Invest in what is unique, the number of apartments in, or with a view on, Palm Jumeirah is limited. Location, location, location. Real opportunities are available when the thing isn't popular, if everyone finds it cool then it's too late. Online business is about maximizing profit and value by building a brand with little money while startups are more like lotteries. Some people are forced to sell good businesses because they are in a stressful situation, like a divorce where you risk to loose your house. Banks don't care if you loose your money as long as they make some, no matter if you're an individual or a company. Once you look deeper, past the gilding and the marble, you go back to a S&P ETF. The PE ratio, for Price-Earnings, should be kept around 20 to 25 except for when there is a huge momentum. If you are fortunate enough, Dubai is one of the best places to live, as well as Bangkok if you have less money, and you can live the roughest months abroad if you want too. No matter how big your numbers look like, there is always bigger. The person who is right about your asset value is the one who is ready to buy it at a good price. Owning assets that generate 15% per year is good, but selling them for 2x the original price after 4 years is better. It is easier to have a higher ROI when you have little money to invest. If all you want is 10%, simply invest in a S&P ETF.
Thami KabbajRaising a child is expensive, about $400k over 20 years, which would get you about $800k if invested in the S&P 500. 65% of people don't have kids because child-care costs are too high and grow twice as fast as inflation. The West's birthrate is plummeting and far from the 2.1 required for stability, especially Korea with 0.7. 15% of people don't have kids because they can't find a partner, partly due to dating apps led to a dating burnout. Over the last 20 years, people who want kids went from being 80% of the population to only 50%. If the trend of people not having kids continue, less people will enter the workforce which will lead to a worker shortage. A healthy balance is 4 workers per retiree by it's expected to reach 2 for 1, leading to more burden on the workers, especially taxes, leading to a higher cost of running a business and inflation again. Social measures like helping parents financially isn't enough. The effect of a declined birthrate will deeply change the world.
Andrei JikhUnderstand your value per hour, do you generate more revenue by actively managing your investments or by working a job and investing passively? Don't confuse inflation with currency devaluation, the former is the raising cost of daily goods (2.5% per year) and the latter is mainly money printing (6.6% per year). Don't invest in things with less than 6.6% of yearly return. Volatility and risk are different things, investing isn't risky but is volatile while keeping money in a bank isn't volatile but is risky. Gold protects from currency devaluation but isn't a tool to get rich. The main gold buyers aren't governments but jewelers. Liquidity is a premium, consider it when comparing investments types and always keep some liquidity available. ETFs (Exchange-Traded Fund) are better than isolated stocks if you are not an active, short-term, and knowledgeable investor. Balance your portfolio to have as little stress as possible. Not investing means halving your asset value every 10 years. Make your money work as hard for you as you've worked to get it. Master your emotions, so-called specialists appearing in various media are looking to sell you their stuff based on fear. There are so many strategies and luck factors that you shouldn't compare yourself with others nor copy them blindly, see the whole picture. Be realist with your expected returns, the stock market may have a few outstanding years but the next ones may be hit by a correction. When is it enough money? Does it allow you to live as en entrepreneur? To live without working? To live well without working? Anything more shouldn't come at the cost of a fulfilling life.
Théophile Eliet