What is investing?
An investment is an asset or item acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation. Moreover, appreciation refers to an increase in the value of an asset over time. When an individual purchases a good as an investment, the intent is not to consume the good but rather to use it in the future to create wealth.
For the majority of our lives, we are told to save money; however, no one tells me/us to invest our money. Unfortunately, most women I know don’t invest their money. Additionally, I have learned that most women don’t invest because they don’t understand that world and they don’t know where to invest.
Fortunately, I was blessed to be introduced to a woman that was an investor and was willing to show me how to do it as well. For example, before I began investing, my mentor had me read Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest In That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki. Without reading this book, I would have struggled with my first investments and may have made a lot of mistakes.You can purchase the book here.
Now, as a successful investor myself, I’m going to tell you to read this book first: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! You can purchase the book here.
Rich Dad Poor Dad will give you the foundation and help you understand the basics of investing. Don’t be in a hurry; take the stairs and not the elevator when it comes to investing your money. Specifically, these books will make you think and question what is important. For example, do you want to be Happy or Rich? To my surprise, when I ask that question, most people say they want to be happy. If you’re curious, I want to be RICH!
The top three reasons why people invest their money is because they want to be:
- Secure
- Comfortable
- Or Rich
Is this you?
After reading the two books, I learned that you must get your mind aligned so you can receive and understand the investing world. Before you begin, it’s important to understand that investing is different from saving.
Specifically, saving implies parking your money in a safe and accessible account, without significant opportunity for growth. On the other hand, investing involves more risk but also provides the opportunity to build wealth.
To be a successful investor, it is important to understand and follow the principles that can help you balance risk with potential reward.
After reading the two books you will be able to:
- Set your investment goals
- Have more confidence when it comes to investing
- Be closer to building wealth for yourself and your family
Throughout the book, you will see Mental – Attitude questions. Specifically, these questions make you think and look at money from a different perspective. For example, Robert and I came from a family that saw the world in which wealth was not meant for everyone. In fact, all I heard growing up was that we couldn’t buy many things because there wasn’t enough money to “pass” around.
While it is difficult, the challenge is to remind yourself that another kind of world exists- a world where wealth is abundant and for everyone to have. Therefore, we need to keep an open mind to see a world of both possibilities.
So the mental – attitude questions are:
- Can you see that two different worlds of money exist- a world with a lack of money and a world of too much money?
- Yes ____
- No ____
- If you currently live in a world where money is scarce, are you willing to see the possibility of you living in a world of too much money?
- Yes ____
- No ____
Be aware, be informed!