Where should I invest? A common question Michelle Hung (BMath '08) receives and one she is committed to helping women answer as The Sassy Investor.
After working in investment banking and venture capital for seven years, while obtaining her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, Michelle decided to make a change. At 30 years old, she found herself unemployed and living at home with her family after her long-term relationship ended. Although Michelle was experiencing a variety of life events, she wasn’t worried about paying her bills. She had built a six-figure nest egg, which allowed her to step back and find her passion, launching a business committed to teaching women how to build a lifetime of wealth.
“I work with women specifically because it is the one area that has not been catered to,” explained Michelle. “Women have different needs, think differently, and process information differently.”
Now, as a financial coach and author, Michelle advocates for financial independence, helping give women options when life changes. Her programs and book add a creative spin to finance and investing, by making the information easy to digest and follow, as well as fun to learn.
For those interested in taking control of their finances today, Michelle shared these five tips:
- Live below your means: We can easily get caught up with endless spending, especially when purchases are so simple to make. Focus on what you value and what makes you happy. It’s never about how much money you make, but how much you spend and save.
- Pay yourself first (save): Prioritize your savings like it’s your rent or mortgage. Our needs and wants are endless, so if you pay for everything else before saving, you will never get to it.
- Invest your money: You want to be optimizing your returns and making your money work for you. Make sure at the bare minimum, it earns an average market return. If you’re not invested, you’ll work for the rest of your life!
- Don’t compare yourself to others: Everyone has their own journey in life, so don’t get caught comparing your life to others.
- Learn basic financial and investment literacy: Managing your money is like managing your life’s resources. Take some time to learn the basics, because your money is the one thing that will stick with you throughout your life. By understanding personal finances and investing, you’ll be less susceptible to making poor financial decisions or getting taken advantage of. I always encourage people to learn how to invest, not only because it is a life skill, but if one day they choose to hand their money over to an advisor, they’ll know the right questions to ask. Financial education is a great investment in itself.
