Investing has been a practice for thousands and thousands of years. Maybe not exactly like how we know it today, but in one form or another, humans have been investing their effort, resources, or wealth in things with the hope of getting more out of it for a long time.

This is simply a smart thing to do, and all it requires is a little care, knowledge, and some patience. The number one reason why people lose money with investing is that they don’t follow those three steps.

Some Initial Tips

What do I mean by a “little care?” I’m talking about being smart with your money. Don’t go investing in something you are sure is going to crash. Or, don’t invest in something you aren’t sure about.

If you stick to things that are safe to invest in, you are almost guaranteed to make money. Sure, you may not make as much money as fast as you may like, but that’s where the third tip comes in.

You need patience! Many times, investing is all about biding your time for the value of a commodity or stock to go up. If you invest in something that is known to fluctuate, then all you need is patience.

Don’t be scared if it dips and you seem like you are losing money if what you invested in is known to have valleys and peaks. If you are patient enough it will eventually bounce back up and you can sell then and make some money.

Finally, you just need a little knowledge. Now, I’m not talking about knowing for sure that something is going to go up in value. More like how if you were playing blackjack on a Jackpot Capital casino download, you wouldn’t bet on a 12, but you might on a 19. You have a decent chance of making some money!

And this is another thing that you should be careful about. Don’t throw all of your eggs in one basket so to speak. Don’t invest your life savings in something and expect to be able to retire off of it.

Sure, it’s possible that you could end up making the “big bucks” and be able to retire at 40. However, this is most likely not going to be the case. It is more likely that you will just end up losing the money you invested, and you will be worse of than you started.

Instead, you should be looking at investing as something to add a little bit to your savings, or maybe to help you pay for a trip you always dreamed of going on, but could never afford.

Investing should only be done with money you don’t need. Anyone who goes into investing thinking they are going to make a living off of it either has to be very experienced, working at an investing firm, or rather stupid.

It might seem like I am dragging this point on, but it is incredibly important. You could ruin your life by investing wrong and losing your money. Only invest money you are willing and able to lose (even if you wouldn’t be happy to lose it).

What can you learn from investing?

Investing isn’t just a way to make money, you can actually learn quite a lot about how the world, how economics, and how society works by learning about how to invest, why you should invest, and what things are worth investing in.

For instance, if you learn about a given commodity, you could learn a lot about its place in the world, what it is used for, and what problems face modern society when it comes to goods.

Many people may not realize it, but we still do have to worry about how well the crop yields were, how much available raw materials there are, and how easy those materials are to extract and refine.

Those may seem like things of the past, but it’s just because we are separated from them now. We as people generally don’t see a difference between these things, but they have a large impact on the world we don’t see.

A very big change that happened in recent years was the global silicon shortage. This is an example of how society is still affected by mundane things like the collection of resources from the ground.

Silicon is used in so many electronic devices, that this shortage manifested in a spike in electronics prices, and global shortages on electronic components such as CPUs, GPUs, and many other computer parts.

Another thing you can learn from investing is the value of money. Investing is like gambling in a way. You can never be sure if you will win, but it’s experience, patience, and careful care with your money that will make you successful or not.

You will learn that sometimes you are going to lose, and that’s okay. As I said before, just don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and you should be fine. Other times, you will win, and the more experience you get, the better you will get at winning.

Financial Security

Another big reason to invest your money rather than just save it, is to have some financial security. Life is full of twists and turns, and you can never really be sure when you may need to pay more money than you expected.

For example, heaven forbid, someone has to have a rather costly medical procedure done. This can leave you with a rather eye widening large bill depending on what exactly the procedure was, and where you live.

Or, maybe you get a fine for whatever reason, and now you have to pay or risk prosecution. If you don’t have any money squared away, then this could leave you in a rather sticky situation that you weren’t prepared for.

In addition to financial security, investing also provides you with a means of financial independence. It could allow you to have money for when you need it, without having to turn to the handouts of other people.

I’m not just talking about bills anymore, financial independence is also about being able to make purchases that you would want without having to worry about large loans, money from parents, relatives, or friends, or just simply not being able to afford things.

For instance, if you wanted to buy a house, this is a huge purchase to make in your life. Most people would probably take out a mortgage, and not actually end up owning their house for 30+ years.

If you are able to wisely invest your money, you could instead build up your wealth, and eventually be able to buy it outright, or at least buy it much sooner than you would have been able to otherwise.

Another example would be buying a car. I have heard many teenagers fawn over a car they would want, but of course, they don’t have the money for it.

Being young is a great time to start investing. You are still with your parents, so you don’t have to worry about being on the streets if you lose money. So, if you are young, it’s worthwhile to learn how to start investing what little money you have.

You could end up being able to pay for college without the need for a loan if you play your cards right. And, as I said, you still have your parents to fall back on as you are still a dependent of theirs.