“How do investors make money with shares? What should I know as a beginner investor?”

Investing in shares is one of the best financial game plans for building wealth over the long-term. Even if you’re a total beginner when it comes to investing, with patience and consistency, here’s how shares can work for you.

What are shares?

Let’s start with the basics; a share is an intangible asset that gives you ownership of a company and companies issue shares to raise money from investors. When you own shares in a company, you’re entitled to part of the company’s earnings and assets. …

A recent NAB survey reveals most Aussie’s believe $830,000 is their ‘magic’ number to be financially free.

Not surprising, the amount fluctuated dramatically depending on where survey respondents lived, their income and family status. While the average NSW resident’s said they’d feel financially free with 1 million in the bank, Tasmanians pegged $337,000 as enough.

What does financial freedom mean to you?

Where you live and how much you earn aside, your personal ‘magic number’ also depends on what financial freedom looks like to you.

If your goal is to become financially free, the first step is defining what it actually means for you. …

Here’s how Aussie millennials are sharing, spending and investing differently than generations before them.

Sharing our homes and cars, investing spare change, buying bricks instead of the whole house and ethical spending are all on the rise. We’re buying less, sharing more, investing earlier and more ethically. Here’s how 4 key trends are reshaping Australia’s economic landscape.

The sharing economy — hire anything on the internet

The sharing economy is built around peer to peer sharing or renting of a product, space or service. Also known as the gig economy and collaborative consumption, this disruptive phenomenon has exploded in recent years; led by pioneers Uber and Airbnb.

Based on…

FirstStep has been chosen as a finalist in the FinTech Australia ‘Finnies’ https://fintechaustralia.org.au) for Best Workplace Diversity, highlighting our commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion.

Shiraj De Silva, Fund Operations Director, commented: “FirstStep is on a mission to reimagine the way we save and invest. To do this, we took an active approach to create a truly diverse team of wealthtech professionals.”

Matthew Fish, Director added: “The wealth management industry lacks diversity and from the outset we wanted to bring together a balanced team of industry experience, age, gender and ethnicity. …

Investing is an incredible wealth building tool and believe us when we say; you don’t need to be rich to get started.

Begin with small amounts, learn the ropes and as your confidence grows, so will your portfolio. We’ve put together a few quick facts to help you better understand some key building blocks of investing. You’ll love the one on compound interest; money #magic.

Long term investing

Long term investors are running a marathon, not sprinting, when it comes to their financial future. This type of investing pays off over years, often decades, and is the smartest path for reaching retirement and long range financial goals.

Long term investment has bunch of advantages over short term strategies. You don’t need incredible investing skills; even…

As the royal commission lifts the lid on outrageous misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, Aussie’s confidence in traditional financial services and advisors continues to plummet.

Revelations of ‘liar loans’, greedy, poorly educated advisors and lax paper-based record keeping show an industry riddled with fraudulent practice. The commission is confirming what many Aussies have known for years; the financial services industry is a behemoth long overdue for disruption.

Undoubtedly, the commission will lift the standards of the financial services industry. As founders of FirstStep, we also believe the outcomes of the investigation will highlight a place for fintech technology platforms. Digital money management options that do away with traditional banking methods, financial advisors, hefty fees and complex paper trails.

Kicking off in March, early revelations of…

Reaching true financial independence takes commitment and patience.

You need to make smart money choices consistently; on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to see your net worth grow over time.

Set goals, budget, kill debt, save and accelerate your wealth by investing. Get these basics right and with a good dose of patience, you’ll be on your way to financial freedom.

Set your money goals

Financial independence is a great goal, but you need to break this process down into smaller goals. Decide what you’d like to achieve financially short term, mid-term and long term. …

Despite stagnating wage growth, rising mortgage debts and increasing bank fees many Aussies are still finding clever ways to save and build personal investment portfolios.

A Suncorp survey revealed the average Australian was putting away around $400.00 a month in 2016 with a typical savings target of $11,234.00 according to Westpac research.

If getting your finances on track seems like one of life’s biggest challenges, now is a great time to turn things around. Check out these 4 tips to help you take control of rouge spending habits, start saving (painlessly!) and brighten your financial future.

Forget saving willpower: Put your money on cruise control

We’d be rich, fit and kicking goals all over the place if willpower was reliable. But, surprise, it’s not. If you’re the ‘live for today’ type, banking on willpower…