> Why waste you time? Just put it all on blackjack and keep
> doubling your money. Simple as that. Proof that compulsive
> gambling is healthy and has no consequences whatsoever.
Investing is NOT gambling and it's what EVERYONE needs to be doing. When I trade stock options or do my day trading, that is the gamble...my long term portfolio is strong, safe and stable.
If you're not investing, you're beyond a fool...you think social security is going to help you? You think a pension will carry you? Inflation is typically 2-5% per year...the stock market averages 10% so you stay ahead of inflation.
Example: Grandfather bought me 100 shares of PPL @ $15/share (Pennsylvania Power & Light...my electric company) because I was interested in trading after doing the fake stock market game in 6th grade....he wanted to show me what a real stock was like. We put the stock certificate in the safe deposit box, had it reinvest the dividends (the money they pay you to reward you for investing in the company), and forgot about it. Everytime the company paid a dividend, instead of getting a check, they would automatically buy more shares with that money.
Fast forward. The stock is now worth over $50/share (I think it closed at $54.00 today). Reinvesting, stock splits, etc all made it grow to a tremendous amount of money....it's one of the largest stocks in my portfolio.
What if my grandfather hadn't started investing? What if he didn't tell my parents to invest for me? What if he didn't advise them to buy bonds when I was born? My family would be like every other middle class household....barely making it every month. An unexpected large expense like replacing the roof, a car getting totaled, a water heater dying, etc would be a major problem and would probably require financing.
What about college? For putting a few bucks aside every month, my grandfather is paying CASH to send 4 grandchildren to college (you do the math for a $30,000 average college expense). He financed my businesses, he offered to pay cash for my certifications, etc.
He's not a financial genius. He's just a smart man....and he's passed that knowledge and thought process to the rest of the family.
My parents are writing checks left and right to help my bummy ass out with large expenses (read: $900 root canal, $800 crown, $200 more dental work tomorrow) because they made investments and were smart.
Going further down the line, *I* have a significant amount of money in the bank. When I turned 18, my parents cashed in the bonds they bought when I was born and handed me a couple thousand...they said "you should invest it...but it's yours. Do whatever." Obviously I did the smart thing and invested it. I'm going to follow the same footsteps...and I fully intend to pass the $500,000 mark by 30 and $1,000,000 mark by 50....discounting any large income (inheritence, lottery, etc).
So in summary....if you're comparing investing to gambling, that's what separates the wealthy from the poor. They get it and you don't.
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