The greatest benefit of investing is the ability to cultivate a 'sense of security for the future'
When people talk about investing, it often turns into conversations like
“How much did you make?”
“What should I buy to make a profit?”
“What’s the yield percentage?”
Of course, since we invest to grow our money, those things are important too.
I joined a securities company right after graduation and have been investing for about 10 years now.
I have experienced various types of investments, not just financial ones, but also real estate and crypto assets.
And above all,
I love investing more than eating. Haha.Having continued to invest for nearly 10 years, there is something I have been thinking about again recently.
The greatest benefit of investing isn’t just
about increasing your assets.For me, the biggest benefit of investing is
being able to cultivate a ‘sense of security for the future’ little by little with my own hands.Today, I would like to write about that.
Does financial anxiety disappear if you have an income?
When I was working as a company employee, I had the peace of mind that came with
“receiving a salary every month.”
But at the same time, I also had anxieties like
“What if I can no longer work?”
“What will happen if I quit this company?”
“If I have a child, will I be able to keep working the same way I do now?”
So, if I quit being an employee and start earning money on my own, will that anxiety disappear?
I don’t think so.
Even if I work for myself and my income increases, I still have anxieties like
“How long will this income last?”
“Will I be able to earn the same amount next year?”
Ultimately, I feel that
financial anxiety about the future cannot be completely eliminated just by knowing ‘how much I am earning now.’
Financial anxiety can only be resolved with money
It might sound a bit blunt, but there are parts of
financial anxiety that can only be resolved with money.
Of course, it is also important to change how you face your anxiety.
Having a mindset that believes “it will work out” is also important.
But if you only have 100,000 yen in savings, I think it’s difficult to try to convince yourself that
“I’ll be fine in my old age!”
“I’ll be fine even if I can’t work!”
Conversely, if you have assets that are growing even while you aren’t working,
if you have money that you are saving little by little every month,
if you are growing money for the future—this year more than last year, and next year more than this year—
just by having that fact, your feeling toward the future will change little by little.
When you invest, you can feel that you are ‘moving toward the future’
This is the feeling I like most about investing.
I invest every month.
I check my asset balance.
Of course, depending on the market, there are months when it increases and months when it decreases.
Even so, if you continue to invest with a long-term perspective,
“The me of today is properly helping the me of the future.”
I can think that.
It doesn’t mean my life will change dramatically right away.
It doesn’t mean I will suddenly become rich tomorrow.
But instead of thinking, “I’m not doing anything,” I can think,
“I am properly moving forward toward the future, one step at a time.”
This feeling has become a huge source of security for me.
Investing is not about ‘enduring the present to prepare for the future’
When people talk about investing, there is a lot of talk about
“for old age,”
“for education expenses,”
“for when something happens.”
Of course, that is important too.
But I think it’s a bit sad to invest
only because you are anxious.Because you are afraid of old age.
Because you are afraid of not being able to work.
Because you are afraid of running out of money.
Instead of investing only to prepare for a “scary future,” I invest
to create an “exciting future.”
I want to travel. I want to spend money on beauty treatments I like. I want to make lots of memories with my family.
I want to choose the work I want to do.
I want to be able to rest when I’m tired.
I want to be able to not have to continue a job I think “I hate” just for the money.
While imagining such a future, being able to think,
“For that sake, I will grow my money little by little today,”
is what I really love about investing.
Growing money is growing the future
Just because you start investing doesn’t mean your life will change immediately.
At first, it might be 10,000 yen a month.
It might be a few thousand yen.
Even when looking at the asset balance, there might be times when you think,
“Is this it?”
But those small accumulations connect to the you of 5, 10, or 20 years from now.
That is why I think,
investing seems like growing money, but isn’t it actually growing your own future?
It is not just assets that increase through investing.
“Maybe I’ll be okay if I have this much,”
“I am properly preparing,”
“I can increase it even more from here on.”
Such a sense of security and hope for your own future grow along with it.
Toward a me who can look forward to the future
When women talk about money, I hope that instead of just saying,
“I have to prepare because the future is scary,”
they can say,
“I want to grow my money because I want to make my future like this.”
I want more money.
I want to increase my assets.
I want dividends.
I want to travel.
I want to spend money on things I like.
I want to choose how I work more freely.
I think it’s okay to want all of that.
Investing is not just a technique to become rich.
For me, it is like
a remittance from the me of today to the me of the future.If you continue even a little bit at a time, the anxiety of
“I wonder if the future will be okay”
will change into
“I might be looking forward to the future.”
I believe that change is the greatest benefit of investing.
Growing money is growing security and hope for the future.
Not to be afraid of the future, but to become a me who can look forward to the future.
I intend to continue investing from here on out.