Money makes the world go round; it might be a bit of an old cliché, but it is true that for most people it is essential to our existence, our standard of living and fulfilling a lot of our desires. If you have worked hard and saved up, have an inheritance, or are doing well at your trade or in your business, you’ll probably be torn between spending it on the possessions and activities you’ve always dreamed about, or wanting to take good care of it. Or maybe you’d like to do a little of both!
Money brings out the vultures
As soon as you make some money, you’ll be inundated with sales brochures and emails for iron-clad investments, property developments, luxury goods and services, sure-fire money-making schemes and any number of other dubious opportunities. The companies and individuals behind these schemes seem to be able to sniff you out as a likely target and home in on you with an almost supernatural ability. Some of these offers may be perfectly legitimate, but many are misleading or simply scams. The adage that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is, holds very true for this sort of communication. Read everything with a skeptic’s eye and if you do find something you like the look off, take some professional advice before investing.
Finding financial information online
There are plenty of very good websites covering all aspects of personal finance and the world of pensions and investments. As a starting point, look for sites that abide by the Financial Industries Regulation Authority (FINRA) regulations and are affiliated with bona fide financial institutions. For independent advice and perspectives on personal finance, there are websites such as dividendmantra.com that provide a lot of useful information on a wide variety of finance-related topics.
Keep it or blow it?
Entirely your decision. Free spirits will say you could die next week, so live for today and enjoy yourself now (i.e., go down to the Ferrari dealership right now). Doom-mongers will be cautioning you against any action but safe savings and investments (i.e., keep every penny, so you are secure against any downturn in your fortunes). The logical approach, as is true of so many aspects of life, is to take a line somewhere down the middle – treat yourself and your family, maybe with a dream vacation you’ve always wanted to take, but save and invest a good proportion of your cash in case you need a nest egg.
If you find yourself in the fortunate position of being able to consider what to do with your spare cash, don’t rush into anything. Take a little time to consider what you want to do, what responsibilities you may have in the near future, and how you want your money to work for you. Do some research on all the options available to you and seek expert advice on anything that isn’t clear or you aren’t sure about. Don’t take chances with your money, but use and invest it wisely to both enrich your life and give you security for the future.
