4 Important Investing Strategies That Tori Dunlap Swears By

Any financial professional will tell you it’s important to put your money to work for you, but that’s easier said than done. Thankfully, Tori Dunlap, founder of the company Her First $100K, which is designed to teach young women about financial literacy, has some advice on investing and retirement plans that can help you achieve this.

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On her podcast, “Study Hall: The Best Investing Advice,” Dunlap shared the ways everyone can be financial feminists and invest in themselves over time in ways that are profitable, sustainable and yield higher returns. According to Dunlap, here are four important things to always remember about investing.

Think Long Term

Dunlap shared that a common misconception about investment returns is that they are on par with gambling. While she noted that any investment involves a risk of losing money, the goal is to think of the process in the long term, not a short-term roll of the dice.

There are lots of financial trends that appear lucrative for a hot second, or investments in stocks or bonds that skyrocket in just a day or two. However, these are often flashes in the pan that ultimately do not give you long-term financial stability. For Dunlap, the key is to stay locked into an array of various investments that will accumulate growth for a sustained period of time.

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Stay in the Market

While stocks can go up and down with every tumultuous shift in the economy, the best course of action is to navigate the market conditions with consistent investment decisions. Dunlap recommended that you assess the dollar-cost average of your investments and look at how it adds up when you continue to add the same amount on a sustained basis over a long period of time.

In other words, you should focus on “time in the market” instead of trying to “time the market.” Dunlap reminded anyone timid about starting an investment portfolio that there will always be good times and bad times, but the secret is riding the waves of the market no matter what.

Plan for Retirement Now

Depending on where you are in your life and career, asset allocation for retirement might feel like a long way down the road. However, Dunlap stressed the importance of mapping out your fiscal game plan for retirement now instead of when you actually retire.

That’s because it is likely that when someone retires, they do not cash in their investments all at once like one big emergency fund. This means you’ll need a roadmap for how to make strategic withdrawals along the way.

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Dunlap suggested that utilizing a CD ladder and opting for Roth IRA contributions, which are penalty-free, allows someone to access their funds as well as provide security for the future. This is perfect for you if you have a lower investment risk tolerance.

Envision Financial Success

If you can see, you can be it. While that might sound dreamily wistful, it’s true in Dunlap’s opinion. Investing requires you to imagine what your finances and how they support your lifestyle will look many years from now in order to stay goal-oriented.

More people are motivated to keep investing if they can mentally picture how it will shape their life in retirement. “You are making sure you’re having a great life right now and a great life in ten, twenty, thirty years,” Dunlap added. “So, I would like you to imagine the best version of your older self.”

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 4 Important Investing Strategies That Tori Dunlap Swears By