5 Common Excuses for Not Investing (And How to Beat Them!)
If you aren’t investing for your future, why aren’t you? Is it because you think you don’t have time or don’t know anything about investing? The truth is, these are just a couple of the 5 common excuses for not investing we use, but there are ways to beat them.
1 I Don’t Have Time Right Now
One reason we make excuses is because we would rather spend the time doing something else, like watching television, going to the movies, or looking at Facebook. Whatever it is you do in your leisure time, you will still have plenty of time to do even if you take a little time out to invest. In fact, taking a little time to invest now will give you more time for those fun activities later. Over time, the money you invest now can help you gain interest, growing your initial investment. The more time you give your investment, the more money you will have later. Making investing a priority, rather than an afterthought, can help you generate enough money to allow you to spend more time doing what you love.
2 I Don’t Have Enough to Invest
There’s a myth that you need to have a lot of money in order to make a lot of money. But the truth is, it doesn’t take a lot of money to get started investing. In fact, nearly everyone has a few extras in their budget they could use in other ways, such as investing. In other words, not investing is a choice we make because we don’t want to give up anything. But there are ways to find the money to invest. For instance, make your lunch and take it with you to work instead of going out every day. This one act could give you enough to invest $50 a month or more toward your future. Keep track of each dollar you spend for a month and I’ll bet you can find a few ways to trim your budget enough to start investing.
3 I Don’t Know Where to Start
I always say that everyone has to start at the beginning at some point because you aren’t simply born knowing everything. Don’t let your lack of understanding hold you back. Get help. Ask questions. These are the ways we learn about what we don’t know and understand. Ask if your employer has a 401(k) plan you could be contributing to. Or, talk to a financial advisor about how to get started investing. Another way is to use a roboadvisor to help you. They can automate the entire process, which is a great help when you don’t have time or knowledge to get started.
4 I Don’t Want to Tie Up My Money
There’s a saying when it comes to money that millionaires aren’t made by investing in savings accounts. Even if some of your money is tied up in investments, it doesn’t all have to be in order to still make money from it. Put a portion of your money into interest bearing savings accounts, money market funds, and other short term investments if you are concerned about access to funds.
5 I’m Scared I Will Lose Money
Of course you don’t want to lose your money, but you already are by not investing it for your future. If you diversify when you invest by putting your money into more than one investment type, you have a much smaller chance of losing it all.
From time to time we all make excuses for not doing something we know we should do. We’re all human and it’s a part of our nature. However, don’t let these 5 common excuses for not investing keep you from being able to do what you love to do in the future. Here’s a robo-advisor review from one of our friends.
Are you using any of these excuses to avoid investing? How will you overcome it?
Kayla is a personal finance blogger in her mid-20s who loves to write about money topics of all kinds.
James is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.