Know The Critical Difference In Investment And Other Money Making System.

Investing vs. Saving

Saving is accumulating money for future use and entails no risk, whereas investment is the act of leveraging money for a potential future gain and it entails some risk. Though both have the intention of having more capital available in the future, each go about growing in a very different way.

One aspect this is most transparent is the process of saving for a down payment on a home. Many advisors will suggest parking cash in a safer investment vehicle when saving for an important major purchase. Because investing incurs a higher degree of risk, an individual must compare what implications of loss of principle would be to their future plans.

Saving and investing are often intertwined because each may have a stated yield or rate of return. Another primary difference is the federal insurance coverage on certain accounts. The FDIC offers insurance coverage for bank accounts balances up to $250,000; this type of financial guarantee is often not present in investing.

Difference Between Investment And Bet or Gamble?

In an investment, you are providing some individual or entity with funds to be put to work growing a business, starting new projects, or maintaining day-to-day revenue generation. Investments, while they can be risky, have a positive expected return. Gambles, on the other hand, are based on chance and not putting money to work. Gambles are highly risky and also have a negative expected return in most cases (e.g., at a casino).

Investment and Speculation?

Not really. An investment is typically a long-term commitment, where the payoff from putting that money to work can take several years. Investments are typically made only after due diligence and proper analysis have been undertaken to understand the risks and benefits that could unfold. Speculation, on the other hand, is a pure directional bet on the price of something, and often for the short-term.

Types of Investments You Can Make

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Most ordinary individuals can easily make investments in stocks, bonds, and CDs. With stocks, you are investing in the equity of a company, which means you invest in some residual claim to a company's future profit flows and often gain voting rights (based on the number of shares owned) to give your voice to the direction of the company. Bonds and CDs are debt investments, where the borrower puts that money to use in a pursuit that is expected to bring in cash flows greater than the interest owed to the investors.

Why Invest When You Can Save Money With Zero Risk?

As mentioned, investing is putting money to work in order to grow it. When you invest in stocks or bonds, you are putting that capital to work under the supervision of a firm and its management team. Although there is some risk, that risk is rewarded with a positive expected return in the form of capital gains and/or dividend & interest flows. Cash, on the other hand, will not grow, and may very well lose buying power over time due to inflation. Put simply, without investment, companies would not be able to raise the capital needed to grow the economy.

Conclusion

An investment is a plan to put money to work today in hopes of obtaining a greater amount of money in the future. Though that plan may not always work out and investments can lose money, it is also the primary way people save for major purchases or retirement. Ranging from stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, and modern alternative investments, the digital age has brought about easy, transparent, and fast methods of investing money.