Featured Image Credit: Nischa / YouTube
More people are investing than ever before these days, yet getting started from scratch is a daunting prospect for many.
That's why one ex-banker has come up with the best way to invest your cash as a beginner in 2026, going through everything you should do and make sure of.
Nischa Shah is a former investment banker and accountant turned social media money expert, providing her internet audience with all the advice you need to make the most out of your money — especially as a beginner.
One of her most popular YouTube videos goes over what she would do if she started investing from scratch in 2026, yet the first steps don't even involve finding the right stocks or working out how much to invest and where to place it.
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In Nischa's eyes, the first thing everyone needs to sort out before getting on the investment ladder is their own finances, as not only do you need to understand how much you have available to invest in the first place, but investing when you're not ready yet can often be detrimental.
Clearing up any high-interest debt is an essential before you even consider the stock market, as the gains you find through investments will still be less than the interest you rack up through things like credit card debt or payday loans.
Once you've done that, stabilizing your earnings and spending is the next step, and this helps create consistency and a good foundation, which you'll also need to build an emergency fund.
While you might think it's a great idea to put as much money as possible into your investments for a greater return, having funds to fall back on is incredibly important as you won't want to have to pull out of your investments at the wrong time to cover unexpected costs.
Now that you have the foundations set, you'll then want to workout a timeline for investment that comes with its own goals. One of the biggest mistakes you'll make is not knowing what you're investing for, and while it doesn't need to be anything grand or major, having that target can really help you commit.
It could be saving for a house, looking to set up an early retirement, or simply wanting to reach a specific number — but simply setting a goal will really make your investment journey so much more worthwhile.
Getting started once you've done all the planning and set-up, however, can be surprisingly difficult for many, especially as it's so easy to overthink with an abundance of choices at your disposal.
Nischa recommends simply opening an investment account and putting money into it immediately, as that small step is all you need to start your journey, and it's far better to get going than to sit there for hours fretting without actually achieving anything.
You don't need to go big from the start – or frankly at all – as investing just $100 per month for 30 years at the average stock market growth will earn you roughly $140,855 from an input of only $36,000, which represents a 291% return on investment, or $104,855 in profit.
Another unexpected tip that Nischa outlines is to tinker less with your investments once you've placed them, as it's a long game after all. That's not to say that you should simply forget about them – although that can produce surprising results in some scenarios – but don't react to every tiny movement as you'll often find yourself worse off as a result.
It's difficult to see the big picture when its your money at stake, but the stock market has always grown no matter what global crises have impacted it in the short term, so keeping your money stable pretty much always makes sense.
