.1 oz. | The Sleepytime Hand Cream“I received this luscious little pot of lotion in a Lush gift set for Christmas, and I’ve been using it so obsessively that it’s almost out. Oops! The scent of lavender and tonka bean is so soothing, and putting it on before bed has become part of my nightly wind-down ritual. I really think the scent subtly alerts my brain that it’s time to get sleepy. I fully acknowledge that it could be a placebo effect thanks to the lotion’s name, but I honestly don’t even care, the sweet dreams are worth it!” — Lara, contributor |
 Daphne Linen Midi Dress in Chocolate, VRG GIRL, $161 | The Dress Worth Daydreaming Over“I may be bundled up in layers, but my heart (and my online shopping habits) are fully in summer mode. Lately, I’ve been drifting toward dreamy summer outfits—despite warm weather being months away. Enter a well-timed Instagram ad that led me to my latest find: the Daphne Linen Midi Dress (in Chocolate) from VRG GRL. Aussie brands are having a moment, and this dress proves why—it’s effortlessly cool, casually chic, and perfect for a sun-drenched European holiday. The breezy linen keeps you cool, pairs effortlessly with flats for cobblestone strolls, and also comes in Powder and Sun for a fun color pop. Basically, I’m manifesting summer, one dress at a time.” — Kate |
Weekend Plans
Before you log off for a well-earned weekend of rest and relaxation, let us help you curate your weekend vibes with the best things to watch, cook, and read right now. ✨
👀 To watch: As if we needed another reason to be obsessed with SZA and Keke Palmer, their game-changing buddy comedy One of Them Days (in theaters now!) is getting rave reviews and has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Need we say more?
👩🍳 To cook: The end of Dry January calls for a toast (if we do say so ourselves), and we’ve waited all month to try this Sesame Martini.
📚 To read: The New York Times Vows column (paywall) on the two child actors from School of Rock who grew up, fell in love, and got married, is just the thing to make you believe that love is alive and well.
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