Here’s the secret most people take a lifetime to learn: investing doesn’t require money, it requires time. Right now, your baby has a potent mix of time AND a lot of admirers. Put these to work.
Start here.
Is your baby rolling into family bbqs like an A-list celeb? Odds are they’re still all that anyone wants to talk about. Great! While the people you love are up in your baby’s business, give them the opportunity to actually become your baby’s business.
Baby, Inc. Investors: Every Single Person in Your Child’s Life.
Yes, some stuffies will stand the test of time, but odds are nothing will come close to the value of an investment made now for the long term. Need a story to illustrate the power of time and compounding to the wise gifters in your life? Try this anecdote, thanks to the fabulous Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money…
Whoa.
According to Housel, if Warren Buffett had invested like many people do — started at 30 with $25 000, retired at 60, and still made his 22% returns every year — today, his net worth would be about $15 million.
Sure, we’d still take his investment advice.
BUT, because he started investing at 10 and then kept going, Warren Buffett’s fortune has roared past $100 billion.
What to take from this story? (Other than that your brilliant offspring is, hello, TEN YEARS AHEAD of Warren Buffett?!) We’re not suggesting your child become a pint-sized tycoon, but we are saying that the greatest commodity your baby has right now, other than fantastic genes and extreme cuteness, is time. Sometimes, TIME = MONEY, but right now, TIME > MONEY.
Got it? Great.
