**Article was made possible by site supporter Amanda Green
Here’s Why Investing Should Be a Part of Every Budget
Far too many people see budgeting and investing as an either/or proposition. In reality, it is more like both/and. Choosing between the two is a little like choosing between a stirring wheel and tires. You need both if you hope to make any progress. Budgeting is all about keeping family finances afloat. It is about making ends meet. It is all about managing finances in the present. Investing has little to do with the present. It is all about the future. It is a way of increasing your finances and changing your circumstances down the road.
If all you ever focus on is surviving the here and now, you will never get ahead, or do better than what you are doing right now. Your budget assumes that you will make the same amount of money next month as you make this month.
Investing strives for making the future better than things are today. It is about advancing your situation and moving ahead. It goes beyond wishful thinking. Investment is a course of action that gets you from where you are to where you are going. Here is why it is so important, and how you can go about getting started:
Retirement
Not everyone wants to retire. But if that is your goal, you are going to need a lot of money put away if you hope to achieve it. By definition, retirement is the period when you voluntarily stop working to live out the rest of your life on savings and other income.
Unless you are already independently wealthy, that means you are going to have to start saving early if you want to remain in the lifestyle to which you have grown accustomed to.
The stock market is not your only option. Currency is another good investment opportunity for long-term gains. Keeping up with currency exchange rates is only one part of the equation.
Like any investment, the key is to buy low and sell high. So don’t be afraid of currencies that are currently depressed. Those are where the biggest opportunities might be hiding. It is a question of a country is on the ascendancy, not whether it has already arrived.
There are many factors to consider before making any investment. Currency need not be your only investment strategy for retirement. But there is no reason it shouldn’t be one of them.
Education
What many first-time college students fail to understand is that education is an investment that takes decades to fully pay off. Sure, there are immediate benefits of graduation. But the real benefits are long-term.
Job security is an intangible because it doesn’t mean you will never be out of work. It just means that you always have a marketable asset and finding new work in your chosen career path will be easier. Getting a temporary random job is always easier with a degree of any kind.
It is never too late to get started with educational advancement. Adding a degree is a worthwhile investment even late in your career. At the least, you can expect an increased income which can be reinvested into retirement. One other benefit is that the government will help you invest in your education. You will not get that kind of help investing in the stock market.
Family Business A family business is one of the greatest long-term investments one can make. That is because a family business is usually intended to survive and meet the needs of multiple generations.
Financial institutions see the advantages of family businesses. They are often more willing to help with the investment. But they know that it can take a while before there are substantial returns. Sometimes the first generation only succeeds in establishing the business. The real growth might come from successive generations.
Hard times can happen to anyone. A family business is a way of ensuring that your family has stability well into the future come what may.
Investing goes well beyond stocks and bonds. If you have a strong enough reason to invest, you can find a way to do it. Strong reasons include retirement, education, job security, and generational prosperity.
