A lack of knowledge, the fear of making mistakes, and hesitation to push that "buy" button are common reasons why many people never start investing. But honestly, you will likely never feel like you know everything or have mustered up 100% of the courage. Since time in the market is one of the key ingredients to successful investing, there is no need to wait.

Image by Kaboompics from Pexels
Image by Kaboompics from Pexels

A great springboard for beginners is an investor simulator, which lets you trade in real markets with virtual money. These paper trading platforms give you a feel for how stock markets operate in real time and allow you to buy and sell different assets – including stocks – with zero financial risk.

It encourages you to take action right away because you have nothing to lose. Also, it gives you permission to make mistakes, blow up a virtual portfolio, and learn what went wrong without losing a single cent of real money.

Now, there are many easily accessible simulators offered directly by financial institutions or available through dedicated online platforms. By the way, most simulators today run directly on mobile apps, making tracking your virtual portfolio as simple as checking social media.

At first, you might feel a bit lost. But after scrolling through the list of publicly traded companies, you will definitely recognize familiar names.

Do you enjoy a Coca-Cola or occasionally grab a meal at McDonald's? What about shopping at H&M or Nike? What card do you use to pay – Visa or Mastercard? Maybe you drive a Volvo or a Tesla? And, of course, we are surrounded by tech giants like Apple and Microsoft. All of these companies offer fractional ownership to retail investors.

There is nothing wrong with investing in companies you know and whose products you use daily. In fact, it's a great place to start.

Typically, simulator accounts give you a set amount of virtual capital, forcing you to think about strategy and diversification. In other words, you have to consider how to allocate your funds to reach your goal. What goal? Well, that depends on you.

More Than Just a Game

In 2026, a free virtual investment game launched in Lithuania for the first time. Created by Verslo žinios, Lithuania’s leading business media group, alongside its partners, the competition was open to any resident, building on a model that has already proven successful in other countries.

To win this game, your portfolio needed to reach the highest percentage growth by the end of the competition. While a real cash prize was awarded to the top performer, the underlying goal was to build long-term financial literacy by giving participants a safe space to practice constructing portfolios rather than chasing short-term speculative hype.

Yes, it was a game, and participants competed to win – if winning was their primary goal (there were several other prizes as well). But others had different objectives, like taking their first steps in the investing world. And that was completely fine. In investing, as in other areas of life, it highlights the importance of setting your own personal goals and staying the course, no matter what others are doing.

Undoubtedly, the real cash prize gave participants extra motivation to jump into the game and spend time following the news, reading company reports, analyzing market insights, and actively managing their portfolios.

Even though there was only one main winner, the simulator offered participants major long-term benefits, including:

  • Making decisions without financial pressure.
  • Testing different strategies before risking real capital.
  • Gauging your true risk tolerance when markets swing.
  • Encouraging you to start discussions and learn more.

You don't need to have everything figured out before taking action. You will learn and adapt along the way. There will never be a "perfect" time to start, so why not start today with a small amount of real money or at least give an investment simulator a try?