Simran Kaur - Girls That Invest: Your Guide to Financial Independence through Shares and Stocks

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 3
3. Chapter 9
4. Putting it all together

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 9
9. Chapter 10
10. Chapter 11
11. Putting it all together

A new take on an old boys club. Forget everything you've heard about investing and get stuck in to learning the oldest profession we've ever been excluded from. I dare you to read this book and NOT see yourself as an investor.

Natalie Ferguson, CXO, Hatch

By the end of the introduction of this book, I had decided that I'm buying a copy for my niece. I would do this even before I gave her a copy of my own money book. You need to buy two copies of this book, trust me. I couldn't stop reading. Sim drew me in and she will draw you in, too! You're going to learn so much and be so encouraged with your financial future.

Glen James, author of Sort Your Money Out & Get Invested and host of the my millennial money podcast

An empowering perspective on investing.

Brooke Roberts, co-CEO, Sharesies

This is an incredible read, making the investment world accessible, understandable, and most importantly, fun. Sim has distilled key topics into bite size pieces, turning a subject that overwhelms many into one that invites you in.

Brianne West, founder and CEO, Ethique

First published in 2022 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064
Office also in Melbourne

Girls That Invest Limited, 2022

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

ISBN: 978-1-119-89378-3

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Alissa Dinallo
Cover background and internal page opener images: Voin_Sveta/Shutterstock
Internal design and figures by Chris Shorten/Wiley

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication. This publication may not contain the most up-to-date information.

To my father, Pushpinder Singh, for teaching me the importance of education.

To my mother, Gurpreet Kaur, for teaching me the power of faith.

To my best friend, Sonya Gupthan, for teaching me to believe in myself.

Simran Kaur is a financial columnist, international TEDx speaker, and founder of Girls That Invest, the number-one global podcast aimed at increasing financial literacy for women and minorities everywhere.

Sim's powerful voice as an advocate and educator has resonated worldwide, with the Girls That Invest podcast featured across the globe by Vogue (India), Business Insider (US), ABC News (Australia), CTV (Canada), University of Oxford Women in Business, Glamour magazine, and many more. In her home country of New Zealand, she's appeared on Newshub, The Breakfast Show, The AM Show, 1 News TVNZ, The Spinoff, Radio New Zealand, and Mori TV, and she writes a regular stock market column for news provider Stuff.

As a speaker, Sim has been invited to share her advice for would-be women investors internationally, from a TEDx talk to events sponsored by government agencies, global corporations and universities.

Girls That Invest was founded on the principle that investing should be for everyone. It aims to break down the misconceptions, demystify the jargon, and offer a step-by-step pathway that women everywhere can follow to start growing their hard-earned money because it's only through financial independence that women can be truly free to make their own choices and take charge of their lives.

Girls That Invest has now become an online phenomenon: through her podcast, investing master classes, and social media platforms like Instagram, Simran has created a vibrant, supportive online community where women can come together to learn and to share their experiences and ideas.

The lessons Sim herself has learned about how you can think about, live more confidently with, and grow your money are now shared in this book. In Girls That Invest: Your Guide to Financial Independence through Shares and Stocks, Simran will take you through the basics of why and how to start investing. More than that, she invites you to join the global Girls That Invest community a place where you can join the conversation with other beginner investors, from all different backgrounds, who are ready to create a better, more secure future for themselves and their communities everywhere.

If you educate a woman you educate a village

The world of investing wasn't one I grew up in. My first memory of the stock market took place on the school playground in my fourth year of primary school. A friend was telling me excitedly how she understood what those company charts on the news meantyou know, the ones with all the green arrows with numbers next to them. Her dad had explained to her how to read the stocks on the TV and she seemed pretty proud of herself.

What is this investing thing? I asked myself. I too had seen those tables with the dollar signs next to companies like Apple or the USD. I knew what Apple was, I knew what USD was, but nothing made intuitive sense.

That evening I went home eagerly waiting for the 6 o'clock news to arrive so I could ask my dad the same question. He tried his best to explain the ups and the downs and the trends, but I just didn't get it. Looking back, I don't think he quite understood it either. But when you're nine you don't think that way. You assume you're just not smart enough for it.

It's not for me.

I'm not good with numbers.

I'm just naturally bad at maths, I could never invest!

Or, my favourite,

Look at me, I'm no rich man in a suit, I don't belong here.

These were the thoughts I had about myself, about money and about the world for the next 15 years. I knew I was somewhat smartat least in academia. But investing just didn't. Make. Sense. So it must just be me, right?

The next run-in I had with investing was in my first year of university. I was waiting in line to get into a lecture when a classmate told me about a student he knew who paid off his medical school loans through investingwhile still at university. I was studying science at the time, and at that point I didn't even know what a supply and demand graph looked like.