3 + 3 Options how to Start Investing today

This is the most crucial post in the Investing section. You will find all the important information about

Where, How and Why to start investing.

1. Peer to Peer loans

It was the entry point to the investing world for me. You learn a lot while investing into p2p loans and you can still be in charge, where your money actually goes. Perfect first step to the investing world. You can safely start investing with these.

1. Mintos – The best peer to peer loan platform you can find. If you will find anything better, please, let me know down in comments, because I would love to check it out. It has everything, high returns (13%), friend user interface, Autoinvest (read more about Automated Investment strategies), Buyback Guarantee and constantly improving. They invested more than 600M 700M € in their loans from over 25 loan originators.
2. Bulkestate – This p2p platform focus on investing into real estates. It offers nice diversification and very interesting, yet secure investments. The average yield is about 14% p.a. More about in this article.
3. Crowd Estate – Currently testing out, will let you know more in few months.
4. Estate Guru – Currently testing out, will let you know more in few months.
5. Zonky– First p2p platform I experienced with. Even though it’s not bad, it’s more for people, who want to read the stories from the people, who are borrowing the money rather than investing. I am happy I started with Zonky, but now I know, I like other little bit more. All in all, it’s safe to start with this one. Only in Czech language.

2. Shares, Stocks and Dividends

The second step of How I start investing. Even though I am more than happy with my investments into p2p platforms above, the true wealth comes from investing into shares. 48/50 of the richest people on this planet are financially free because they own parts of multiple companies via shares and stocks. Investing into stocks has a myth wrapped around it that it’s really not for everyone but I hope, it can be useful for almost all of us. Even if you invest only small money first, you will learn about compound interest and that is the power of investing.

1. Degiro – My first investments into ETF and stocks. I have my dividend portfolio growin here. The fees are extremely small, compared to other brokers like Lynx, Patria or Interactive Brokers. They even have a list of ETFs which you can buy/sell without any fees, which is great and I save a lot of money on this.
2. XTB – Currently testing out, will let you know more in few months.
3. Lynx – Currently testing out, will let you know more in few months.

3. Cryptocurrency

There was a huge boom of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in 2017. I feel like I invested in it more from the fear of “left out” rather than I would really understand it, honestly. Although I don’t regret this investment, it made me some money, to be honest again. But please be careful with this.

1. Coinbase – One of the best platforms to invest into crypto I’ve found yet. It’s very easy to use and it seems secure. You can trade the most common crypto currencies there (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, BitcoinCash) + you can start investing on GDAX (with the same account).
2. GDAX – Coinbase daughter company with much lower fees. In order to use GDAX, you have to make account on Coinbase first.

4. Money Transfer

When it comes to buying different currency or sending money abroad it’s all about (hidden) fees. So far I use only Transferwise, as I didn’t find anything better. It’s easy, fast and cheap. Hard to beat that.

1. Transferwise – currently my most used website, when I want to convert/sent money. The exchange rate is the best I usually find, it’s fast and safe. They have bank accounts in every state they operate, so you send them local transfer in your currency (no fees). They convert it and make the order in the other country, where you are sending the money from their account (again, locally so no fees). This way they can give you the lowest transfer rates + the exchange rate is Mid-Market rate, meaning you pay minimum commission.

5. Travel and accommodation

After my experience with working in Alaska and South America I know,

1. Airbnb – No. 1 in the world of renting great cozy apartments for fantastic price. If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should, Airbnb is the best way how to find an accommodation everywhere. Why I prefer it to other options is that you can live like a local, in your own flat and not in an overpriced hotel. There are also very useful real user experience and recommendation from the people who already rented specific apartment.
2. Booking – If Airbnb is little bit more adventurous for you and you prefer to find a nice hotel, with reception breakfast and stuff, you will never make a bad decision finding it via Booking. It’s little bit more traditional, but you really can find a place to stay during your vacation in minutes here. You can also browse hotels while using a map, so you can see the nearest/cheapest hotels in the area.
3. Trivago – I haven’t tried this one yet, but I only heard good things about it. Similar to Booking, it helps you to find a perfect hotel for your stay + it compares the prices on multiple different websites, so you will always make your reservation on the cheapest one. There is a potential to save you some serious money, so try it.

6. Books

1. Knihy Dobrovsky – My favorite bookshop in Czech. It’s a family based bookshop, with great selection also in Travel or Investment literature. They sometimes have great sales on everything. Good to watch for.
2. Ebux – Great e-book shop, really low price for some books and you can take them everywhere with you. Perfect for travelling. Also includes tons of audio-books.
3. Alza – One of the biggest Czech online shops. You can find pretty much anything in here and won’t regret. Decent price, great service, no problem shopping there.

If you know about something better than these listed companies or you are missing your favorite, please let me know in comments.