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Earning, Spending, Saving, and Investing: The Four Things You Do With Money

Money Basics • Beginner Investing • 6 min

What this lesson is about

Four different jobs, one paycheck: what you do with money after you earn it determines almost everything about your financial future.

2 parts · a quick check after each · then the quiz

Part 1 of 2

Every, dollar, that, comes, into, your, life, goes, into, one, of, four, buckets:, earning,, spending,, saving,, or, investing., Mixing, these, up, is, a, costly, mistake, many, people, make., Earning, is, trading, your, time,, skills,, or, business, ideas, for, money., Think, paychecks,, freelance, work,, or, side, hustles., Spending, is, using, money, for, things, you, consume, now,, like, rent,, food,, or, a, night, out.

Saving, means, setting, money, aside, somewhere, safe, and, easy, to, access., You, usually, do, this, for, short-term, goals, or, emergencies., A, basic, savings, account, is, built, for, that,, not, for, growth., Investing, is, when, you, put, money, into, assets, like, stocks,, index, funds,, or, real, estate., You, expect, these, to, grow, over, time,, but, you, have, to, accept, the, risk, that, they, could, also, lose, value.

Where the money goesMove the three sliders. What is left is what you keep.

Quick check

Which of these best describes "saving," as distinct from "investing"?

Part 2 of 2

Insider, Angle:, The, biggest, beginner, mistake, isn't, picking, the, wrong, stock., It's, treating, savings, and, investing, as, the, same., A, typical, savings, account, often, pays, less, than, 1%, annually,, while, the, S&P, 500's, long-run, average, return, is, about, 10%, per, year, before, inflation., That, gap, makes, investing, seem, better,, but, savings, accounts, serve, a, real, purpose:, money, you, might, need, soon, shouldn’t, be, exposed, to, a, market, that, could, drop, 20%, just, when, you, need, to, withdraw, it.
Try, This:, List, your, last, 10, transactions., Label, each, as, earning,, spending,, saving,, or, investing., If, all, of, them, are, "spending,", take, note.

Quick check

Which of these best describes "investing"?

Quiz

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