You’ve likely been told that investing is the best path towards real wealth, but have you acted on it? You’ve probably told yourself that you’ll get around to it someday. But you can’t build wealth on promises, so the time to act is now.
If you haven’t already begun investing, here are a few reasons you should make it a priority.
It’s easier than ever to invest.
If you want to find your way to wealth, make a strategy for investing. It’s easier than ever to get started with investing thanks to rampant media coverage, financial advisers, apps, and new investment avenues. You can easily learn how to day trade bitcoin by reading articles online or how to flip a property by attending seminars in your city.
Some apps will even automatically invest for you. For example, Acorn is a popular app that connects to your bank account and invests your spare change after you make a purchase. For example, if you spend $3.45 on a cup of coffee, it will put $0.55 into an investment savings account. You can make money without even thinking about it.
You don’t want to work to live comfortably in retirement.
Many people promise themselves that they’ll save their entire lives, but end up nearly penniless at retirement. A study from Bankrate has revealed that 65 percent of Americans save little or nothing, and nearly a third will have inadequate retirement funds.
Investing now for retirement will prevent you from working or struggling during the years when you should be playing golf at the country club or puttering around in your yard.
Compound interest will work in your favor.
Let compound interest work for you now. As Ben Franklin once said, “Money makes money. And the money that money makes, makes money.”
In other words, investing is the best way to maximize your money. Whether you put it into a high-interest savings account or invest in the stock market, you can allow compound interest to grow incrementally to huge sums until you’re ready to retire.
You can lose money on your procrastination.
It’s obvious that if you don’t prioritize investing that you won’t make additional money, but did you know that you can actually lose money by not investing? Financial experts estimate that about 40 percent of people will procrastinate their savings enough to experience a significant financial loss.
This is the result of running into financial difficulties that you’re not prepared to pay. Perhaps you’re charged with a DUI while visiting Colorado. You’ll have to pay for a Denver criminal attorney to help you get home. Because you didn’t save money when you had the chance, you might be forced to take out a loan or put the expense on your credit cards. The interest that you’ll owe from these financial obligations will cost you big in the long run.
Unexpected expenses of any kind can arise at any time, and without adequate savings, you’ll have to pay extra for the resulting interest.
When you start investing is more important than how you much you invest.
According to research from U.S. News & World Report, age is everything if you’re trying to invest.
“If Jack were to contribute $200 per month from age 25 to 35 – contributing only $24,000 total over 10 years – his investments would be worth almost $300,000 at age 65,” Coryanne Hicks of U.S. News & World Report explains. “Jill continually invests $200 per month between ages 35 and 65 but still ends up with only $245,000 at 65. Even though she contributes three times as much as Jack over her lifetime ($72,000), because she missed those first 10 years of investing, Jack amasses more.”
The earlier you start, the more you can make.
Your success is based on the initiative you take. With so many accessible options for investing, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it now?