Welcome to Luis's Business channel. Today I'm going to share six tips that will make your life easier when investing if you're a beginner. Let's remember that when we are beginners in the world of investing, most of us had many doubts, especially a lot of fear of financial instruments that were presented to us or that we heard about on some TikTok or that we heard suddenly from a family member or simply from some promoter of some type of insurance that investing our money is a great idea. And indeed it is. The problem is that many times when we get to the point of making investments and we are not well prepared, we are unlikely to do well. That's why I took the liberty of making this video, because for those people who find the topic of investing difficult because they are just starting out, they need to get a good grasp of that path. I want to share my experience with you and make this journey as smooth as possible. So I invite you to watch this video because believe me, if you're just starting out in the world of investing, it will completely change your life . So I hope you enjoy it, and if you like it, please give me a like. So let's begin. So , why is investing important? Investing our money is the only way we can beat inflation. In short, when we leave our money uninvested or simply doing nothing with it, that is , under the mattress or in a savings account or simply in a piggy bank like this, we are not making this money grow. And why is it important for money to grow? Because it's worth less and less. And you won't let me lie about that . Years ago, with 20 pesos you could go to the store and buy some chips, a soda, some sweets, and even have enough left over, if you wanted, for a marzipan. Today, 20 pesos is only enough for potatoes and that's it. So, basically, this example I'm giving you is to make us realize that we have to invest. However, there are several mistakes that many people make before doing so. Therefore, I'm sharing three points that we need to take into account before we start investing. And the first of these is to cover our basic expenses. In short, it's about managing our personal expenses and personal finances well. And above all, that we don't fall into a situation of indebtedness. In short, we need to use that credit card, overdraw it, use more than we can afford to live day to day, because if we keep accumulating mountains of debt, investing our money definitely won't be the final solution; we need order. For that reason, I am currently just finishing my book on investments, but the first book I published, called "Rich Whoever Reads It," is about personal finance, because we cannot have good investments if we do not have our personal finances in order. That's a rule. The second rule I want to share with you, and it's very important, is to pay off your debts with higher interest rates. If we have consumer debt, for example, a credit card that we haven't paid on time and is charging us 30, 50, or 100% annual interest, then it's clearly a huge red flag, because it's no use investing perhaps in a Standard 500 that traditionally gives you returns of 10% when you owe 70%, you know what I mean? So, the second big step, besides managing our money well, is clearly getting rid of bad debt. Hey, Luisby, but I have my own house. Hey, but I have my car, there's no problem there. But when it comes to consumer debt, that's where it's most dangerous. A personal loan that has not been paid off. I would say that we need to focus on that first before diving headfirst into investments. And third point, and no less important, have an emergency fund. What is an emergency fund? It's money that we intend to have for 3 to 6 months of our salary. Ideally, it's much better. But an important aspect of an emergency fund is that the money is invested , meaning that it's generating higher returns with daily liquidity. What do I mean by daily liquidity? So you can have that money whenever you want. And then they ask me on my Instagram, they send me messages and say, "Hey, Luis, what do you think, for example, if I invest my emergency fund for 28 days?" Well, it's no longer an emergency, because ultimately, if you need to withdraw that money, you have to wait until a certain day of the month to make it happen. So be very careful with this. Always look for area liquidity. Examples of this. In direct sets there is an option called bondía. Simply by sending your money to Setes Directo, you are investing. You don't have to make an additional move, just send it and that's it. Every day you earn the rate practically very close to what it is in 28-day sets. Now, before investing, it's also very important to know that there are different types of risk in the world of investments . There are low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk investments. When we start, I always suggest that we go from less to more, that is, be a conservative profile and then move to a moderate and, if necessary, an aggressive one. And here are some of the instruments I want you to consider. Whether you're looking for Setes Direct or U.S. Treasury bonds, you can invest in them at treasurydirect.gov or setesdirecto.com. It's the lowest there is . Lending your money to a government with good economic stability is undoubtedly a very good option because it is the same government that guarantees that same investment. Then, for example, we have index funds or ETFs that already offer diversification and reduce the risk compared to investing directly in company shares. When we invest in stocks, we must be aware that the risk we run is much greater. That's why it's so important to know how to read and study the stocks we invest in, and not to go along with the first TikTok that tells you, "Write down the seven stocks I'm going to buy and never sell." Because they are often very dangerous recommendations. And now, importantly, don't get frustrated, just start. You don't need to have 20 investments, you need to have maybe two at the beginning . Fixed income, which is the safe instrument, and diversified variable income such as an investment fund. Here's an example. Investing in ETFs can be wonderful. And also something very important, you must be consistent when investing. It is much better for us to invest a fixed amount month by month and continue investing than to have invested only once and never again fight for an investment portfolio. I do believe that consistent contributions undoubtedly help us to develop that discipline and, of course, to achieve better results in the world of investing. And I'm not just talking about automating or investing more and more, but also about acquiring greater knowledge in the world of investments. And for that, I recommend you subscribe to the Luis Mi Negocios channel, because we have been providing free financial and investment education here on YouTube for over 5 years. So if you do it this way, your results will surely be much better. Now, myth versus reality, do I need to be rich to invest? No, you don't have to . Investing is like gambling, it's not the complete opposite. The reality is that you can invest in Mexico from $100, in the United States from about $50, and of course be able to invest it in instruments of a certain security, right? How can a SIP500 be one that invests in the 500 largest and strongest companies in the entire United States? Incidentally, this instrument is wonderful, but you have to understand that it is dollarized, so it is subject to fluctuations in the exchange rate with your local currency, and of course understand that past performance is not indicative of future performance of this fund. Now, write it down and there's your little notebook, mistakes that are going to cost you money. Following trends is fatal. Don't copy your friend. Trying to recover losses quickly isn't going to work either. And constantly buying and selling is very complicated. Being a trader can be a profession, it can give you good profits, yes, but you have to be quite diligent. Obviously, having an advanced level of knowledge and the statistics are not twenty; you can check it if you want with GPT chat. 95% of people who trade end up losing money. So be very careful sometimes with what you see on social media from people who look at charts and say things like, "I 'm the best and I've made millions and millions with trading." Trading might not be your main source of income, so be careful with that. And of course, take advantage of the safe investment opportunities the world has to offer. For example, when I worked at a multinational company, they offered us a savings account where if we put in 100 pesos, the company would put in another 100. So we had a 100% return. Obviously, the company provides that money, but it's a very good investment option. In fact, many people have written to me over the years saying, "Hey Luis, what do you think if my company offers me a savings account where I put in 2,000 pesos and the company gives me another 2,000? Fabulous." Obviously these savings accounts come with a limit, right? Hey, you can't put in more than a certain amount because, well, imagine, right? Hey, you can deposit 5 million, so where do I put my money to get it back the next day? So, we have to be very careful with that. And now, without further ado , with this explanation, let's move on to the six secrets I'm giving you to master your financial future. Number one, the power of a high-yield investment account. What are these types of accounts? These are alternative accounts to what are known as SETS or government fixed-income instruments that have a certain degree of protection and also offer a very good return with virtually no risk. In Mexico, for example, you have investments, perhaps in some banks that have promotional rates, which the Sofipo, by the way, like Clar Finsus, to mention a few examples, offer you the advantage of giving you a much higher rate because they don't have the same guarantee from a federal government, but they are regulated and most of these investments have protection insurance in case a company fails. For example, in the case of SOFIPOs, you have the SOFIPO insurance that protects you up to 25,000. Or also, for example, in the case of banks you have the protection of the IPAP which covers you up to 400,000 UDIIS. Either of these two options can be fabulous. Two, as I mentioned before, debt or investment. If you have debts with interest rates higher than 10%, my suggestion is to try to pay off the debt first before getting into the investment arena. That will definitely help you a lot. Three, use taxes to your advantage. You know the law, or you can partner with an accountant or have an accountant who knows about investments. Most accountants handle business accounting, but perhaps few specialize in the world of investments. When you have an accountant specializing in investments, they will understand you perfectly, select your ideal tax regime, and from there, they can save you many thousands of pesos a year without problems through good accounting advice. Above all, they will save you a lot of trouble with the tax authorities of each country because, obviously, compliance is our duty. Four. Especially if you're a beginner, don't look for a needle in a haystack. Don't look for the next envy. Don't try to become a millionaire right away. It's better to opt for a well- diversified strategy that gives you peace of mind and allows your money to grow gradually. This is the best. and largely by relying on compound interest, which is simply reinvesting our earnings with our profits. Five, automate your wealth and this is a very good tip I'm giving you. Always pay yourself first, even if you only receive 100 pesos, even if you only receive $100, always set aside 10% and invest it if possible. Hey Luis, my problem is that I live very tight, I live day to day, I live month to month. Try this experiment: set aside 10%, put it into your investment account, whether you have fixed income or variable income, don't look at it, and you'll see that sooner or later, that will make all the difference. I'm telling you from my own experience, it's a wonderful approach. And six, also very good for beginner investors, the dollar cost averaging strategy. When we're basically going in to buy, for example, some ETF or stocks, sometimes people ask me, wow, when do I know when it's a good time to buy? When is a good time to sell? Something we need to know is that if we have these doubts or still lack the technical knowledge to find support and resistance levels that could indicate an opportune buying moment, a great strategy is Dollar Cost averaging, which basically allows you to buy shares over a period of time . For example, instead of buying six shares of Coca-Cola today, I can buy one in January, one in February, one in March, one in April, one in May, and one in June. And in this way I get the average price of the last 6 months. And that way we mitigate the risk a little more. And when we are first-time investors, it is something that can certainly help us a lot. So in conclusion, we don't have to be experts to invest, but we do need order, time, and patience. And remember that investing is a process that is built day by day. Remember that the best time to invest was yesterday, or 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, but the second best time is today. So take advantage of it, and if you have any further questions or a specific video you'd like me to make to help you with your financial journey, please leave it in the comments and I'll gladly consider it. See you in the next video, and Luis Mi Negocios sends his warmest regards. M.