My Money Sorted: Simran

My Money Sorted is our series exploring people's experiences and views about money on their journey to living sorted. We spoke with Simran; millennial investor, founder and co-host of the #1 business podcast in the United States, Canada and New Zealand – Girls that Invest. Simran also recently released her first book and presented at Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission’s National Strategy of Financial Capability conference in Wellington.

Read on to see how you can be in to win a copy of Girls That Invest: Your Guide to Financial Independence through Shares and Stocks by Simran Kaur.

What is the best money advice you’ve been given?

The best money advice I've ever been given is to “live like a student even when you get your first job”.

When I got my first full-time job, it was very tempting to spend all this extra money that was falling into my bank account, but it was important for me to try and maintain some discipline and pretend "as if that money isn’t mine”.

How would you describe your investment strategy?

I would call myself a boring investor or jokingly a nana investor. This means my investing strategy is on auto-invest and it doesn't change too much based on the news. I invest heavily in ETFs and while I invest in some individual shares, it makes up less than 10% of my overall investment portfolio. I also dollar cost average instead of trying to time the market – the more boring the better.

What investing challenges do you see people getting hung up on?

One of the biggest reasons for analysis paralysis that we see from our podcast listeners is people being unsure of where to start. There's so much information out there and often finding one piece of financial literacy uncovers 10 new things that you don't understand; very quickly you end up overwhelmed and unsure where to go.

I always recommend keeping it simple when you begin. You don't have to have it all figured out, just enough to know the parameters of your goals, your risk tolerance and your timeframe.

What makes you feel Sorted when it comes to your money?

I feel sorted when I know that I'm sticking to my spending plan and yet still getting to enjoy the little things in life – for example buying gifts for my friends and family without feeling guilty or worrying if I’ve “gone over budget”.

It also is nice to see my savings and investment goals tracking along without me needing to put too much time into it, thanks to the way I’ve set up my bank/investment accounts.

What money beliefs have you inherited from your whānau?

I would follow my parents around at car dealerships or furniture stores and watch them use cash to leverage and get better deals, as opposed to paying with a card.

Whilst my parents had credit cards, they would only use them for cashback rewards and would not purchase things on a credit card if they could not pay for them in cash. My family had plastic chairs instead of couches or mattresses on the floor without bed frames until they could eventually afford them. I still carry these beliefs with me today – I’ll use cash to negotiate and if I can't buy it in cash, I can't afford it.

What would your bank account say to you right now?

I had to recently use up my emergency fund for a housing emergency (my ceiling fell!) so my emergency fund is right now looking very empty. But it’s saying “you’re welcome” for saving me with the hefty insurance excess bill!

What’s your proudest money moment?

When I was able to buy my parents a car. Their current car had been causing them a lot of problems. I was able to surprise them with a hybrid and even got the dealership to agree to let me do a whole reveal with it. They weren't expecting it, so it was nice to give back after all the years they have sacrificed for us!

When you think about your retirement, what do you see?

I see myself living in a home near the beach taking care of like five old dogs – the old dogs that no one else will adopt. Almost like a retirement village for dogs. I'll probably keep working through retirement as I love keeping busy, but in a way where I'm working because I want to and not because I have to. That's what my dream retirement would look like.

Be in to win 1 of 3 copies of Simran’s book.

We have 3 copies to give away of Girls That Invest: Your Guide to Financial Independence through Shares and Stock, by Simran Kaur.

Girls that Invest is your step-by-step guide to financial independence through stocks and shares. Simran teaches the essential principles you can apply to any market, anywhere in the world.

To enter to win, head over to our Instagram.