How do you make financial decisions?

[Dave A]

I started the survey ... however stopped after the 5th question.

I am self employed ... I would take the R3k or R30k right now ... invest it in my business ... the beuty about being self employed is you determine the growth.

So if you get an extra R3k cash into your business today, you will turn it into an extra R30k cash in a year's time that would not have been made anyway if you had not put in that extra R3k?

[Blurock]

@ian

I am self employed ... I would take the R3k or R30k right now ... invest it in my business ... the beuty about being self employed is you determine the growth.

Exactly my answer! I can buy and sell 10 times and reap the profits by the time I get the increased amount promised at the end of the period.
Many similar studies have been done with children and dogs where they have to not eat the yummy, because it will double when the lady comes back.

I still don't have an answer for my booze account that keeps on growing despite the increasing cash back from empties.

[adrianh]

I will take the higher figure in the future - I don't have to do anything whatsoever to get that cash - Anything free is a bonus thus a bigger bonus later is worth more.

This is all provided that I am not dead broke and need money just to get by!

[ians]

So if you get an extra R3k cash into your business today, you will turn it into an extra R30k cash in a year's time that would not have been made anyway if you had not put in that extra R3k?

It all talk ... like the insurance company that I invested in at 16 years old ... everyone said buy insurance ... buy life policies ... yeah right ... all it took was one crooked salesman to take a multimillion rand policy shuffle a few things around ... add a bit of life cover ... a motor vehicle accident a few years later and man did all that money disappear faster that I could say Jack Frost.

Come on Dave you of all people should know there is no such thing as a free ride.

By the way if I put R3000 fuel into my vehicle I make a lot more than R30k profit in a month

[Justloadit]

Also thought about the same thing about R3K now or later, and investing in my business. Been doing this for years, but one bad decision in the business burnt holes in the stock pile.
At some stage in life, when the bones start to creak a little, one has to start throttling back on working hard to get cash.
This is when this type of income then becomes attractive. Do nothing and there is a return. Similar to buying shares in a decent company who pays dividends every year, why work hard to get a return which is more than ample to maintain your lifestyle.
Of course everything is relative, how you invested from an early age, to how you managed your income and what investments you made, and of course little loses in your ventures over time, will yield you a decent income in your retirement years.

With inflation so low in the 1st world countries, and interest rates close to 0%, one has to look around at a safe returns on investment , as a loss could be catastrophic, because there is no time left to recoup a severe loss.

[ians]

The best advice I ever got was to invest a small amount of money over a long period of time ... which I did (at 16 years old) I took out and endowment policey with Sanlam for R 80 in 1982 ... all it took was a crooked broker and I dont even have a cent to show for it ... just imagine what it would be worth today (2021) ... I dont trust anyone.

Another concern with investing ... especially in SA ... been watching discussion with regards to the future of SA ... pension funds etc ... blatant theft of state funds ... R90 million unaccounted for by the health minister (Mkhize) and money being channeled to kids business.

Are you investing in SA?

[Blurock]

Investing in a business or product that generates a residual income is ideal.
After many years of R&D, trial and error and being done in by unscrupulous shareholders, I now have a product that does just that.
A small amount generated every month adds up as the business expands.
However, there is no free lunch. You still have to work at it to see that systems work 100% and that customers are satisfied.
They are the ones attracting more customers for me.

As a conservative investor, I would previously have patiently waited for the interest to add up to the higher amount at the end of the period.
I have since realised that my pension would never be sufficient to live on, so I invested my pension in a business and today I am reaping the benefits.
I will continue working until I'm 100 but I am enjoying it and I discover and experience new things every day.

The alternative would be to sit on a stoep of and old age home and worry about the bank's interest rates.
I just cannot imagine myself in that situation.

[adrianh]

A friend of mine made quite a lot of money selling all sorts of laser cut stuff on consignment. He is a very religious person so many of the products were themed that way. His biggest client was a church that seemed to move a lot of his stuff. Sales tapered off and one day he went to the church himself to go and investigate (his employee would normally go to replenish stock) - When he got there he found that his rack was full of KNOCK-OFF stock made by somebody else. When he asked the church about this they said that the thought it would be OK because it is for a good cause (themselves) and that they paid the other guy less.

The bottom line is still that no matter what you do to earn money - you have to keep an eye on it - there are always people who will happily take advantage of you.

[mightytrader]

"No matter what you do to earn money - you have to keep an eye on it" - Couldn't agree more on this buddy!