Have you been thinking of investing? I think that thought has crossed everyone’s mind at least once, especially because nowadays you can hear people left and right discussing crypto and investments. But there may be something holding you back. That’s completely normal. It’s a real skill to be cautious when it comes to dealing with money, but, truth be told, it’s an even better skill to know where to keep your extra cash so that it can grow passively and do the working for you.
That’s why this article may offer you insight into how your fears and prejudices might have been hindering your potential to explore this endeavor and to evolve financially.
Here are 5 reasons people won’t invest and 5 reasons they should absolutely be doing it:
The fear of the unknown
This is, of course, the number one reason people are abstaining from entering the world of investments. The lack of common knowledge around the subject can make it seem like “the big unknown” which is very intimidating at first. How are you supposed to succeed in something you know nothing about. It doesn’t help that nobody around you seems to be an expert on the matter either. That’s why you may feel like it isn’t for you, after all.
Everyone’s a bit of a skeptic
Aside from not doing the research necessary, every time you heard crypto and investments being brought up, those around you expressed distrust in these practices, or they even compared them to gambling or marketing schemes. This made you think about the fact that it seems a bit like it’s a way too easy concept, so there probably is a big catch. It’s safer if you don’t find out for yourself.
The lack of support
This excuse is tied to the previous ones. Seeing as your friends and family are neither knowledgable nor trustful of the idea of investing, not only do they not encourage you to pursue this, they explicitly discourage these ideas. It is very difficult to do anything without the support of your loved ones because it feels like you are excluding yourself from the group, making yourself an outcast. You’re still afraid to lose their love, trust, and admiration, even though the chances of that happening are minimal to be caused by this difference in opinion.
One in the hand is worth two in the bush
You are probably familiar with this very common saying, which puts an emphasis on the fact that you should be satisfied with what you do have right now instead of striving for more because you might lose everything in the process. This is old wisdom passed down through generations so it must be good advice, right? But what if the world has evolved beyond that? This saying might be dating from antiquity, so should you base your actions on old sayings?
Life’s too unpredictable to play with money
I think I am safe in assuming that you have been taught that the purpose of saving money is having something to rely on during the dark times. Our anxious minds are always thinking of the what-ifs: ‘what if I get sick’, ‘what if I lose my job’, ‘what if we have another baby’, and so on. It might seem wiser to have your money saved for emergency situations than to put it to work for you.
You probably feel like at least one of these aspects were relatable to your own situation and that’s because these concerns are, of course, all valid in their own right. Everyone is trying to make the best decisions for themselves based on all the knowledge they currently possess. But what if you can expand your knowledge? Are you not able to make even better decisions then?
Here are 5 reasons investing is worth looking into:
If money stagnates it can only decrease over time
This makes sense if you think about it. If you have, let’s say $100 and you buy a $1 candy bar every day, in 100 days you are left with 0 cash in your pocket and a dentist’s appointment. But what if from that $100 you buy 50 candy bars for 50 days and meanwhile you take the other $50 and you make a good investment which brings you an additional dollar every day. You could theoretically have unlimited candy bars. Just make sure to brush twice a day!
Long term thinking is what breeds success
As humans, our consciousness evolved to be aware of more than just the present and the near future. If we could only think as far as the day of tomorrow, we would not live in the current society. So a smart thing to do would be to make sure you put the money you don’t really need right now into a good investment that could benefit you in a few years. Even though that might seem like a long wait, trust me when I say that not only will you not miss that money, but when it finally brings you profit, you’ll feel like Christmas has arrived early.
You may have been conditioned
Let’s not forget that will live in a world in which those who are ahead of us would do anything to keep the status quo. Why would someone who is rich want to encourage us to succeed financially or give us pointers? They are either awfully quiet or just brag about how they made it big by themselves, by selling a brilliant idea or product. That’s not the whole truth. People get richer mostly by investing, meanwhile the rest of us are discouraged to get a piece of that pie through the means of media, mostly. You might be familiar with the big takeaways of most Hollywood movies: that money corrupts, that modesty is key, that searching for success makes you lose your loved ones, etc. But is that all true or could it be designed to keep up in check?
The early bird usually gets the worm
Even though the world of crypto is growing faster and faster, the truth is that it is not incorporated into the mainstream yet. It’s true that you might see people who are in the industry popping up here and there, everyone is still earning in the traditional way, through 9 to 5 jobs, and they’re still letting banks manage their money. That’s why those who have the courage to adapt to the new and go with the natural flow of things, will have an advantage over everyone else. An early start, let’s call it.
You don’t have to keep all your apples in the same basket
It’s true that the nature of investments is that they can sometimes be an all-or-nothing sort of deal — be prepared to win everything or to lose everything. But the good news is that you are in charge of how much and where you invest. You don’t have to put all your savings into crypto, for example. You can still keep your ‘dark days’ stash to rely on if that makes you feel safer. Aside from this, who says you should put all your money and trust into one single investment? Even though the profit could be maximized this way, the chance of success is decreased. So you could put your apples in many different baskets and even if you drop one or two, you’ll see that, in time, the others will have multiplied the apples enough to put you in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest pie.
So, dear reader, now that you’ve gained a newer perspective, maybe you can make a more informed decision and take matters into your own hands. Even if decide it’s not for you or it’s just not the right time, just make sure that it’s not one of the reasons listed above that is holding you back from achieving your goals and dreams.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is not investment advice and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to offer or recommendation of any investment product. It is for general purposes only and does not take into account your individual needs, investment objectives and specific financial and fiscal circumstances.
Although the material contained in this article was prepared based on information from public and private sources that IXFI believes to be reliable, no representation, warranty or undertaking, stated or implied, is given as to the accuracy of the information contained herein, and IXFI expressly disclaims any liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this article.
Investment involves risk; any ideas or strategies discussed herein should therefore not be undertaken by any individual without prior consultation with a financial professional for the purpose of assessing whether the ideas or strategies that are discussed are suitable to you based on your own personal financial and fiscal objectives, needs and risk tolerance. IXFI expressly disclaims any liability or loss incurred by any person who acts on the information, ideas or strategies discussed herein.
