Where on earth do we find a safe harbor for our hard-earned money these days? The answer depends on whom you ask for advice. If your daughter’s boyfriend is hitting you for a loan so they can rehab and flip the cutest little place downtown, you might wonder if either of them have been charting the real-estate market lately. Your full-service broker who’s hard-selling you on a blue chip recommendation may have your best interests in mind, or need to lessen his firm’s exposure to a company behind the times and trending unfavorably. George Clason tells the story in his classic book, The Richest Man in Babylon, of a poor soul who places his substantial savings into the hands of someone who has grand designs but little education. The poor soul is now poorer, and likely depressed.
Wise Up
There is no excuse for remaining ignorant about financial matters. If you work for a wage, you owe it to yourself to learn the intrinsic value of that wage, and the potential energy behind it. If you have accumulated savings in a low interest bearing account and are not paying attention to the various rates of inflation, deflation, stagflation and hyperinflation, you will likely lose more than you’d like to. If you haven’t already, just ask someone older what it feels like. The first step to growing and keeping a fortune is, and always has been, to leverage your skills and earn an income. The crucial second step is to put some of that income away and become knowledgeable enough to source investments for it, so that your savings don’t idle but work for you.