In the last two years, I have built a P2P portfolio worth €20.000. In this article, I will be sharing my thoughts and the process of how I invest 20k with a percent yield of more than 10% p.a.

This post isn’t a piece of investment advice and it probably won’t serve much value for experienced investors. It is rather an inspirational post that will help you to create the right mindset to save up and invest money. Don’t expect any magical formula that will help you build wealth fast.

How to invest 20k – my thought process

When investing money, you want to be aware of the following:

What are the risks connected to my investment strategy – what’s the chance to lose the money?
How long is the capital commitment – can you access your money fast?

With this in mind I started looking for opportunities that would fit my criteria:

  • The acceptable risk for the amount of interest
  • Fast access to my investment

Why everyone should invest money

Keeping money on savings and bank accounts does not make sense as the inflation is higher than any possible interest you would currently receive for your savings. You are basically losing value if you keep your money on the bank account.

The amount of €20.000 would be worth €19.600 at the end of the first year and €19.208 in two years if we calculate with an annual 2% inflation rate.

To avoid this situation I started educating myself about P2P lending as soon as I finished university and started earning income. It took only a few weeks and I made my first transfer to Mintos, a P2P platform from Riga. First I only invested €100 to test the platform and get familiar with its features.

Read my experiences with Mintos

In the first few weeks, I was checking my investments every day. Soon I figured out that this isn’t required and that I could spend my time better elsewhere. My aim was to create a passive long-lasting income stream.

At the end of the day, there is only so much you can learn about a P2P platform right? Checking the performance of your loans isn’t something you should do on a daily basis.

Months went by and I started looking more into the securities and risks that come with P2P lending. Read more about it here.

Being aware of all risks is something I should have looked into before I even started investing on P2P sites. A rookie mistake – certainly.

At that time I was thinking about investing more money in P2P loans.

Diversifying investments

I started diversifying across several P2P platforms. Instead of only funding personal and short-term loans on Mintos and Peerberry, now I started supporting real estate projects on EstateGuru. These “new” platforms often offer better yields however their system and the way they work varies as well.

My goal was mainly to not put all my eggs in the same basket. I kept expanding my portfolio as well as my activity on several P2P platforms. Not only it helped me better understand the asset class but it also helped diversify my investments across different loan types (secured and unsecured loans).

It took me two years to build a P2P portfolio worth €20.000. I strongly believe that anyone with the right mindset and some financial income can achieve similar results.

 

Here are 7 lessons that I have learned from investing in P2P loans since 2017.

Don’t be emotionally connected to money

For anyone who has worked hard to earn some income, the thought of losing it might be devastating. All investments that get you a decent return are risky. P2P lending is no exceptions. Be aware of the risks and don’t invest if you don’t feel comfortable about it. Never invest money that you aren’t prepared to lose.

It took me a few months to let completely go of my emotions. I learned the most about this when I tried trading cryptocurrencies during the hype at the end of 2017. But that’s another story.

Letting go of emotions when it comes to investing was one of the best lessons. If you think more about it you will realize that money doesn’t make you happier.

 

Don’t be greedy

Greed is terrible and it can ruin you. When there is an opportunity and someone promises you to get great returns for little work you should get suspicious. Higher returns are mostly connected to higher risks.

Gamblers know that and many of them lose money. Do not invest in something you don’t know because someone else advised you to do so (this blog shouldn’t represent any advice either).

Greed can greatly influence the diversification of your portfolio. You will be investing in riskier assets that don’t reflect the returns. Always do your own research and get familiar with the investments before actually putting your money into something.

 

Read books

Reading books is often underestimated. Many people find a lot of excuses why not to read. Successful people usually read several books a month. Books can give you a great perspective on things that you weren’t aware of before.

Personally, I enjoy reading books about successful entrepreneurs as well as books about investments and personal development. I also often listen to podcasts on spotify.

There is always something I learn and many books helped me to see things from a different angle.

Here are some books I enjoyed listening through Audible lately:

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Crush it by Garry Vaynerchuk
Principles by Ray Dalio
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

Keep fit

Being healthy and fit is extremely important in my opinion. It helps you be more productive and get things done. I believe that if you are physically fit you can achieve more and make better decisions overall. I don’t think I would have come to the point where I can invest 20k if I wouldn’t be fit – I would probably lack the discipline.

Following a healthy diet while regularly exercising will teach you to be more accountable and more disciplined. Something that will be of value when investing as well.

There are numerous studies that talk about the connection between body mind. Here is an interesting article about it.

 

Don’t overconsume

We get bombarded with ads every day. Companies keep creating needs that we weren’t even aware of. Often people go buy stuff just because it’s on sale, not because they need it.

You don’t need to live out of a backpack as I did for quite a while, but being aware of how much stuff you actually need is already a good start.

Everything you buy just for the sake of having it isn’t going to help you to build wealth and secure yourself for the future.

Learn more of the effects of overconsumption in this article from theguardian.com.

Look at your bank account statement from the last month and analyze your expenses. How much do you think you could cut and put towards your investment portfolio?

 

Increase your income

If you believe you cannot save enough money to invest regularly, think of ways to increase your income. Ask for a promotion or get an additional job if possible. There are many ways to earn income online or offline.

Learn a skill that someone is willing to pay for and start offering your services. Investing in P2P loans or holding dividend stocks is also a way to increase your income.

Feel free to think outside the box and create new opportunities for yourself – you don’t need to do what everyone else is doing.

 

Have a plan

The best advice I can give you to reach your goal and build your portfolio is to have a long-term plan. Make yourself milestones that you want to reach. Building a portfolio of €20.000 in 24 months may not be easy.

Setting your goals can help you follow your plan.

If you wouldn’t invest into anything and just keep the cash on your account you will only save up €18.200. Also, be aware that thanks to the inflation your money will be less worth with time.

Let’s say you have savings worth €5000. In case you decide to invest in P2P loans, you can expect a yearly return of 11%. This means that if you invest €550 every month you will get to €20.000 in exactly 24 months. You can read more about inflation here.

 

What you need to invest 20k

There are four things you should be doing to build a portfolio and invest 20k.

  • Have the right mindset
  • Educate yourself about investing
  • Decrease your cost
  • Increase your income

All of the four points combined will help you be better off financially. With the right mindset, you can certainly build a portfolio and invest 20k in any of your chosen asset class.