Changing professions and investing during the war

The war has hit many Ukrainians in the wallet. One in three Ukrainians lost their jobs as a result of the war, and many businesses have reduced their activity or closed permanently. There are now 5 people competing for one job in Ukraine.

You can't increase the number of job openings on the labor market, but you can definitely increase your own chances of getting a job, and that's something you should take advantage of. Most people try to continue their previous experience when looking for a job, but this narrows their options.

Do not be tied to your previous work experience, if you have not been able to find a job in this field for several months, think carefully about what other skills you have that could be used to earn money. For example, you have a car and a great driving record, why not start working as a driver? Maybe you're a good writer, or you're good at social media. Perhaps you know about electricity, or you know how to work with an online furniture designer. The main task is to find a job if you are left without active income today.

Treat your job search as a full-time job, devote enough time and attention to your own employment, update your resume, and write directly to companies that may be interested in your experience.

If you've been looking for a job for several months and can't find one, maybe it's time to change your profession? I know it's hard to decide, but many Ukrainian platforms are now making their training courses free for Ukrainians. According to government statistics, 22% of Ukrainians have already changed their profession or learned a new one.

If you are not sure what new field you would like to try yourself in, you can take tests on specialized resources that will help you determine whether you have a talent for a particular business, such as the artificial intelligence platform for identifying abilities for professions, which is completely free.

So, your first task is to find a stable source of income. Once this issue is resolved, it's time to think about savings, because the world is so unstable and it's good to have something in reserve.

Remember, an active resource is finite, we won't be able to work the way we did in our 20s and 30s for the rest of our lives. This is neither good nor bad, it's just a fact, and we can put a straw in the air for when it does happen.

In order to have money, we need to have a difference between income and expenses. How are we going to do this?

There are two ways to be happy: to reduce our desires or to increase our money... If you are wise, you will do both at the same time. Benjamin Franklin

When we create a difference between income and expenses, we form investment capital (money) that will continue to feed us.

You may think that investments are only for millionaires or billionaires. In fact, this is far from the case; today, Ukrainians can start investing from as little as 1000 UAH. Is it possible to find such an amount in your monthly budget? I'm sure you can.

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Many people forget that inflation has always been, is and will be, whether you like it or not. And keeping money under the mattress or simply putting it in the bank is a guaranteed way to lose a portion of your savings. You need to make your money work for you, namely by investing, so that at some point this capital will feed you as well as active work today.

Where can Ukrainians invest today?

1. Bank deposits
2. Ukrainian bonds
3. Real estate
4. Land
5. Business (taxis, dairy farms, etc.)
6. Securities
7. Cryptocurrencies

If you take a closer look at each of these tools, you will realize that for beginners who want to build their capital starting with small amounts, with minimal risks and basic knowledge, the only tool that meets all the criteria is investing in the stock market in securities.

Real estate

Real estate has many disadvantages:

• low liquidity (you can't sell in 2 days, even if you can, the price will be lower than the market price)
• high entry threshold (from $30,000)
• Dependence on the economic and political situation in the country and the region
• requires industry knowledge and market understanding

Land

Investments in land are, like real estate, investments in real estate. The value of land tends to grow steadily, but it has the same disadvantages as real estate.

Investments in business

Investing in small and medium-sized businesses is a share in the business (money in exchange for a share of the profits). It should be understood that investing in Ukrainian business today is a risky instrument.

According to all the canons of diversification, no more than 20% of your capital should be invested in risky instruments.

If we say that we will invest $5000 in someone's business, we must understand that we already have at least $20,0000 invested in low-risk assets (cash, bonds, reliable stocks, real estate, etc.).

Investments in securities

Buying stocks, bonds, or exchange-traded investment funds is also an investment in business, but with much less risk.

Shares are a stake in a business. By purchasing a Google share, you become the owner of the company's share and claim a portion of its profits. If you own one share of Google, you own approximately 0.000000000176% of the entire company. If the company is successful and generates higher profits in the future, the price of your share will rise.

Bonds are a loan that you give to a company or the government. In return, they promise to pay you back this loan plus a fixed percentage after a certain period of time. Bonds are one of the safest instruments on the market. Unlike stocks, you are guaranteed a return on your invested capital and income.

An ETF is an exchange-traded investment fund. In essence, it is the same share (stake), but not of a single company, but of all companies owned by this fund.

ETFs are especially relevant for beginners. An ETF is traded on the stock exchange like a common share that can be bought or sold at any time, but inside this share is a balanced basket of different stocks, or bonds, or complex exchange-traded instruments.

Pros.

• high liquidity (any share can be sold in 1 day and money can be withdrawn to the card)
• entry threshold from $50
• does not take much time
• suitable for beginners
• yield of 8-10% per annum in foreign currency with minimal risks

Cons

• you need to analyze before buying or selling a stock. You need to understand this
• the risk of a decline in the market value of a single share (but this risk can be managed through the formation of an investment portfolio, when you buy a whole basket of shares, not 1 piece)

So, as a conclusion to all of the above, working with your own money during wartime is not much different from the general rules of working with personal finances in peacetime. If you want to never have any problems with your finances, you have to learn how:

1. Earn money
2. Manage them
3. Store
4. Multiply

If it's hard to find a job today, think about new professions, many platforms have made their courses free for Ukrainians, so maybe now is the time to change your life. And of course, make sure that the money is not just on the cards, think about investing in securities or at least in Ukrainian currency bonds. And remember, the choice is always yours.

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Ksenia Gubanova is a financial literacy and investment expert. You can get a personalized consultation with Ksenia or take her author's course BeInvestor on her Instagram account.