Blacks Don't Invest In Stocks and Bonds

Blacks Don't Invest In Stocks and Bonds?

During a conversation I was having with a Black young lady, when I brought up the topic of investing in stocks, she said something along the lines that, "Blacks don't believe in investing in stocks and bonds..."  Though I was somewhat perturbed by that statement about Blacks mentality towards a form of investment, I later thought to myself is there "some" truth to that because I want to write about that?  I must state it as "some" truth because I am investing in stocks, not so much bonds, and I am Black.  However, more broadly speaking, I can feel where she is coming from and the statistics in articles that I have included in my blog, "Don't Drain Your 401K For A Pension Payment" seem to support that sentiment, and generally, not only do we not invest in stocks and bonds, but not much else in any other assets either; thus, the large wealth disparity between whites and blacks.

• Blacks still far behind whites in wealth and income
• The Racial Wealth Gap: Why A Typical White Household Has 16 Times The Wealth Of A Black One 

If Blacks, on a whole, don't invest in stocks and bonds, or we don't invest in real estate, or businesses, we are simply transferring our wealth to someone else's pocket.  However, we don't need to let that continue to be the case.  We can learn to invest ourselves and teach our children how to invest as well.  I know financial literacy is not taught much, but there are websites like mine and others littered online for us to digest what we can be doing to learn.  

It Starts At Young Age

Let me give you an example of this past week, my niece was by the house and she said every time she comes by she gets from us life lessons talks, and she does, because I don't want her to say nobody told her or tried to tell her.  In this case she had just gotten some money back and she was telling me about Snap's streaks and I asked her did she like Snap as she was on it like the whole time she was at my house.  I said to her, you know you can purchase like two shares for about $17 each, only a little more than 10% of what she had and her reaction is typical for what I think it is for many blacks when it comes to investing, which is I don't think I want to do that with my money.  I know she wanted to go see the 2Pac movie and go shopping as well to spend some of her money.

Isn't this familiar, we will go spend our money on this or that brand, which is a more than likely a publicly traded company, yet if asked if we own one share of that company, the answer is probably nah, why I need to own that?  If my niece that is young can heed these life lessons early and invest a little bit over time, the power of compounding will do the rest.  Snap(SNAP) doesn't currently pay a dividend, but if she was to invest in Nike (NKE) for about $51 a share as of writing this that pays an annual dividend of 1.38% which I explained in my blog, "Stocks Basics 101 - Dividends".  Each year, she would get back approximately $0.72 per share she owns.  Now contrast that with if she owns no shares, she only gives Nike money and all she gets in return is what she paid for.

Changing Wealth Transfer Mindset One Blog at A Time

If it is one thing that I hope this blog site does, it is to educate and teach you to be comfortable and empowered to invest in real estate, stocks, bonds, options, precious metals, businesses, and people.  On my blog, I try to stress the importance of investing early and often and teaching others when we have learned ourselves.  That is how we begin to do better for ourselves and I'm sure the wealth gap will start to close.  I'm confident that if we know better that we would do better and it's a matter of retraining our psyche away from just being consumers and also thinking ownership.  The one thing that I would most like to see us shed is this urge to buy all these name brand stuff, but don't own nary a stock in those companies.  So we look rich, but aren't rich because we don't partake in the flip side to that equation of being rich through the success that company has as a result of our consumption of those products and/or services. 

Ownership Man!

Investing in stocks and bonds is about wanting ownership because when you owe share(s) of stock in Apple(AAPL), Disney(DIS), Google(GOOGL), Tesla(TSLA), and the list goes on and on you own a piece of that company, you are a owner in that company.  So, when the statement is that Blacks don't believe in investing in stocks and bonds, see in a way how that equates to saying and meaning that Blacks don't believe in ownership.  When that belief carries over, not only to stocks and bonds, but to real estate, businesses, people, and other assets, that gives a great deal of clarity on why the median wealth holding for blacks was $7,113 compared $111,146 for whites.

In Closing

The bottom line is that we got to want and take ownership in this country and to not just be its consumers.  If you don't invest in stocks and bonds; however, it is OK if you are investing in other assets, but I know of no simpler way than through stocks to partaking in ownership of some of the most profitable companies in the world.  I like Robert Kiyosaki's definition of what an asset is which is something that puts money into your pocket.  So, if the thing which you are investing in is not meeting that criteria then you should try something else, perhaps stocks and bonds.  I know that there is a good amount of money that can be made investing in the stock market over time, so I will continue to mention ways and means to use it for your benefit.  Let's start to invest and provide that kind of continuity by passing on wealth and knowledge to our heirs that we can be proud of.

You can start making small investments on platforms like the ones I mentioned in this blog:

 Investments for 2017 (Loyal3 has moved to FolioFirst)

Note: If you want to get into investing and it makes your head spin, you can follow my lead where I am investing money and purchase the below diversified motifs.

Os ETF 87/13 Allocation
Os Own What You Love

Check out my Affiliate and Referral links here for products in services to help with investment, credit, cashback, and award travel.  Also  you can find more of my blog post on Start Here.

Subscribe to my blog @ http://oslifemoneypoliticsnotherthings.blogspot.com or on the right side of this page in the Follow by Email box.  

Please provide feedback or questions pertaining to this blog post by leaving a comment below.  Also please be sure to share this content with your friends and family.  I thank you in advance.

Also, next time you think to shop at Walmart online, how about clicking through on the banner ad at the bottom of my blog site.  It will be appreciated, but also check out my blog post Loyal3 10 Stock Plan.  If you are spending money in Walmart, you should be owning it too!

Blacks Don't Invest In Stocks and Bonds

Blacks Don't Invest In Stocks and Bonds?

During a conversation I was having with a Black young lady, when I brought up the topic of investing in stocks, she said something along the lines that, "Blacks don't believe in investing in stocks and bonds..."  Though I was somewhat perturbed by that statement about Blacks mentality towards a form of investment, I later thought to myself is there "some" truth to that because I want to write about that?  I must state it as "some" truth because I am investing in stocks, not so much bonds, and I am Black.  However, more broadly speaking, I can feel where she is coming from and the statistics in articles that I have included in my blog, "Don't Drain Your 401K For A Pension Payment" seem to support that sentiment, and generally, not only do we not invest in stocks and bonds, but not much else in any other assets either; thus, the large wealth disparity between whites and blacks.

• Blacks still far behind whites in wealth and income
• The Racial Wealth Gap: Why A Typical White Household Has 16 Times The Wealth Of A Black One 

If Blacks, on a whole, don't invest in stocks and bonds, or we don't invest in real estate, or businesses, we are simply transferring our wealth to someone else's pocket.  However, we don't need to let that continue to be the case.  We can learn to invest ourselves and teach our children how to invest as well.  I know financial literacy is not taught much, but there are websites like mine and others littered online for us to digest what we can be doing to learn.  

It Starts At Young Age

Let me give you an example of this past week, my niece was by the house and she said every time she comes by she gets from us life lessons talks, and she does, because I don't want her to say nobody told her or tried to tell her.  In this case she had just gotten some money back and she was telling me about Snap's streaks and I asked her did she like Snap as she was on it like the whole time she was at my house.  I said to her, you know you can purchase like two shares for about $17 each, only a little more than 10% of what she had and her reaction is typical for what I think it is for many blacks when it comes to investing, which is I don't think I want to do that with my money.  I know she wanted to go see the 2Pac movie and go shopping as well to spend some of her money.

Isn't this familiar, we will go spend our money on this or that brand, which is a more than likely a publicly traded company, yet if asked if we own one share of that company, the answer is probably nah, why I need to own that?  If my niece that is young can heed these life lessons early and invest a little bit over time, the power of compounding will do the rest.  Snap(SNAP) doesn't currently pay a dividend, but if she was to invest in Nike (NKE) for about $51 a share as of writing this that pays an annual dividend of 1.38% which I explained in my blog, "Stocks Basics 101 - Dividends".  Each year, she would get back approximately $0.72 per share she owns.  Now contrast that with if she owns no shares, she only gives Nike money and all she gets in return is what she paid for.

Changing Wealth Transfer Mindset One Blog at A Time

If it is one thing that I hope this blog site does, it is to educate and teach you to be comfortable and empowered to invest in real estate, stocks, bonds, options, precious metals, businesses, and people.  On my blog, I try to stress the importance of investing early and often and teaching others when we have learned ourselves.  That is how we begin to do better for ourselves and I'm sure the wealth gap will start to close.  I'm confident that if we know better that we would do better and it's a matter of retraining our psyche away from just being consumers and also thinking ownership.  The one thing that I would most like to see us shed is this urge to buy all these name brand stuff, but don't own nary a stock in those companies.  So we look rich, but aren't rich because we don't partake in the flip side to that equation of being rich through the success that company has as a result of our consumption of those products and/or services. 

Ownership Man!

Investing in stocks and bonds is about wanting ownership because when you owe share(s) of stock in Apple(AAPL), Disney(DIS), Google(GOOGL), Tesla(TSLA), and the list goes on and on you own a piece of that company, you are a owner in that company.  So, when the statement is that Blacks don't believe in investing in stocks and bonds, see in a way how that equates to saying and meaning that Blacks don't believe in ownership.  When that belief carries over, not only to stocks and bonds, but to real estate, businesses, people, and other assets, that gives a great deal of clarity on why the median wealth holding for blacks was $7,113 compared $111,146 for whites.

In Closing

The bottom line is that we got to want and take ownership in this country and to not just be its consumers.  If you don't invest in stocks and bonds; however, it is OK if you are investing in other assets, but I know of no simpler way than through stocks to partaking in ownership of some of the most profitable companies in the world.  I like Robert Kiyosaki's definition of what an asset is which is something that puts money into your pocket.  So, if the thing which you are investing in is not meeting that criteria then you should try something else, perhaps stocks and bonds.  I know that there is a good amount of money that can be made investing in the stock market over time, so I will continue to mention ways and means to use it for your benefit.  Let's start to invest and provide that kind of continuity by passing on wealth and knowledge to our heirs that we can be proud of.

You can start making small investments on platforms like the ones I mentioned in this blog:

 Investments for 2017 (Loyal3 has moved to FolioFirst)

Note: If you want to get into investing and it makes your head spin, you can follow my lead where I am investing money and purchase the below diversified motifs.

Os ETF 87/13 Allocation
Os Own What You Love

Check out my Affiliate and Referral links here for products in services to help with investment, credit, cashback, and award travel.  Also  you can find more of my blog post on Start Here.

Subscribe to my blog @ http://oslifemoneypoliticsnotherthings.blogspot.com or on the right side of this page in the Follow by Email box.  

Please provide feedback or questions pertaining to this blog post by leaving a comment below.  Also please be sure to share this content with your friends and family.  I thank you in advance.

Also, next time you think to shop at Walmart online, how about clicking through on the banner ad at the bottom of my blog site.  It will be appreciated, but also check out my blog post Loyal3 10 Stock Plan.  If you are spending money in Walmart, you should be owning it too!

The Stats Say It All

The Color of People Affected

People of color, who are not white, have to a large degree been pigeonholed in American society whether you wish to acknowledge this or not.  While some cultural groups in this melting pot have, I would say kept their heads down as to not rattle the powers that be, Blacks  particularly have faced and continue to face injustice, prejudice, and oppression at an unprecedented level in the land of the so-called free.  Why I say this group predominately is quite simply by looking at the prison statistics that this group represent in them.  I quote, "Today people of color make up 37% of the US population but 67% of the prison population...".  Some will contest it represents the fact that these are majorly the people  committing all the crimes in American society.   But are they?  Nah, nothing more than the powers that be to find justification to criminalize, victimize, and marginalize groups of people that scare them.  To hold us up and say it's not us, it's them.  How is it that America the just that holds itself to be one of the greatest nations on planet earth but manages to incriminate more of its own people than any other civilized nation, yet hold no fault?  

Unchanged Racism

Some naive people will like to think that we have made great inroads from America's history of brutality and slavery, but capitalist white people in positions of power and influence psychology really hasn't changed and we continue to have ingrained policy that justify systematized racism and economic inequality.   If so much progress from the past, why this great racial disparity in the statistics on those black and brown bodies that are in prison?  It is my opinion that the underbelly of racism on which this country was built is still very much alive and promoted to the continual marginalization of people deemed to be inferior and throw away by the powers that be of  American society.  I guess they (the marginalized) don't embody the American virtues and values of whiteness.  

Whiteness Alone Not the Virtue It Once Was

Although, as of late the virtue of whiteness has come under pressure as whites are starting to see that white capitalist hold one thing higher than the whiteness they believes bonds them and that is money.  This long history of racist policy have contributed greatly to the ill plight of African Americans and their families and others of darker complexion.  So go ahead and justify our race makes no difference and cite we all have the things we need to overcome, yet when NAFTA, just one trade agreement, passed and left whites behind, we get Trump in office cause ya'll are fed up.  Try 398 years of bad policy and ill will for Blacks.  So you cannot tell me that bad policy and its enforcement doesn't make a difference in peoples lives and environment.

You Cause Others So Many Problems

So empathetic white people, I say white people, because let's be real that is who have made the rules everyone else must play by, particularly those with political power and economic influence, see that you continue to create problems for everyone else and your denial that anything is wrong is a problem too as your continual belief we have all the same opportunity in the world to succeed in America just like you is based in your own reality.  When I, a man of a black skin color look across the landscape and survey the terrain, I see landmines, booby traps, and white man made obstacles at every turn which seem to want to drive this one conclusion of our perceived inferiority in comparison to you and it's us and not you as to the reason for our poor condition.  

History Bullets

Yet, look at what has happened over American history to people not white

• Heist of someone else land and brutality to its inhabitants
• Slavery (for over 398 years and on-going)
• Destruction of the Black family (by way of slavery)
• Jim Crow - weaponized racism based on the segregation of people based color (now add to that religion and sexuality)
• Racial inequality that led to lack of access to education, training, healthcare, and wealth building (especially if it doesn't benefit the plans for the powers that be because that would be too much like right)
• Criminalizing whatever was expedite at the time (like drugs and the war on drugs)
• Mass Incarceration 
• (Post Slavery) Destruction of the Black family(by way of drugs and imprisonment)
• Police invasion and brutality 
• Institutional racism
• De-funding or lack of funding for public programs that would benefit people of color
• Gentrification 
• Gerrymandering
• Voter suppression
• Downright denial 
• Wealth inequality

I Can Still Be Shot Down Without Justice

This is just to name a few that is readily available to my mind.  This is over 398 years of this shit.  So feed up is an understatement to the naysayers who don't believe we have been the victimized, yet we are not supposed to complain or speak out, especially if we are doing quote/unquote well in this system.  As in this day and age of so-called equality, I would like to think I am emblematic of the values (college educated, law abiding, family oriented, hard working professional) professed by this society, yet the overseer, now called today the police, can one day perform a quote/unquote routine traffic stop which results in my (or others that look like me) death if I reach wrong for my registration and license because they fear for their life and then in the court of law get off for it being justified killing regardless to any video evidence to the contrary.  It is this along with these issues I mentioned above which make me know that this is still not a fair and equitable society by far for people of my color.  It is flat out a racism.  It is an overhang that has still not been stamped out!

The color of my skin can incriminate me and lead to scrutiny that the average white person would never face by the bully squad called police and in more cases across the country video taping of police brutality lead to so called justified killings, in which the victims get no justice whatsoever.  Even if I blend in into the American society, what gives me confidence that I'm free and accepted if Lebron James in all his greatness is still just a nigger to some of the people of this society, that if I'm stopped by police that I will be treated equitably and fairly as white counterparts?  As of late, nothing gives me confidence that that will be the case.

Immediate Remedies

I am not here trying to incite hatred of white people, to the contrary, there is enough ignorant racists mofos already, but I am just stating the facts as I see them and they haven't been in our favor.  I know Black people have issues we must own and I will deal with them in continued post, but for now potential resolutions to issues that resulted from policy and ill will might be remedied by 

• Forced integration of communities as it is far to easy for those with money to isolate themselves from other cultures and communities; thus, desensitizing to issues faced by other groups when separated
• De-criminalize drugs and treat the condition as it is a medical issue
• Release from prison non-violent offenders jailed for drug related crimes
• Fund trade school from as early as high school and apprenticeship programs and give access to those out of prison and those in society access to them
• Encourage co-op between corporations and underprivileged communities
• Allow for community to have civilian boards to choose the officers which serve their communities
• Give non-violent offenders back voter rights and others after released back into society
• Have education reconciliation surrounding the history of slavery and effects towards people of color
• Get rid of this white privilege 

In Closing

Enough is enough and I am tired of the injustice, scrutiny, the dismantling of our dignity and character in order to elevate yours.  We could be better if you stopped being the scared little white man enforcing your will on everyone else.  The statistics say it all.  It's not all good in America and often it's the case wherever you have been.

Check out my Affiliate and Referral links here for products in services to help with investment, credit, cashback, and award travel.  Also  you can find more of my blog post on Start Here.

Subscribe to my blog @ http://oslifemoneypoliticsnotherthings.blogspot.com or on the right side of this page in the Follow by Email box.  

Please provide feedback or questions pertaining to this blog post by leaving a comment below.  Also please be sure to share this content with your friends and family.  I thank you in advance.

Also, next time you think to shop at Walmart online, how about clicking through on the banner ad at the bottom of my blog site.  It will be appreciated, but also check out my blog post Loyal3 10 Stock Plan.  If you are spending money in Walmart, you should be owning it too!

Reference: Criminal Justice Facts

The Stats Say It All

The Color of People Affected

People of color, who are not white, have to a large degree been pigeonholed in American society whether you wish to acknowledge this or not.  While some cultural groups in this melting pot have, I would say kept their heads down as to not rattle the powers that be, Blacks  particularly have faced and continue to face injustice, prejudice, and oppression at an unprecedented level in the land of the so-called free.  Why I say this group predominately is quite simply by looking at the prison statistics that this group represent in them.  I quote, "Today people of color make up 37% of the US population but 67% of the prison population...".  Some will contest it represents the fact that these are majorly the people  committing all the crimes in American society.   But are they?  Nah, nothing more than the powers that be to find justification to criminalize, victimize, and marginalize groups of people that scare them.  To hold us up and say it's not us, it's them.  How is it that America the just that holds itself to be one of the greatest nations on planet earth but manages to incriminate more of its own people than any other civilized nation, yet hold no fault?  

Unchanged Racism

Some naive people will like to think that we have made great inroads from America's history of brutality and slavery, but capitalist white people in positions of power and influence psychology really hasn't changed and we continue to have ingrained policy that justify systematized racism and economic inequality.   If so much progress from the past, why this great racial disparity in the statistics on those black and brown bodies that are in prison?  It is my opinion that the underbelly of racism on which this country was built is still very much alive and promoted to the continual marginalization of people deemed to be inferior and throw away by the powers that be of  American society.  I guess they (the marginalized) don't embody the American virtues and values of whiteness.  

Whiteness Alone Not the Virtue It Once Was

Although, as of late the virtue of whiteness has come under pressure as whites are starting to see that white capitalist hold one thing higher than the whiteness they believes bonds them and that is money.  This long history of racist policy have contributed greatly to the ill plight of African Americans and their families and others of darker complexion.  So go ahead and justify our race makes no difference and cite we all have the things we need to overcome, yet when NAFTA, just one trade agreement, passed and left whites behind, we get Trump in office cause ya'll are fed up.  Try 398 years of bad policy and ill will for Blacks.  So you cannot tell me that bad policy and its enforcement doesn't make a difference in peoples lives and environment.

You Cause Others So Many Problems

So empathetic white people, I say white people, because let's be real that is who have made the rules everyone else must play by, particularly those with political power and economic influence, see that you continue to create problems for everyone else and your denial that anything is wrong is a problem too as your continual belief we have all the same opportunity in the world to succeed in America just like you is based in your own reality.  When I, a man of a black skin color look across the landscape and survey the terrain, I see landmines, booby traps, and white man made obstacles at every turn which seem to want to drive this one conclusion of our perceived inferiority in comparison to you and it's us and not you as to the reason for our poor condition.  

History Bullets

Yet, look at what has happened over American history to people not white

• Heist of someone else land and brutality to its inhabitants
• Slavery (for over 398 years and on-going)
• Destruction of the Black family (by way of slavery)
• Jim Crow - weaponized racism based on the segregation of people based color (now add to that religion and sexuality)
• Racial inequality that led to lack of access to education, training, healthcare, and wealth building (especially if it doesn't benefit the plans for the powers that be because that would be too much like right)
• Criminalizing whatever was expedite at the time (like drugs and the war on drugs)
• Mass Incarceration 
• (Post Slavery) Destruction of the Black family(by way of drugs and imprisonment)
• Police invasion and brutality 
• Institutional racism
• De-funding or lack of funding for public programs that would benefit people of color
• Gentrification 
• Gerrymandering
• Voter suppression
• Downright denial 
• Wealth inequality

I Can Still Be Shot Down Without Justice

This is just to name a few that is readily available to my mind.  This is over 398 years of this shit.  So feed up is an understatement to the naysayers who don't believe we have been the victimized, yet we are not supposed to complain or speak out, especially if we are doing quote/unquote well in this system.  As in this day and age of so-called equality, I would like to think I am emblematic of the values (college educated, law abiding, family oriented, hard working professional) professed by this society, yet the overseer, now called today the police, can one day perform a quote/unquote routine traffic stop which results in my (or others that look like me) death if I reach wrong for my registration and license because they fear for their life and then in the court of law get off for it being justified killing regardless to any video evidence to the contrary.  It is this along with these issues I mentioned above which make me know that this is still not a fair and equitable society by far for people of my color.  It is flat out a racism.  It is an overhang that has still not been stamped out!

The color of my skin can incriminate me and lead to scrutiny that the average white person would never face by the bully squad called police and in more cases across the country video taping of police brutality lead to so called justified killings, in which the victims get no justice whatsoever.  Even if I blend in into the American society, what gives me confidence that I'm free and accepted if Lebron James in all his greatness is still just a nigger to some of the people of this society, that if I'm stopped by police that I will be treated equitably and fairly as white counterparts?  As of late, nothing gives me confidence that that will be the case.

Immediate Remedies

I am not here trying to incite hatred of white people, to the contrary, there is enough ignorant racists mofos already, but I am just stating the facts as I see them and they haven't been in our favor.  I know Black people have issues we must own and I will deal with them in continued post, but for now potential resolutions to issues that resulted from policy and ill will might be remedied by 

• Forced integration of communities as it is far to easy for those with money to isolate themselves from other cultures and communities; thus, desensitizing to issues faced by other groups when separated
• De-criminalize drugs and treat the condition as it is a medical issue
• Release from prison non-violent offenders jailed for drug related crimes
• Fund trade school from as early as high school and apprenticeship programs and give access to those out of prison and those in society access to them
• Encourage co-op between corporations and underprivileged communities
• Allow for community to have civilian boards to choose the officers which serve their communities
• Give non-violent offenders back voter rights and others after released back into society
• Have education reconciliation surrounding the history of slavery and effects towards people of color
• Get rid of this white privilege 

In Closing

Enough is enough and I am tired of the injustice, scrutiny, the dismantling of our dignity and character in order to elevate yours.  We could be better if you stopped being the scared little white man enforcing your will on everyone else.  The statistics say it all.  It's not all good in America and often it's the case wherever you have been.

Check out my Affiliate and Referral links here for products in services to help with investment, credit, cashback, and award travel.  Also  you can find more of my blog post on Start Here.

Subscribe to my blog @ http://oslifemoneypoliticsnotherthings.blogspot.com or on the right side of this page in the Follow by Email box.  

Please provide feedback or questions pertaining to this blog post by leaving a comment below.  Also please be sure to share this content with your friends and family.  I thank you in advance.

Also, next time you think to shop at Walmart online, how about clicking through on the banner ad at the bottom of my blog site.  It will be appreciated, but also check out my blog post Loyal3 10 Stock Plan.  If you are spending money in Walmart, you should be owning it too!

Reference: Criminal Justice Facts

7 Reasons Why We Need To Invest

Do We Need To Invest?

In today's society, the financial burden has been or is in the continual stages of being shifted to the individual and their families and for those that are poor to middle class these are the rungs of society that will be impacted the most by these shifting economic realities as we try to make ends meet.  I believe some, not all, of this impact we experience may be our own fault, largely, because of our lack of conviction to become vested in our own financial literacy.  Mostly, the sole purpose for you getting up and going to work each day is purely of economic necessity to earn money to pay for the things we need in life.  Some of us are stuck on just that thought of exchange trading our time and skill for money.  The thought of financial investment for ourselves often takes a tertiary position in our mind when compared to things like what we are going to buy or where we going to go when we get paid.  I will give 7 reasons below why I think that investing should be at the forefront of your mind.

Investing Definition

It is good to have a definition of what it means to invest and a Google search returns it is to, "expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit or material result by putting it into financial schemes, shares, or property, or by using it to develop a commercial venture" or "devote (one's time, effort, or energy) to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result."  Now, we have added a definition of what it means to invest, now I provide some context in the form of reasons of why we need to invest.  The order of reasons are not necessarily of any significance as all are important and/or intertwined.

Reason #1

The only way that I know of for those dollars you make to become, potentially, more dollars, is if you invest those dollars in something that will turn a profit.  If all you ever do is spend every dollar you make, you will remain in a perpetual cycle where you never ever get ahead.  If you tack on the fact that all dollars are already spent due to debt, you are one paycheck away from financial ruin.  Also don't misconstrue saving as investing though some degree of saving is good, it is not the same as investing.  Savings alone doesn't lead to capital appreciation, especially if left in the bank today where interest rates are minuscule, as it doesn't even keep up with inflation.  You have to think in terms of setting aside money for the sole purpose of making one stack of hundreds become two stacks through compounding and so on like I mentioned in my post, How To Be Wealthy By Automating Finances.  Investing takes sacrificing some of today's pleasures, but not necessarily to buy tomorrow's pleasures, but instead just to keep the lifestyle to which we have grown accustomed.

Reason #2

The government, your company, even your own family, will not or be reluctant to, take care of you, especially if it is causing undue economic strain to them.  If you do not yet see the writing on the wall, the entitlements, the pensions, the safety net programs are under attack by the powers that be.  Just listen to the news around the possibility of insolvency of Social Security and pensions, the broken and the reneged upon promises, even after you did your part only to have the terms and conditions change when your time comes due.  Programs that used to get funding to help those in need in our communities are being defunded or outright shut down.  Also, families are under extreme pressure as well to make ends meet and to meet with circumstance where taking care of loved ones with no resources to bring to bear is also an extremely taxing situation where economic choices get made maybe to the contrary of others liking.  So, if you really think you can count solely on these programs like a Social Security, or a pension, or safety net to take care of you, or family members to just take care of you, than God bless you.

Reason #3

If you every want a chance to have economic freedom, i.e. retirement from the rat race, then you have to invest today's dollars.  The sooner you start to do that the better your chances for achieving that.  In reason #1, I explained what happens if you don't invest anything. I personally have lost 15 years or more of investing opportunity, and as a result I am paying for that today because I have to invest even more to have a realistic chance at a retirement.  If you are spending every dollar, you will never have economic freedom and you may be content with that until you read further reasons below.  I think even the best of us will grow wary of the 9 to 5 after 30 years and yearn to just relax or do something different on our own terms and schedule.  If you haven't invested wisely and consistently over time, I am pretty sure you will not have that as a choice.

Reason #4

Wage growth has remained pretty stagnant for the past 35 years or more for many Americans, unless you are the CEO or an executive in a Fortune 500 company, but guess what hasn't remained that way - the cost of goods and services.  The dollars we earn today are losing more and more of their purchasing power thanks to the Federal Reserve and others in the powers that be.  Our wages are not growing as fast as inflation.  So, imagine what happens when our j-o-b (just over broke) isn't paying us any more than we made 10 years ago and our only source of income is our j-o-b, but the cost of goods and services continue to go up, and we have invested little or no money to attempt to expand our money supply, or increase our cash flow because we don't understanding that investing stuff, or we got to much stuff we want to consume today that our money is tied up in.  I think it is easy to see that if you haven't already, you will begin to have to make tough economic choices about what is really essential for your lifestyle and other things, like depreciating assets, may need to be pushed aside.  I just hope the things that are pushed to the side aren't life insurance, long term care, and continual commitment to financial investment.  As these are tools to sustain yourself and your family.

Reason #5

The labor you provide be it physical/mental may be more short lived then you anticipated and yet economic realities remain.  You may plan today to work for the next 35 to 40 years - good for you and that level of commitment is applaudable, but what if you are struck with disability well before that time has passed that prevented you from working to earn a living.  What would hold you over?  Maybe savings for awhile, but this could run out.  Then what?  This is why it is important to invest in assets that provide continual cash flow.  However, their are also investment that can be done in protection products, and having financial literacy will expose you to know to invest in things like disability insurance, especially if you job is more physically oriented, life insurance, and long term care.  When unfortunate events like this occur, these type of financial products will sustain you and your family from some forms of financial catastrophe.

Reason #6

Your skills and abilities may become obsolete.  The way technology is advancing, pretty soon robots will have all the jobs 😆, then hopefully all the points I made up to now on reasons you need to invest will be mute as you won't have to do a thing yet production will go on.  However, until that time, if you have not invested in upgrading your skills or creating another source of income should one source be cut off, you could be in trouble.  In today's society, I think it is important to be multi-faceted and able to do a lot of things which make you an asset.  So always try to be open to avenues where you can develop new skill sets.  This can help keep food on the table!

 

Reason #7

It gives you pleasure to invest.  You just get it and don't necessarily need the doom and gloom of some of the above reasons to see why it is necessary and useful to invest.  You do it because you love it.  What more to it is there?
 

In closing

Times are changing rapidly for the working American and more financial responsibility for your own well being is on your shoulders.  I hope I have given some persuasive reasons why you should invest.  Throughout this blog post, I didn't mentioned besides, life and disability insurance, and long term care, what exactly you should be investing in; however, the definition above mentions profit, so if what you decide to invest in doesn't produce a profit and mitigate concerns around those first 6 reasons above, then you need to find something different to invest in that can.  I have some thoughts on things that can in the links below which I hope you read, but when it comes to investing do what is comfortable for you, but do it soon and often.  I realize that investing has a cost and I have listed 7 reasons why I believe we need to invest and those reasons are why the cost is worth paying, at least for me, but know there is also a cost if you don't and you may not like the latter.  In the picture above, the answer should always, always be yes to the need to invest.

    How To Be Wealthy By Automating Finances
    Loyal3 10 Stock Plan
    What is Options Trading Drawback?
    Investments for 2017
    What to Invest In 401K?
    Why You Need Life Insurance


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