Investing In Your Future

The future can be a very exciting thing to think about. In fact, when most people are asked about what their future has in store, they talk about dream jobs, families, marriage, vacations and trips, and all of the other fun, beautiful things life has to offer. The subject of investing doesn’t usually even crack the top ten things we think about when we picture the future, which makes sense. Investing can be daunting, confusing, and frankly, a little boring.

Stay with me, though! Investing is crucial to building wealth and being able to live a comfortable life, especially if you want to be able to retire. In this day in age, saving alone is proving to be an insufficient way to accrue enough money to easily retire, or even retire at all. But there is a solution: investing is a key component to planning for the future. LGBTQ+ author, Joey Amato (he/him), noticed that among many young people, himself included, and particularly the LGBTQ+ community, weren’t taking advantage of investing young.

This wasn’t because they didn’t want to, or because they were lazy. Young queer people simply had a fundamental lack of knowledge about investing, and without the right tools, successful investing isn’t possible. Amato saw this and knew he needed to combat this issue as quickly as he could. He set out to empower young queer people with the information they need to make good choices about their futures. This is why Joey Amato, a lifelong advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion, wrote the perfect guide to investing in the future: Everyday Investing: A Practical Guide to Personal Financial Growth.

Everyday Investing breaks down investing in a way readers can easily digest, and is meant to be used as a tool for the future. Amato says, “My book is an easy-to-read book about the fundamentals of investing. It gives readers a solid foundation and will make them confident about the investing world when they read it. They will learn about terms commonly used and methods implemented to help them create an investment strategy that meets their needs.”

Amato felt the need to write a book about investing with the LGBTQ+ community specifically in mind for many reasons, including his own his personal journey with his sexuality and finances. He says, “I came out in my late twenties, after accruing tons of debt (which had nothing to do with me being closeted for so many years). I worked tirelessly to get myself to a place where I felt financially secure. During my journey as an out and proud gay man, I observed the spending habits of my friends and realized they were making the same financial mistakes I made in my 20s, but they were now in their 30s and sometimes 40s. I knew that time was not on their side, and I wanted to help them as soon as possible.”

Living in a world that spotlights lavish travel and other exorbitant activities on social media might make people, especially people in the queer community, feel like they have to spend a lot of money to stay relevant, or, as Amato says, “keep up with the gay Joneses.” Of course, buying fun things is fine if you have the means for it, but going into debt is almost never the answer. Amato says, “I did this, and I learned my lesson. I want to do my part to ensure that other LGBTQ people don’t make the same mistakes I made.”

The good news is there’s still plenty of time to learn! Amato did the heavy lifting of teaching himself how to invest and handle finances, and his book breaks it down for readers to understand as well. Amato didn’t learn about investing in a traditional way, either. He says, “I taught myself the ropes of investing mainly by watching CNBC. For a time, I was watching the station all day long, from the opening bell to the closing bell. I became obsessed with learning about investing and how the stock market worked. I also began reading articles online that talk more about the intricacies of investing and the importance of starting a young age.”

With his newfound knowledge, he immediately knew that he couldn’t keep it to himself. He says, “I had been thinking about writing a book for a few years. I actually began with a few blog posts and videos but over time I decided that a book would be a better way to put my thoughts in one place.” Centralizing all of this information into one place makes it more accessible to everyone, which is Amato’s goal. He wants queer people to know that gaining wealth is possible, and they now have the tools to start. He says, “Queer people need to realize the power of investing and how important it can be. A lot of people are afraid of investing because they see what happened during the financial crisis, but the only true way to grow your money is through investing–especially if you don’t have a high-paying job.”

Community is about more than just what’s happening right now—it’s also about acknowledging the past, and, very importantly, understanding the future. Joey Amato is making huge strides to ensure the financially secure futures of LGBTQ+ people with his new book, Everyday Investing: A Practical Guide to Personal Financial Growth. His contributions to the LGBTQ+ community don’t stop there, though. He is also currently working to create Pride Journeys, a travel website dedicated to finding cities and businesses that welcome LGBT travelers, so queer people can feel safe when they travel. Amato says, “I would love people to follow me as I discover safe spaces for LGBTQ people to travel.”

Learn to invest so you can invest in your future.

To purchase Everyday Investing: A Practical Guide to Personal Financial Growth, visit www.Amazon.com or other booksellers – both online and in person.

To visit Pride Journeys, check out the website: www.pridejourneys.com