I’ve made investing my resolution for years. Here’s my plan to finally do it

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[SINGAPORE] Last year, I made the commendable decision to add investing to my 2026 resolutions. Commendable, if not for the fact that I did the same in 2025. 

Admittedly, it has become an annual tradition to add investing to the top of my yearly resolutions. Unfortunately, I always manage to find an excuse to back out by early February.

The excuses have stayed the same: 

• No stable cash flow as a student
• The jargon makes me want to walk into the ocean
• I’m still not knowledgeable enough

Honestly, the underlying reason has always been the intimidation of having real skin in the game. Plus, the avalanche of terms to read up on can be extremely daunting.
 
That’s not to say that I haven’t been doing my homework. On the contrary, I’ve been an excellent student. 

I’ve filled countless Google documents with my investing notes. But for a long time now, I’ve had a sort of research paralysis for fear of making wrong (and costly) decisions. 

Things have changed now that I’ve received my first adult pay cheque, which means I have an actual stable cash flow. Plus, it’s a good way to beat inflation and compound my savings for long-term goals like housing and building wealth for the long run. 

 🎯 The pre-game plan 

It’s never a good idea to dive into investing without making sure you’re prepared for it. Here’s a mental checklist to go through before you start downloading your first brokerage app. 

• Make sure you have three to six months’ worth of accessible emergency funds. 
• Clear any high-interest debts such as credit card bills or personal loans. There’s no point in filling a cup that has a hole in it. If you’re losing money faster than you’re making it, it’ll be hard for you to invest long enough to see results.

💸 #1 Set aside an investing budget    

A common starting point for many people budgeting their salary is the 50/30/20 rule. Set aside 50 per cent of your salary for needs, 30 per cent for wants, and 20 per cent for savings and investments. 

However, it may not fit every individual, especially since the framework only considers take-home pay and doesn’t include things like Central Provident Fund contributions. 

Instead, it’s better to set more realistic targets, such as investing 5 to 10 per cent of your take-home pay and increasing your allocation as your income rises, says personal finance content creator Timothy Phillips of Tim Talks Money. That way, you won’t feel too discouraged if you’re unable to meet your goals.

📊 #2 Crash course

For clarity’s sake, let’s say I’m restarting on a blank page. 

Liao Minghao, a financial advisory manager at Financial Alliance, recommends starting with an understanding of the different asset classes. This could be a more practical approach, as opposed to researching individual stocks, which may require me to look at a company’s financial statements. 

“You should know their expected long-term return, volatility, and liquidity,” Liao says. “The key is choosing a mix you can stick with through market cycles.” 

For a level up, Ferris Wee, a master trainer at the Institute for Financial Literacy, advises me to read up on three concepts – diversification, risk-return trade-offs and asset allocation. 

“The crux of successful investing is to ensure you are able to stay in the market, and align your strategies with an eye on the long-term horizon to ensure it remains logical for your goals,” Wee adds.

📱#3 Choose an investment platform

Next, I’ll choose a digital investment platform to manage my assets. Each platform comes with its own level of usability and hidden fees. 

To make choosing easier, Liao advises prioritising safety first by ensuring that the platform is regulated and confirming that your assets are segregated from the firm’s own funds and properly custodied. 

Next, I should see how it fits me and my investing plan. Does this platform have access to the market or asset class I want to invest in? Is the interface easy to use? Does it come with free research tools?

Finally, Wee emphasises cost-efficiency and being aware of the hidden costs of using the platform, like custody and withdrawal fees.

💰#4 Start allocating

After I’ve decided on an investment platform, I’ll get to building my portfolio. Since I’m starting as a beginner with a modest sum to start with, I’ll most likely be going for broad-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track stockmarket indices. 

“The best way to think about your first ETF is to think globally,” says Phillips. “By being global in your approach, you get proportionate exposure to the world’s biggest markets and passive indices, which will do the heavy lifting for you over time.”

Before investing, I plan to also do a risk assessment questionnaire to understand what my risk appetite and investing time horizon are. That way, I can narrow down what assets align with my financial goals. 

I also asked Phillips about robo-advisers, which I’ve heard can be an easy way for beginners to get started. He agrees they can serve as a good starting point, as they have risk-based portfolios that reduce the need for research. But the convenience comes with additional costs, and Phillips suggests, over time, transitioning into managing my investments myself with passive ETFs that track global markets.

🤖 #5 Automate

Next, I intend to set up a sustainable system to automate my investments every month. This would keep my investments consistent and reduce emotional fatigue. 

I will probably be investing a fixed dollar amount every month, also known as dollar-cost averaging (DCA), into low-cost, global ETFs. This keeps me accountable and helps me stay invested without second-guessing my timing.

💪 Just take the first step

If you’ve ever said you want to start investing, chances are someone has told you to “just start”. That advice can be frustrating, especially when it’s framed as something so simple that no further explanation is needed.

But speaking to experts about this, I’ve realised that investing itself is relatively simple – it’s the planning that makes it tricky. Preparing to invest means actually sitting down to think of your future in concrete terms: how much risk you can take, what you’re saving for, and how long you’re willing to wait.

I’ve often been held back by the fear of making the wrong decision and losing money, or missing out on something that could have made me more. But I’m starting to learn that it isn’t about avoiding wrong decisions altogether, but about building confidence in my own decisions and trusting that future me will benefit from the process.

TL;DR

• Start by researching asset classes and key concepts 
• Choose an investment platform and make sure it’s regulated 
• Start building your portfolio by choosing assets that align with your goals 
• Automate your investments and let time do the heavy lifting