Investment in your Financial Future is Good

Educational Investment. We all know people who didn't finish high school. Often these same people find that many opportunities in the working world aren’t open to them unless they have a high school diploma. Many end up going back to school later in life to get their GED. They are obliged to do this while working full time. Some finish, some don't.

The problem is that they never viewed high school as an investment in themselves while they were there. Only after some sorry experiences do they realize that they missed an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge. Poor investing usually leads to poor payoffs.

Lots of people don’t go to college. Sadly, a college diploma is almost a requirement these days if you expect to be upwardly mobile. I had my sights set on a college education long before I graduated high school.

I attended college classes and paid for them myself. This was a sound investment in my future. At the time, I couldn’t think of a better way to ensure my future success. My bank account was meager, but those thousands of dollars would be well spent at the university.

Some of my friends went off to start work and earn money while I was attending school for 5 years. Having money to spend is gratifying, but I knew that having a college degree would be more satisfying in the long run. I delayed gratification and sat in school for years. I spent thousands to put myself through school while my friends made thousands.

When I first started at the university, I didn’t know what I was going to study. I didn’t even have any idea of what I was going to do after college, but I knew that I needed a degree in order to show others that I had a "can do" spirit and was capable of achievement.

There isn’t much I use today from my college days, but the diploma has been most useful as evidence that I had paid the price of admission to a professional career. Getting my degree is something that I have never regretted.

Reliable transportation. You might not think of your car as an important investment, but it really is. Perhaps the most important part about having a car is that it takes you to work so you can earn money.

A long time ago I had a secretary who had an unreliable car. She was late to work several times because her car would fail to start and run for her. I depended on her to be in the office to help me get things out the door. After several occasions where she was late because of the car, I had a discussion with her.

My encouragement went something like this: "You have to invest some money in your car to fix the problem so it can take you to work where you earn money. It is a valuable tool for earning money."

I don’t think my characterization of the automobile came as any surprise to her, but I don’t think she looked at her car that way. Soon after our discussion, she came to work in a new car. I assumed that she went overboard with my advice and really fixed the problem well.

It wasn’t too long afterwards that she gave me notice that she was leaving to start her own business. She was going to clean houses as a self-employed individual.

So, she really did take my advice to heart! She acquired reliable transportation so she could make it from house to house throughout the week in support of her own new business venture. She realized how important having a reliable car was to a better future.

Done with Investment, take me back to Are You Frugal?