Marketing manager Queenie Tan reveals the eight investment mistakes you’re making

A 24-year-old marketing manager who gained a net worth of more than $420,000 in five years has shared the eight investment mistakes you’re making, and how you can avoid them to get rich.

Queenie Tan, from Sydney, said her financial success gradually accumulated after she started researching and investing when she was 19.

Queenie now has a diverse financial portfolio after purchasing her first property in 2019 worth $500,000 with a $100,000 deposit.

In one of her most recent YouTube clips, Queenie revealed the things to avoid when starting to invest if you want to see good returns.

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A 24-year-old marketing manager who gained a net worth of more than $420,000 in five years has shared the eight investment mistakes you’re making (Queenie Tan pictured)

The number one error people make when they start to invest is they don't have a plan, and so are setting themselves up for failure (Queenie pictured)

The number one error people make when they start to invest is they don’t have a plan, and so are setting themselves up for failure (Queenie pictured)

1. Not having a plan

The number one error people make when they start to invest is they don’t have a plan.

‘Not having a plan is a bit like driving a car when you don’t have a clear direction of where you want to go,’ Queenie said.

‘Most people don’t just jump in their cars for the sake of driving. In my opinion, it should be the same with our finances as well.’

When Queenie and her partner started investing in 2016, they set themselves the goal of saving $100,000 to go towards their first apartment deposit. 

When they achieved this in three years, they didn’t know where to go from there.

‘Then, we discovered financial freedom,’ Queenie said.

‘This is the idea that if you have enough money saved and invested, you would be able to live comfortably off your investments without having to work.’

Queenie and her boyfriend Pablo have now made this their new financial goal, and she said it means their investing is a ‘lot more meaningful’.

2. Not having an emergency fund

The second mistake people make when investing is not having an emergency fund.

Queenie said she realised the importance of having an emergency fund in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit and lots of her colleagues were made redundant from their marketing jobs.

‘Thankfully, I didn’t lose my job at this time, but seeing it happen to some of my other colleagues made me realise that having an emergency fund is so important,’ Queenie said.

For some people, this is three months’ worth of their salary, while others like to focus on saving a specific figure – like $10,000 or $20,000.

While you need to have some emergency money on hand at all times, Queenie (pictured) said it's also vitally important to keep some cash back so it's ready to invest

While you need to have some emergency money on hand at all times, Queenie (pictured) said it’s also vitally important to keep some cash back so it’s ready to invest

3. Not having some cash on hand ready to invest

While you need to have some emergency money on hand at all times, Queenie said it’s also vitally important to keep some cash back so it’s ready to invest.

‘In March 2020, the stock market fell by 30 per cent,’ Queenie said.

‘Pablo and I knew this was the perfect time to invest. The problem was, we had spent most of our money on our recent kitchen renovation, so we didn’t have much left to invest.’

Queenie said they managed to get together a few thousand dollars to invest, but if they had been able to invest more, they would have made a good return on their investment.

‘That’s when I realised the importance of having some cash on hand ready to invest when a good opportunity comes up,’ she said.

4. Investing because of the hype

From Bitcoin to Ethereum and Dogecoin, every day it seems like there is another stock or cryptocurrency that is dominating the headlines.

But Queenie said you should never just invest in something because there is lots of hype around it, because that generally means everyone already knows about it and it has reached its peak.

‘When I hear people talking about a particular stock or crypto rising really quickly, I get really wary of that particular investment,’ Queenie said.

You should always do your research before you invest. 

5. Comparing yourself to other investors

You should never compare yourself to your friends, family or those you see online, Queenie said. 

This is principally because people only discuss their successes. 

‘Be mindful of what you see on social media, as sure, someone may have made money on something, but that doesn’t mean you should invest in it,’ Queenie said.

‘This is probably because they invested earlier, when it was a better opportunity.’

She also said you should remember that a 10 per cent return is a good annual return.

Even American business magnate Warren Buffet only operates at a 20 per cent return.

Queenie (pictured) said you absolutely must be patient when you invest, and you can't expect to see results overnight

Queenie (pictured) said you absolutely must be patient when you invest, and you can’t expect to see results overnight

6. Not being patient 

There is a famous quote that says you should only invest in something if you’re willing to hold it if the market shut down for 10 years, and Queenie agrees with this whole-heartedly. 

She said the stock market has an average positive return, but not every year is positive. 

‘When you are a long-term investor, you should be investing for the long term, and you shouldn’t really be bothered about what’s happening in the short term,’ Queenie said.

Long-term investment is anything that is five, 10, 15 years or more.

Queenie and her partner (pictured) managed to save up a $100,000 deposit for their first apartment in just three years

Queenie and her partner (pictured) managed to save up a $100,000 deposit for their first apartment in just three years

7. Being too emotional  

Getting emotional with anything to do with money is a bad idea, Queenie said, and you shouldn’t think of things as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ investments.

‘At the end of the day, stocks and the stock market will always return back down to its fundamental value,’ Queenie said.

There is therefore no point getting emotional about it.

8. Not doing research

Finally, never invest in something without doing your research. 

‘If you want to become better investors, you should spend some time reading books and learning how to become a better investor,’ Queenie said.  

In particular, she likes Rule #1 by Phil Town and One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch.

Queenie (pictured) quickly learnt investing was the key to generating a passive income to work towards achieving financial flexibility and freedom

Queenie (pictured) quickly learnt investing was the key to generating a passive income to work towards achieving financial flexibility and freedom

Speaking previously to FEMAIL, Queenie revealed how she built her wealth.

Through listening to audiobooks, Queenie quickly learnt investing was the key to generating a passive income to work towards achieving financial flexibility and freedom.

Each month Queenie is able to invest up to $5,000 through her six sources of income as well as using the equity from the apartment.

Queenie admitted she dropped out of her marketing degree and decided to apply for jobs, as she was living from pay cheque to pay cheque and earning only $400 per week.

‘When I was 19 and moved out of home I had no savings and working only covered the bare minimum, so I decided to take a chance to drop out of university – thankfully it paid off,’ she said.

The impressive net worth is calculated by the total number of assets, minus any debt.

She said these assets include her property value, stock and cryptocurrency portfolio, offset account, savings and superannuation. The home loan debt is the only liability.

Queenie’s financial portfolio is diverse but mainly consists of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) through CMC Markets – a platform that allows users to buy both Australian and international shares for low brokerage fees.

She also uses a platform called Stake to buy US stocks as it’s ‘user friendly’ and also has low brokerage fees.

Alternative Australian ETF platforms that are known to be helpful for beginners include the Raiz, Spaceship and the CommSec pocket app.

‘I invest $5,000 each month to maintain a balance and usually try to track the market before buying,’ she said.

To follow Queenie Tan, please visit her Instagram page here