How to Start Investing in the Stock Market as an Immigrant
The first step to becoming an investor as an immigrant is changing your mindset. Many of us, especially those of us who have grown up in immigrant families, internalize a “scarcity mindset” and believe that there is never enough money. You can tell if you are stuck in this mindset if you feel fearful and anxious about even the smallest amounts of money. This can hold immigrants back from stock market investing because of the fear of losing money.
What you need to realize is that this mindset is holding you back. This is because to invest in the stock market, you need to learn how to think differently. To be successful, you need to believe you are worthy of building wealth.
This starts with awareness. We recommend an exercise in which you use a journal or computer to physically list your money story, the traumas you have experienced with money, and what these have made you feel about yourself. You need to understand your beliefs, even if they are hidden deep in your subconscious, before embracing new narratives.
Once you reflect on your past, begin to think about your future; how can you act differently when these traumas resurface in your life? Imagine what you could accomplish if you could overcome your fears and hold onto this vision. This is your “why” and it should make you excited by the prospect of investing your money and achieving financial freedom.
Now that you’ve found that feeling of excitement for your future, it’s just about holding onto that feeling and using it to motivate yourself. There are plenty of ways to do this. Money mantras and affirmations, for example, are simple, short phrases that can summarize your new mindset and ground you when that fear threatens to arise so you can shift to a different perspective. Here are a few we suggest:
- I am safe and secure.
- Money flows easily to me.
- I am abundantly supported.
- I am a magnet for money.
- I love money.
Other ideas include setting stretch goals or even sharing your goals with friends and family.
Investing does not have to be scary. Anybody who takes the time to learn about investing is capable of being successful. The key is education. Through good education about money, you can mitigate the risks you take and choose a path that works for you and your family. The reason so many immigrants struggle to build wealth is not having access to this education. We often don’t have parents or friends who can pass on lessons about money management. But by overcoming this barrier, we can set the precedent for future generations that immigrants are capable and deserving of building wealth.
We hope Immigrant Finance™ can act as that resource to support you. We offer a program called Immigrant Finance School™, in which you can learn the ins and outs of investing and money management in a way that is tailored to immigrants, with your safety in mind. We also have a large variety of free resources, ranging from our podcast to this blog, which cover various lessons about money management. We hope you feel empowered to begin your journey and choose to go on it with us.
Learn more and apply to join Immigrant Finance School™ here: https://immigrantfinanceschool.com
Join our free Masterclass on Getting Started Investing for Immigrant Families here.