Everyone wants to be financially independent

Acquiring investing knowledge is important. The earlier you acquire this knowledge of how your money can work for you, the better for you.

In order to gain financial independence you need to understand first and foremost that hard work is important, but not enough. You should also be clever about making the money you earn work hard for you.

You also need to know yourself before you make any investment decisions. Your objectives and the time you have in which to achieve them are the 2 most important factors when deciding on an investment programme.

Unfortunately, very few investors realise this when they start. You will need to find out how much risk you can tolerate, as well as what your relationship with money is.

Investment options are increasing dramatically in number and sophistication. Many people stumble along, buying a share here and a unit trust there. Only when they start learning about investments do they realise that they have made a mess of things. You have to make the most of this sophistication by adhering to simple principles and basic truths when compiling your investment portfolio.

The road may sometimes be bumpy, and at times you may wonder whether it would not have been more prudent to keep your hard-earned money under your mattress. But you will see that patience will be rewarded, and the ability to achieve long-term objectives depends on a long-term plan.