What is Investing?
Investing is, simply put, storing your money in a place that will help it grow. There are many different options when it comes to investing, from the stock market and retirement accounts, to real estate and any number of other avenues.
The main thing about it, is that it needs to be something that allows your money to earn you more money over time. Usually, it is done over a long time frame, like years or decades. Statistically, the stock market creates gains over time, and real estate appreciates (or becomes more valuable, so it can be sold for more money).
Generally, holding a lot of extra money in something like a shoebox, or a savings account, isn’t a great long term strategy. The reason being, that money won’t grow much. As inflation occurs, it could actually become worth less. Think of how much farther a dollar went 20 years ago, and you will see what I mean. You want your money to grow at a rate that overcomes inflation (which tends to be around 3%).
I won’t try to tell you which investment avenue is right for you. That involves a lot of different variables. A Financial Advisor could possibly help, and I encourage you to seek one out if you can’t choose on your own, or don’t want to.
What I will say, is the sooner you decide how to invest your money, the better. If you want to have money for retirement, it is important to start planning and saving for it now. Investment money grows over time, so the more time=the more money. Even if you are investing in a business, they take time to grow. So, learn, decide, and then, as Nike says, Just Do It!
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