Be the Early Bird

It's another day.  I've watched a bit of television...mostly CNBC.  I have to see how stocks are doing.  I don't invest a lot because I'm far from wealthy but I would like to learn.  There are so many rules and ways to invest but often the middle to lower class population don't really learn about them.  I'm not sure why.  Possibly because the parents are busy trying to make their ends meet.  Possibly the parents never really learned about saving and investing.  Sure, you can have a savings account but if you spend everything in it every month, it's not going to be beneficial.  After I graduated school, I probably let a decade of investing slip away from me because I decided to live paycheck to paycheck, buying all the things I thought were "needs".  Most were "wants".  Doing so even though I learned this a long time ago in a business class.  "Wants" are unlimited.  No matter what you have, you can always want more.  This is such a simple statement but very true.  When you grow up with a modest lifestyle, the moment you have a steady paycheck can be a bit overwhelming.  You begin to think about all the things you can buy or if you decide to save, it's only so you can purchase something larger.  Sure, not everyone goes through this but this was what I did.  I always wanted the American Dream...to be wealthy and happy...thinking that the two things correlated.  But you can be wealthy and not happy.  You can be happy and not wealthy.  With saving and investing, it's about time.  You want to allow more time for your savings and investments to grow so you should begin saving and investing as early as possible.  When you're young, you can still enjoy life but you should still save and invest because smaller amounts can grow large with more time than larger amounts with less time.  I hope that's understandable.  Save and invest when you're younger and let time work for you instead of waiting to do it later in life when you will have to race against time.