Investing and money is a major topic on most people minds these days. Adding to that fact there is no shortage of people out there trying to make money showing you the secrets to investing and how to get rich investing for a price. Normally the only one who really makes any money from these programs is those selling them.
Looking at the basics of investing we find that there are no set rules. Don’t confuse that with the set rules that must be followed when purchasing stock, bonds, buying a house and such. Those are just the details of making it happen. Investing doesn’t have any real set rules, you cant just write down a set of rules and people get rich. Investing is actually an art form. Like most art forms it takes knowledge, experience, practice, and lots of hard work. Like art it also takes commitment. Investing is a lifelong practice and commitment with goals along the way.
What area you decide to invest in, stocks, bonds, precious metals, crypto, real estate, and such, there is one thing that is always consistent and will directly affect your money. Regardless what you invest in, people and society will always dictate how any investment will do. Why didn’t I say data or the investment itself? People and society have a very profound and direct affect on any investment. For example, if you decide to invest in stock, how the company is doing is what determines if you make or lose money. What affects the company more than anything? People run the company; those people will either make or break the company.
Should I mention Enron? The company broke because of greedy people running the company. Investors lost a lot of money due to people. What about Krispy Kreme? Society obsession with weight, health, and healthy food almost destroyed the company just because of one report on how unhealthy the doughnuts are to consume. Making matters worse, people at the top almost finished the company because they got involved in fuzzy business practices.
People and society can and always will affect your investments. However, don’t look at just the negative. Are the people running the investment worthy of your money? Would society accept such a new idea or product? These and many more questions you should ask yourself before throwing money into an investment. They can also affect them in a very positive way as well. Just look at how many businesses got started. They started with an idea someone had and they grew it into an opportunity that it still making some investors kick themselves for not having enough forward insight to invest early.
Society and people are slow in changing, so remember that, when you are thinking of an investment which involves a drastic change in the behavior of society. Like investing in a drive thru funeral home isn’t probably a good idea even though our society loves fast and convenient services and products. Don’t laugh, someone already tried it.