Invest - But Why on Earth Should You? Articles | Investing

By: Guy Starbuck

More the security of a safe future turns bleak, more the benefits of social security system turns greyer, the more we see an increase in the importance of investing.

It is man’s inherent nature to secure his future. ‘Save for a rainy day’ was not an idiom coined by sages without any wisdom and foresight. The social situation has however gone a radical change in the past 6 or 7 years. People now are aware that depending on their social security benefits or their personalized retirement plans may not assure them of a healthy old age. They do not want to face the grim reality of an eventuality when they wake up one morning and find that they do not have a job to turn to for their daily bread or a roof over their heads. It is no wonder then that investing for the future has taken such a giant leap forward and become the passion of millions across the country. People have realized that this is perhaps the only way to face the unknown – whatever the future holds.

It is common for most people to stash away some money every month at the safe and secure savings bank account. But is it helping you to grow your money faster? Imagine you have suddenly come in for some unexpected inheritance or even won the jackpot or a lottery. What would you do with this money? Again, put it in your savings bank. Investing is the way to go.

Look at it this way. Investing can also make you realize many of your dreams. Dreams like owning a large house, going on a world tour, sending your children to reputed universities, buying lavish gifts for your kith and kin and many more can be accomplished if you invested today. Of course, it all depends how much money you want to have at the end of a specific period of time. This will determine what type of investment you should do, to achieve this goal.

If however you want to money grow faster and you need faster returns on your investment, you will have to invest your money in high-risk investment options, which will yield high returns in a short period of time. If you are investing for some event or phase of your life in the far future, you can safely invest in long-term investment options. Here your money grows for a long time and you can reap its benefits in the future, when you need it most.

The whole idea behind investing is to secure your future and create wealth for a better future, where you let your money grow over a long period of time. It is important to remember that you can not postpone retirement indefinitely. Age and subsequent infirmity will catch up with you sooner or later.

The unfortunate part is that the modern-day situation does not permit any of us to relax and believe that the social security network will assure us of a comfortable future. As was evident from the Enron debacle, depending on the company’s own retirement plan is also not a wise decision. So what are you left with? Investment of course. As this is the only way to have an assured income when you retire and need the comfort of money on your side.