Right now we live in somewhat difficult times: there is still a pandemic, some restrictions, rising prices and inflation. A lot of challenges, but of course also a lot of opportunities. It is normal that many people think about how to invest, to save their money, families, work etc. Some of them buy and rent houses or offices, some buy gold or silver, some invest in stock exchanges, some trying their chances on Forex (and according to research, 95% of them are bankrupt after just two months), some also trying cryptocurrencies, NFT and similar things based on new technologies.
Each of them has a risk level: higher or level, but there is risk. Of course, we can say that investing in government bonds is a safe method, but with current inflation levels, it cannot even prevent loss. What if there is always a good method to invest? What if that method does not require a big capital, a lot of money, but in most cases provides a huge rate of return? Yep, there is such a method, and it’s very simple.
It is investing in yourself
Just that, and so much. It’s super simple, but I think some people do not or do not want to understand that. I know some people who have quite nice work and positions, and they try investing in very risky things. It is ok, it is their money and I can not decide here. But… simple observation: they often need a lot of time to track some stock changes. Sometimes they win, sometimes lose, I think it is similar to playing the lottery. I win the lottery every day. How? I do not play, so I can save that money for something different. Coming back to mentioned people – imagine they will spend just 10% of time they require to observe stock to learn new things. Just 10%, no more! I am 100% sure that after a year, their base salary will be higher. What if they decide to spend 50% of their time? No, it is not only a dream from movies, some stupidity bizarre from pep talks. It is just a simple rule.
Remember, if you learn something new, it will be your skill till your death. No one can take it from you. That new skill may increase your chances in the labor market: because of new abilities, you will have higher chances during applying for a higher position with better salary. Even if you will not be successful, that new skill may help you in the future, or in your personal life. Nobody knows what we will do in the next ten years, so… Treat that always like the best investment you can make. In most cases, it will not require any additional money – if you can read this blog post, you have internet access and phone, tablet or computer. With such a connection, you have access to the biggest knowledge database in the human world. And what is also interesting, a lot of people share their knowledge, without any fees. So, just read, learn, then try new things to “learn truly”.
This rule works not only for money, but also for a lot of different things. We can do what we like to do, or we liked to do in the past: sometimes I want to play old games that I loved 10-15 years ago. It is fine, but just in the first 5 minutes. After them, I feel it is nonsense, because “I already did it”. I do not regret these hours I played in the past – maybe that time was required, I also liked that, and it was fine. But right now… it is not exciting anymore. I want to gain new knowledge, new skills, new abilities, or even… something new just for relaxation. Watching the same movie two or more times is nothing interesting for me, but watching something new, especially science fiction, why not? Reading the same book a few times… it depends. If we talk about belles-lettres, no way. If it is something that I can use to improve myself, yeah, I definitely often go back to intriguing books.
Perhaps I do not take a lot of risk, potentially someone will tell, that I am just a coward, but I do not care about that. I do not believe when someone tells me: “just invest in that, the rate of return is amazing 200%!!!”. Sorry, no way. I think even slower, but continuous growth and progress is much better. I remember I was shocked when the pandemic started. I panicked and bought a lot of EUR and USD because the Polish Zloty was so weak. It was my fault, and a good lesson: when I decided to expand my knowledge about investing, financial instruments. Bought a lot of books, built a diversified portfolio and right now I am much calmer: I do not know what will happen, but it should be fine in many situations. I do not have to track a lot of sessions, results it is not my goal. I know that I need to be up-to-date, but not with everything, it should not be too time demanding.
And it’s just one example, probably very common.
Think about that – how much effort and money can you save though investing in yourself?