Along with a job change naturally comes a re-thinking of personal finances. What do I do with my 401k? Do I want to consider new financial avenues given that I'll also be having a baby soon? Should I move some of my savings into an IRA? I am not a financial savant, by any means, so these questions baffle me equally as much as they would the next person. I wish I could tell you what to invest your money in that would give you the absolute most return on your investment.
Then it hit me: I'm pretty sure I know what the best investment is. The one that will give you the most bang for your buck. It's a little unorthodox, but I think you'll agree with me in the end.
The best investment you can make is in yourself.
We can use mathematical algorithms to assess risk of certain kinds of financial investments, but at the end of the day, it is really out of our hands. It's not like we could have any active involvement in influencing those investments, and if we could, it would most likely be considered a white collar crime.
What we can control, however, is our own life. Okay, granted, you can't pick where you're going to work and how much you're going to get paid, but you can significantly influence it.
I'm going to use myself as an example here. In my former job, I did not have the luxury of having any of my educational endeavors paid for. Please note that I do not at all fault my former employer for this. Investing money in your associates' education can be risky on multiple levels. (They may take off for a better job; they may squander the education; etc.)
Anyway, despite the lack of financial backing, I still wanted to better myself via getting certifications and my Master's degree. These things weren't free. Far from it, actually. Just to show you how "not free" these things were, look at the breakdown of costs in getting these things. (And I'm pulling these numbers from my memory, so they might not be 100% accurate, but they're in the ballpark for sure.)
Then it hit me: I'm pretty sure I know what the best investment is. The one that will give you the most bang for your buck. It's a little unorthodox, but I think you'll agree with me in the end.
The best investment you can make is in yourself.
We can use mathematical algorithms to assess risk of certain kinds of financial investments, but at the end of the day, it is really out of our hands. It's not like we could have any active involvement in influencing those investments, and if we could, it would most likely be considered a white collar crime.
What we can control, however, is our own life. Okay, granted, you can't pick where you're going to work and how much you're going to get paid, but you can significantly influence it.
I'm going to use myself as an example here. In my former job, I did not have the luxury of having any of my educational endeavors paid for. Please note that I do not at all fault my former employer for this. Investing money in your associates' education can be risky on multiple levels. (They may take off for a better job; they may squander the education; etc.)
Anyway, despite the lack of financial backing, I still wanted to better myself via getting certifications and my Master's degree. These things weren't free. Far from it, actually. Just to show you how "not free" these things were, look at the breakdown of costs in getting these things. (And I'm pulling these numbers from my memory, so they might not be 100% accurate, but they're in the ballpark for sure.)
- PMP
- Project management course: $200
- Exam simulator: $100
- PMP book: ~$50
- PMP exam and registration: $600
- CSM
- Course and membership registration: $1000
- CSPO
- Course and membership registration: $1000
- ITIL Foundations certificate
- Book: ~$30
- Exam: ~$100
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Course: ~$500
- M.A. in Org. Leadership
- ~$11,000 after scholarships
Add up all those numbers, and we're looking at right under $15,000 in post-undergraduate education.
That's no small amount of money.
(My wife is a saint for letting me spend that much!)
But I anticipate the return on bettering myself will have a much better return than any mutual fund or annuity. I don't think I'll ever be able to quantify that return, but I can assure you that plunking down $15k this early in life will MORE than pay itself off in the salary I receive from my current and future career positions.
If you're in a place where you can spare some money in bettering yourself, do it. Especially if you're young. The younger, the better, because it will have a rolling snowball effect throughout the remainder of your career.
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