July 22, 2025 • 15 mins
Amber Payton speaks with Obi Okereke, founder of College Money Habits, about turning personal lessons into public impact.
He opens up about his journey into investing and shares practical, empowering advice to help students and young adults build wealth from the ground up.
Listen now!
He opens up about his journey into investing and shares practical, empowering advice to help students and young adults build wealth from the ground up.
Listen now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, I'm here with Obi. But Obie, that's not your
full name. Can you pronounce your full name for me?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Obi on huh Okaerica.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
But we're gonna go about Obi today.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Yes, okay, all right, So first things first, tell me
how you are enjoying the conference.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
This is amazing. It's my first time at the National
Abealy Conference. I got invited to speak on investing, which
was very fun, and it's just been nice to see
a lot of people that you normally see on TV
or on social media and be able to actually like
interact with them and listen, like in the same room.
So I've really enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
So you were speaking financial literacy.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Uh, yes, but more specifically on investing and navigating uncertain
market conditions, as I think we all know there's a
bit of uncertainty right now with the economy.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Oh yes, And so I want to I want to
back up for a second because when I was just
doing a little research, I saw that you and started
investing with just one hundred and fifty dollars.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, that is correct, age eighteen, right when I could
start investing on my own, I started with one hundred
and fifty. Since then, it's grown to be a bit more.
But yeah, no, a bit more.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Bit more is very humble of you. More.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
It's it's enough that the National Urban League said, okay,
we need to bring him out because he's an expert
in investing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yes, that is correct. They found me on TikTok. And
so for people listening, that is your incentive to post
to TikTok. People say it all the time, like post TikTok,
post TikTok, But I mean, yeah, that was that was
how I got this opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The power of social media.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So tell me because the the the market right now
is a little volatile, it is, right and and you know,
it's several things that are driving it. A lot of
the times it's the media, yeah, you know, sometimes the
person that's in office. So so, how how can we
(01:42):
trust putting our money into it? I know that a
lot of people say you just have to, you got
to ride the waves with the market, But how do
we we put our money into it? And we want to,
We want to see it grow so that we can
one day be considered experts in investing like yourself. But
it's not that trustworthy right now. Talk to me a
little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
I think one thing and people often forget, is that
the market goes up at a rate of about ten
percent every single year, and that's a positive return. Now,
that doesn't mean that it's always going to be going up.
Some years it might go down. We've experienced that as well.
But at the head of market uncertainty, it's important for
people to think long term. If you look at a
chart of the stock market returns over the past fifty years,
(02:19):
it is not going down. It is going up. Corrections
in the market are normal. The market dropping is normal,
and so we see that in different years. We saw
it with COVID nineteen. Since then the market jumps to
all time highs. We saw it at the beginning of this year.
The market is now up on the year. And so
I think when people are looking at the market and
(02:40):
for the next occurrence of I gotta be careful with
my words.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
But for the next.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
We'll just say, in the next occurrents of insanity or uncertainty,
we just need to be mindful, look long term and
think about strategically what assets might make sense, what companies
will be able to withstand these headwinds, and then invest accordingly.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So I guess my next question to you is because,
like you said, you unfortunately uncertainty is something that we
are seeing more often than not these days, right, and
so how what what are we looking for in these
business I know you said businesses that can withstand the
roller coaster essentially, but what exactly should we be looking at?
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, so, I.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Mean there's always safety in kind of the best investments,
in my opinion, would be if you just invested in
the S and P five hundred, so the five hundred
largest companies in the US. That is, I don't want
to say a safe bet, but consistently offers good returns. Similarly,
we've got the NASDAK, so if you want me to
drop funds, VOO is a fund that tracks the performance
(03:44):
of the five hundred largest companies. That's an ETF. You've
got QQQ and QQQM that tracks the NASDAK, so the
fastest growing companies like Microsoft or Tesla or other tech
based companies. And then you've got dividend funds. You can
invest in gold, you can invest in silver. What are
talked about in my speech just not too long ago
was that there's recession proof stocks. That is a category
(04:06):
recession proof companies rather and you've got utilities, you've got energy,
you've got consumer staples, you've got tobacco, and so in healthcare,
because regardless of if the US is at war, regardless
of if we're in a pandemic, regardless of if there's
just uncertainty, people still need soap, they still need towels.
You're still gonna go out to eat, maybe at less,
(04:27):
but we still need We still need groceries, we still
need healthcare. People who smoke are not gonna stop smoking
because we're at war. If anything, they might smoke more.
And so there are certain industries that tend to perform
better than others when the market is going down because
of uncertainty or just normal volatility.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
So I want to talk about something.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So when it comes to investing, and this is something,
this is something that I do, and this and I
only do it because it felt like the thing that
makes sense. Right, So when I see that a stock
is down and it's just it's just trending down, that's
when I invest in it because I don't want to
get it at its highest price, right, So what's the
(05:07):
What's that was just a method that I came I
don't I'm not a pro right, that's a method that
I came up with. It just made sense to me
at the time. I think, honestly, to be transparent with you,
I think the stock that I did that.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
With was Tesla. Okay, you know, okay, Tesla.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Did Tesla has been having shimissions.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Yeah, it's been reflected.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
In the in their shares, right, So that's when I
like to take advantage of it because I'm hopeful that
those issues won't last forever. But is there a method
to invest in Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
So, I mean what you just described is kind of
the buy low, sell high strategy. And so at the
core of investing, you want to buy things when they're
cheaper and then sell them if you do decide to
sell them when they're more expensive. Now, because a price
of an asset has gone down, and whether it be
consistently or in a particular moment, doesn't mean it is
a discounted stock that you should buy. They're not all
(05:58):
good options. Now. One thing in a story that I
actually just told was with COVID nineteen, there was companies
like Microsoft and Amazon that plummeted right at the start
of COVID. But those companies weren't any less valuable. They
weren't selling any less products. They didn't lose clients or
anything of that nature. It was just the mark. There
was a lot of uncertainty in the market, and so
those stocks dropped and that was a great buying opportunity.
(06:20):
Similar to the beginning of this year, you could argue
the same thing. There was companies that lost value but
didn't actually lose value. The stocks dropped, but the companies
they didn't change, and so you could make the same
argument they were cheaper. Now that the market is up.
If you bought many of those companies while they were cheaper,
you would now be grinning and you'd be very happy.
(06:40):
But a lot of people didn't do that. They jumped
out because of that uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So I know that there's something that a lot of
companies do, and I've never quite understood why they do it,
and that is when their share.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Split, their stock split.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Okay, yeah, I know some do a ten.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
To one split.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Why what triggers them to do that? Is it to
make it more affordable for the average person.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yep, oh, yes, that is the correct answer. Yeah, And
so in Vidia, I believe it's actually a good example,
their shares were getting higher and higher, and I forget
exactly what year they split, but I believe it was
a ten to one split, if I'm remembering correctly. And
so when companies do splits, it's because their prices are
becoming so large that the average consumer can no longer
like easibly invest in that company in a maybe in
(07:24):
a meaningful way, and so by splitting, it kind of
sends a message that now you can afford this. So
if a stock was now trading out one thousand dollars
and now it's one hundred dollars, you can think of
all the people who would look at it and say,
oh wow, they might say this is discounted. Alternatively, individuals
who were previously owning the stock would now have ten
shares for everyone that they previously had, so they'd have
(07:45):
even more shares now. I've been part of different splits,
investing companies that split, and I think oftentimes the price
will like fluctuate a bit, There'll be a bit of
volatility when that happened, when that announcement happens, But I
think ultimately it is a good strategy for getting kind
of your regular investor in the door.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So we want to, you know, encourage.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Obviously, with the Black Information Network, our target audience is
the black community, So we want to influence the more
of the black community to get invested in the stock market.
What's a good place for them to start that they
don't feel like because you know, we do also have
to be mindful that things are a lot more expensive
in twenty twenty five, So a comfortable place for them
to start.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, So I would say start with whatever you are
comfortable with. As far as dollar amounts go, there is
no set amount that you need to start investing in
the stock market. I started with one hundred and fifty.
My brother started with less than that. I've got friends
that started with more, friends that started with less. It
doesn't matter what you start with. What matters is that
you remain consistent, that you don't jump out when there
is market uncertainty. One of the easier ways to start
(08:46):
is by looking at companies whose products you use or
services you also utilize. So I gave an example earlier
that if you exercise, then you wear Lululemon or Nike products,
why not invest in those companies? If you eat out
at Chipotle, McDonald's, Cava, why not invest in those companies.
I invested in Cava because I was familiar with the restaurant.
I don't I've never eaten there, but I don't like Chipotle,
(09:06):
and so I invested kind of like out of spite.
It ended up being one of my best returning investments
in the ten years that I've been investing. Similarly, there's
so many applications for investing in companies that you know,
and I also think that it provides value in that
when there is market uncertainty, you know what you're investing in,
and so if that goes down, you're like, well, huh,
I'm invested in Microsoft. It went down, but our business
(09:27):
is no longer using PowerPoint, word excel am, I no
longer using those products. Is there a valid replacement for
those products? And so investing in what you know, staying
consistent and also looking to ETFs exchange traded funds is
a great way of diversifying your investments as well.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Now and I this I know nothing about. So this
is something that I guess you could educate us all on.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Which is crypto crypto? You invested in crypto?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, so I've invested in bitcoin and ethereum. I currently
invest in bitcoin. I do have a monthly, reoccurring investment
in bitcoin. And my perspective on crypto is this, crypto
is a speculative asset. That's a fact it is very risky.
Also a fact, it presents a attractive opportunity to make
(10:18):
a lot of money very quickly and also over time.
And I think some people get lost in that, and
then they may start off with crypto as opposed to
investing in some of the arguably more meaningful assets like companies,
whether it be stocks, whether it be et apps, or
maybe looking at bond. If you are conservative. That's not
to say don't invest in crypto, could I do it?
(10:39):
But I do think that it is a it presents
a good opportunity if you have a existing portfolio. I
think that if you're going to invest in cryptocurrency, keep
your your asset allocation. I don't want to say low,
but be mindful of it. So if you're starting off
for a thousand dollars, don't invest nine hundred dollars in cryptocurrency,
because with the fluctuation, you might be disappointed what your
(11:00):
returns are. But I do think that it is I
think it's attractive. I don't plan to stop investing in cryptocurrency.
For people who are interested in it, I would say,
dive in, but be very mindful of the risk that
it presents, and don't be surprised if you were to
lose money in the short term, especially if you're dealing
with the assets that are not Bitcoin, and you're looking
at I think XRP or your sons of different coins
(11:22):
out there, be very mindful of what it is and
why you're investing in it. I think I'll close with
this on that question. But somebody once said to me,
if you can't explain what you're investing in, then you
shouldn't be investing in it. If I were to ask
you if you're investing in a company and ask you
what does that company do, and you start stuttering. You
don't know what the products are, you don't know what
the services are. It's likely you invested in that company
(11:44):
because somebody like me said that it's a good company
to invest in, or you read an article about it,
or you heard about it on the news that it
might double your money. And that's a dangerous game to play.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I will say, I mean, you have a good point.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
All of the stocks that I'm currently invested in are
all stocks that I'm very familiar.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
With, like Apple, right, yeah, exactly, because I.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Have every Apple product that you could think of, and
so I'm comfortable with it. But I've also given Apple
so much of my money. It's nice making some of
that beg exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's a great way to think about it.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yes, Well, did you have any advice for you know,
the average person of the listener that's listening right now
that may want to get started, but they're scared, they're
a little apprehensive.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, so if you're scared, I would remember this. A
lot of people compare investing the gambling. However, when you
look at statistics, remember again the market goes up at
a rate of about ten percent every year. For those
who invest for at least fifteen years, the odds of
you making money in the stock market are ninety nine
point eight percent. You cannot get any closer to one
hundred percent than that, meaning that if you invest for
(12:40):
fifteen years in the stock market, you are looking at
almost a guarantee of making money in the market. Now,
I can't guarantee that you will, but for me personally,
investing has changed my life. I don't think there is
a single There isn't a single person I know or
that I would encourage other people to ask the people
that they know that.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Are affluent or who are who have who are very.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Proud of where they are financially, ask them if they
invest guarantee The answers yes, everybody that you look at
that's in the one percent they invest in the market.
If you want financial stability twenty twenty five or onwards,
you need to be investing in the stock market. And
that's not an opinion, that is a fact.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Let me ask you one last question. You actually just
brought this to mind for me, day trading. Have you
ever tried day trading?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
I have, so I'll be honest. I did it this year. Okay,
I've lost.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So much money doing that that I don't think I
will really ever do it again to the scale that
I was. It gets to a point, I think with
a lot of people where you are now trying to
make back what you lost. I do think that if
you want to approach day trading, make sure you do
your research, make sure you develop a strategy, and that
you follow that strategy. Start off with a small amount
(13:48):
of money, and then scale it up as you begin
to become more successful. But don't just throw money like
you're throwing darts at a dartboard and hope that things happen.
Because with trading options specifically, you can lose the entirety
of your investment. And so I've experienced that because the
options expire, you're buying contracts, those contrasts expire, and it's
pretty much you either make a lot of money, you
(14:10):
make a little money, or you're probably gonna lose a
lot of money. And in some cases it can be
like really exponential. And so you do want to be
mindful about how you approach day trading. Don't go into
it because you want to become a millionaire over the
course of a week or a couple months, or you
saw somebody else do it. Just be very mindful.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Obi how can we find you on social media? Give
more information about you and your investing success.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yes, so I am on TikTok, I am on Instagram
at college money Habits, and I got a website college
money habits dot com. If you're listening to this and
you are a financial institution, connect with me. I would
love to partner learn at collegem money habits dot com
or just message me on social media. But that is
those are my socials. I post weekly to TikTok and
(14:54):
when I fill up to it on Instagram. Because algorithm
is different, it doesn't treat me so kindly. But yeah,
that's me on socials. Thank you so much, thank you
for interviewing me. I really appreciated this. I had a
lot of fun.
Okay, I'm here with Obi. But Obie, that's not your
full name. Can you pronounce your full name for me?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Obi on huh Okaerica.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
But we're gonna go about Obi today.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Yes, okay, all right, So first things first, tell me
how you are enjoying the conference.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
This is amazing. It's my first time at the National
Abealy Conference. I got invited to speak on investing, which
was very fun, and it's just been nice to see
a lot of people that you normally see on TV
or on social media and be able to actually like
interact with them and listen, like in the same room.
So I've really enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
So you were speaking financial literacy.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Uh, yes, but more specifically on investing and navigating uncertain
market conditions, as I think we all know there's a
bit of uncertainty right now with the economy.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Oh yes, And so I want to I want to
back up for a second because when I was just
doing a little research, I saw that you and started
investing with just one hundred and fifty dollars.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, that is correct, age eighteen, right when I could
start investing on my own, I started with one hundred
and fifty. Since then, it's grown to be a bit more.
But yeah, no, a bit more.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Bit more is very humble of you. More.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
It's it's enough that the National Urban League said, okay,
we need to bring him out because he's an expert
in investing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yes, that is correct. They found me on TikTok. And
so for people listening, that is your incentive to post
to TikTok. People say it all the time, like post TikTok,
post TikTok, But I mean, yeah, that was that was
how I got this opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The power of social media.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So tell me because the the the market right now
is a little volatile, it is, right and and you know,
it's several things that are driving it. A lot of
the times it's the media, yeah, you know, sometimes the
person that's in office. So so, how how can we
(01:42):
trust putting our money into it? I know that a
lot of people say you just have to, you got
to ride the waves with the market, But how do
we we put our money into it? And we want to,
We want to see it grow so that we can
one day be considered experts in investing like yourself. But
it's not that trustworthy right now. Talk to me a
little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
I think one thing and people often forget, is that
the market goes up at a rate of about ten
percent every single year, and that's a positive return. Now,
that doesn't mean that it's always going to be going up.
Some years it might go down. We've experienced that as well.
But at the head of market uncertainty, it's important for
people to think long term. If you look at a
chart of the stock market returns over the past fifty years,
(02:19):
it is not going down. It is going up. Corrections
in the market are normal. The market dropping is normal,
and so we see that in different years. We saw
it with COVID nineteen. Since then the market jumps to
all time highs. We saw it at the beginning of this year.
The market is now up on the year. And so
I think when people are looking at the market and
(02:40):
for the next occurrence of I gotta be careful with
my words.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
But for the next.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
We'll just say, in the next occurrents of insanity or uncertainty,
we just need to be mindful, look long term and
think about strategically what assets might make sense, what companies
will be able to withstand these headwinds, and then invest accordingly.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So I guess my next question to you is because,
like you said, you unfortunately uncertainty is something that we
are seeing more often than not these days, right, and
so how what what are we looking for in these
business I know you said businesses that can withstand the
roller coaster essentially, but what exactly should we be looking at?
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Yeah, so, I.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Mean there's always safety in kind of the best investments,
in my opinion, would be if you just invested in
the S and P five hundred, so the five hundred
largest companies in the US. That is, I don't want
to say a safe bet, but consistently offers good returns. Similarly,
we've got the NASDAK, so if you want me to
drop funds, VOO is a fund that tracks the performance
(03:44):
of the five hundred largest companies. That's an ETF. You've
got QQQ and QQQM that tracks the NASDAK, so the
fastest growing companies like Microsoft or Tesla or other tech
based companies. And then you've got dividend funds. You can
invest in gold, you can invest in silver. What are
talked about in my speech just not too long ago
was that there's recession proof stocks. That is a category
(04:06):
recession proof companies rather and you've got utilities, you've got energy,
you've got consumer staples, you've got tobacco, and so in healthcare,
because regardless of if the US is at war, regardless
of if we're in a pandemic, regardless of if there's
just uncertainty, people still need soap, they still need towels.
You're still gonna go out to eat, maybe at less,
(04:27):
but we still need We still need groceries, we still
need healthcare. People who smoke are not gonna stop smoking
because we're at war. If anything, they might smoke more.
And so there are certain industries that tend to perform
better than others when the market is going down because
of uncertainty or just normal volatility.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
So I want to talk about something.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So when it comes to investing, and this is something,
this is something that I do, and this and I
only do it because it felt like the thing that
makes sense. Right, So when I see that a stock
is down and it's just it's just trending down, that's
when I invest in it because I don't want to
get it at its highest price, right, So what's the
(05:07):
What's that was just a method that I came I
don't I'm not a pro right, that's a method that
I came up with. It just made sense to me
at the time. I think, honestly, to be transparent with you,
I think the stock that I did that.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
With was Tesla. Okay, you know, okay, Tesla.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Did Tesla has been having shimissions.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Yeah, it's been reflected.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
In the in their shares, right, So that's when I
like to take advantage of it because I'm hopeful that
those issues won't last forever. But is there a method
to invest in Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
So, I mean what you just described is kind of
the buy low, sell high strategy. And so at the
core of investing, you want to buy things when they're
cheaper and then sell them if you do decide to
sell them when they're more expensive. Now, because a price
of an asset has gone down, and whether it be
consistently or in a particular moment, doesn't mean it is
a discounted stock that you should buy. They're not all
(05:58):
good options. Now. One thing in a story that I
actually just told was with COVID nineteen, there was companies
like Microsoft and Amazon that plummeted right at the start
of COVID. But those companies weren't any less valuable. They
weren't selling any less products. They didn't lose clients or
anything of that nature. It was just the mark. There
was a lot of uncertainty in the market, and so
those stocks dropped and that was a great buying opportunity.
(06:20):
Similar to the beginning of this year, you could argue
the same thing. There was companies that lost value but
didn't actually lose value. The stocks dropped, but the companies
they didn't change, and so you could make the same
argument they were cheaper. Now that the market is up.
If you bought many of those companies while they were cheaper,
you would now be grinning and you'd be very happy.
(06:40):
But a lot of people didn't do that. They jumped
out because of that uncertainty.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So I know that there's something that a lot of
companies do, and I've never quite understood why they do it,
and that is when their share.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Split, their stock split.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Okay, yeah, I know some do a ten.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
To one split.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Why what triggers them to do that? Is it to
make it more affordable for the average person.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yep, oh, yes, that is the correct answer. Yeah, And
so in Vidia, I believe it's actually a good example,
their shares were getting higher and higher, and I forget
exactly what year they split, but I believe it was
a ten to one split, if I'm remembering correctly. And
so when companies do splits, it's because their prices are
becoming so large that the average consumer can no longer
like easibly invest in that company in a maybe in
(07:24):
a meaningful way, and so by splitting, it kind of
sends a message that now you can afford this. So
if a stock was now trading out one thousand dollars
and now it's one hundred dollars, you can think of
all the people who would look at it and say,
oh wow, they might say this is discounted. Alternatively, individuals
who were previously owning the stock would now have ten
shares for everyone that they previously had, so they'd have
(07:45):
even more shares now. I've been part of different splits,
investing companies that split, and I think oftentimes the price
will like fluctuate a bit, There'll be a bit of
volatility when that happened, when that announcement happens, But I
think ultimately it is a good strategy for getting kind
of your regular investor in the door.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So we want to, you know, encourage.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Obviously, with the Black Information Network, our target audience is
the black community, So we want to influence the more
of the black community to get invested in the stock market.
What's a good place for them to start that they
don't feel like because you know, we do also have
to be mindful that things are a lot more expensive
in twenty twenty five, So a comfortable place for them
to start.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, So I would say start with whatever you are
comfortable with. As far as dollar amounts go, there is
no set amount that you need to start investing in
the stock market. I started with one hundred and fifty.
My brother started with less than that. I've got friends
that started with more, friends that started with less. It
doesn't matter what you start with. What matters is that
you remain consistent, that you don't jump out when there
is market uncertainty. One of the easier ways to start
(08:46):
is by looking at companies whose products you use or
services you also utilize. So I gave an example earlier
that if you exercise, then you wear Lululemon or Nike products,
why not invest in those companies? If you eat out
at Chipotle, McDonald's, Cava, why not invest in those companies.
I invested in Cava because I was familiar with the restaurant.
I don't I've never eaten there, but I don't like Chipotle,
(09:06):
and so I invested kind of like out of spite.
It ended up being one of my best returning investments
in the ten years that I've been investing. Similarly, there's
so many applications for investing in companies that you know,
and I also think that it provides value in that
when there is market uncertainty, you know what you're investing in,
and so if that goes down, you're like, well, huh,
I'm invested in Microsoft. It went down, but our business
(09:27):
is no longer using PowerPoint, word excel am, I no
longer using those products. Is there a valid replacement for
those products? And so investing in what you know, staying
consistent and also looking to ETFs exchange traded funds is
a great way of diversifying your investments as well.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Now and I this I know nothing about. So this
is something that I guess you could educate us all on.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Which is crypto crypto? You invested in crypto?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, so I've invested in bitcoin and ethereum. I currently
invest in bitcoin. I do have a monthly, reoccurring investment
in bitcoin. And my perspective on crypto is this, crypto
is a speculative asset. That's a fact it is very risky.
Also a fact, it presents a attractive opportunity to make
(10:18):
a lot of money very quickly and also over time.
And I think some people get lost in that, and
then they may start off with crypto as opposed to
investing in some of the arguably more meaningful assets like companies,
whether it be stocks, whether it be et apps, or
maybe looking at bond. If you are conservative. That's not
to say don't invest in crypto, could I do it?
(10:39):
But I do think that it is a it presents
a good opportunity if you have a existing portfolio. I
think that if you're going to invest in cryptocurrency, keep
your your asset allocation. I don't want to say low,
but be mindful of it. So if you're starting off
for a thousand dollars, don't invest nine hundred dollars in cryptocurrency,
because with the fluctuation, you might be disappointed what your
(11:00):
returns are. But I do think that it is I
think it's attractive. I don't plan to stop investing in cryptocurrency.
For people who are interested in it, I would say,
dive in, but be very mindful of the risk that
it presents, and don't be surprised if you were to
lose money in the short term, especially if you're dealing
with the assets that are not Bitcoin, and you're looking
at I think XRP or your sons of different coins
(11:22):
out there, be very mindful of what it is and
why you're investing in it. I think I'll close with
this on that question. But somebody once said to me,
if you can't explain what you're investing in, then you
shouldn't be investing in it. If I were to ask
you if you're investing in a company and ask you
what does that company do, and you start stuttering. You
don't know what the products are, you don't know what
the services are. It's likely you invested in that company
(11:44):
because somebody like me said that it's a good company
to invest in, or you read an article about it,
or you heard about it on the news that it
might double your money. And that's a dangerous game to play.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I will say, I mean, you have a good point.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
All of the stocks that I'm currently invested in are
all stocks that I'm very familiar.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
With, like Apple, right, yeah, exactly, because I.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Have every Apple product that you could think of, and
so I'm comfortable with it. But I've also given Apple
so much of my money. It's nice making some of
that beg exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's a great way to think about it.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yes, Well, did you have any advice for you know,
the average person of the listener that's listening right now
that may want to get started, but they're scared, they're
a little apprehensive.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, so if you're scared, I would remember this. A
lot of people compare investing the gambling. However, when you
look at statistics, remember again the market goes up at
a rate of about ten percent every year. For those
who invest for at least fifteen years, the odds of
you making money in the stock market are ninety nine
point eight percent. You cannot get any closer to one
hundred percent than that, meaning that if you invest for
(12:40):
fifteen years in the stock market, you are looking at
almost a guarantee of making money in the market. Now,
I can't guarantee that you will, but for me personally,
investing has changed my life. I don't think there is
a single There isn't a single person I know or
that I would encourage other people to ask the people
that they know that.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Are affluent or who are who have who are very.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Proud of where they are financially, ask them if they
invest guarantee The answers yes, everybody that you look at
that's in the one percent they invest in the market.
If you want financial stability twenty twenty five or onwards,
you need to be investing in the stock market. And
that's not an opinion, that is a fact.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Let me ask you one last question. You actually just
brought this to mind for me, day trading. Have you
ever tried day trading?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
I have, so I'll be honest. I did it this year. Okay,
I've lost.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So much money doing that that I don't think I
will really ever do it again to the scale that
I was. It gets to a point, I think with
a lot of people where you are now trying to
make back what you lost. I do think that if
you want to approach day trading, make sure you do
your research, make sure you develop a strategy, and that
you follow that strategy. Start off with a small amount
(13:48):
of money, and then scale it up as you begin
to become more successful. But don't just throw money like
you're throwing darts at a dartboard and hope that things happen.
Because with trading options specifically, you can lose the entirety
of your investment. And so I've experienced that because the
options expire, you're buying contracts, those contrasts expire, and it's
pretty much you either make a lot of money, you
(14:10):
make a little money, or you're probably gonna lose a
lot of money. And in some cases it can be
like really exponential. And so you do want to be
mindful about how you approach day trading. Don't go into
it because you want to become a millionaire over the
course of a week or a couple months, or you
saw somebody else do it. Just be very mindful.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Obi how can we find you on social media? Give
more information about you and your investing success.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yes, so I am on TikTok, I am on Instagram
at college money Habits, and I got a website college
money habits dot com. If you're listening to this and
you are a financial institution, connect with me. I would
love to partner learn at collegem money habits dot com
or just message me on social media. But that is
those are my socials. I post weekly to TikTok and
(14:54):
when I fill up to it on Instagram. Because algorithm
is different, it doesn't treat me so kindly. But yeah,
that's me on socials. Thank you so much, thank you
for interviewing me. I really appreciated this. I had a
lot of fun.
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