Nowadays is trendy for random people to shout all across the internet that you can do this and that to earn money fast. Usually, this requires purchasing Bitcoin or another kind of cryptocurrency or investing in a specific stock ticker.
Well, let me tell you a secret: it doesn’t work that way. Or at least not for most of us. I think there are only a couple of (legal) ways to earn money fast: 1) generational wealth 2) luck. Yes, pure luck, because the stock deal of your life isn’t going to happen when you’re ready for it. You might have even missed it already.
With generational wealth, it’s a bit different (I guess): your family is already wealthy and covered all the bases for you in advance. Let me get this clear: there’s nothing wrong if you see that person in yourself.
What does it mean to earn money fast?
We as humans have always been impatient in terms of money. People turn down job offers because the salary is 10% below their anticipated worth. Well, what about if you prove that you’re worthy and earn it in 6 months or a year? Yes, your friend from school already earns 20% on top of your desired 10%, but here’s the catch: we all run at our own pace.
We always seek to get a high salary or a successful business within few months or a year. Usually, this comes from people that rarely understand the nature of the skills that are required to earn that salary or to build that kind of business.
Instead, we’ve all heard stories about a friend of a friend that invested in Bitcoin last month in the dip and now they are millionaires. We’ve also heard of a friend of a friend that works in company XX who is doing *insert random job here* and earns 5 times more than you do.
Want to be that person who earns money fast? Make the effort to understand more about the job, learn the skills, and then sell them for a lot of money.
Having money vs. Being wealthy
For most folks, there isn’t a big difference between having money and being wealthy. In most cases, those that earned their money fast aren’t the wealthy ones. Nowadays we’re so tempted to live to the maximum throwing everything we have, that we forget to take a breath.
To me, wealth comes with the ability for the individual to make choices like taking a job or not, working on a project, or taking the month off. It’s the ability to take time off and re-think the long-term strategy of your business without worrying about making a living during that time. But it’s not only about the working life of the individual.
Most people who earned their money fast, are also spending them at the same pace. We rarely can say the same for wealthy people. They usually can afford to take the time to think few steps forward and then execute their plan.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually isn’t true at all
Whenever friends are posting on social media about this new app that would give them 10% on top of their investment, I’m always skeptical. I reach out, ask what that app is and how it’s doing it, usually, there isn’t a clear answer. Either the person didn’t make the effort to understand how it works, or it’s just not written anywhere.
With this kind of sketchy scheme, if you’re not among the first 2-5 people, you would rarely have the chance to even make it even. If at all. There are various kinds of multi-level marketing and I doubt any of them actually works.
The best way to deal with that kind of sketchy scheme is to not get involved in the first place. The farther you stood away, the better. Most of them sound very cool and promising and “this one really works”, but let me tell you a secret: it doesn’t!
Don’t fall into the “Now it’s not the right time” trap
It might sound stupid, but there’s no right time. The folks trying to time the market rarely succeed. The reason for this is that it’s not possible to predict what will happen in a day or within a decade. This topic is widely discussed in “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham, to which I wrote a book review some time ago.
People often think that if the stock market is going down, they shouldn’t buy in – they should wait for it to reach rock bottom and then buy. My question here is: do you know where is the rock bottom? Is there a formula or a clue the stocks leave when they hit the bottom? No? Are you sure?
Historically, the market always went up after it went down. Every new recession is followed by growth. The same happened last year in March – everyone went crazy and sold. Well, the folks that actually bought stocks at that time did earn money fast. However, being a witness of such an event is pure luck, as the window of opportunity is tiny.
Why you’re not earning money fast?
The short answer is “because it rarely works that way”.
Do you remember how many times you’ve made excuses on why you should not start saving money and investing now? Do you remember how many times you neglected your financial freedom? Probably the answer is “a lot” or something in the same ballpark.
Every time you tell yourself the same lie that now it’s not the time or you just get lazy about it, the moment you would earn money gets delayed. Opening a brokerage account usually takes between an hour and a day. To earn money fast, you just need to make your stock research and purchase the stocks.
The second option is always to buy shares of the S&P500 and call it a day. The S&P500 historically grew quite a lot in the past 30 years, just google it and find out by yourself. Do it today and thank yourself in a year. It would probably be a small earning, but it’s still an earning, right? Imagine what it would be in 5 years. What about in 10 or 20 years?
How to earn money (fast)? Like, really?
Firstly, make sure your emergency fund is in place. Then choose a brokerage firm and make sure you made your research regarding their fees. Then, do as I described in the previous paragraph – make your stock research and buy the stocks.
To make it clear: by doing your own research before buying stocks, you’re making sure that the company you plan to pour money is worthy. Always do it, even if you think you know the company. There are things about companies that would surprise you.
Benjamin Graham advises that we should buy stocks with the idea to hold them for 5-10 years. This is the real deal behind an investment. A company can have its ups and downs, but if you look at your portfolio regularly, you will know what to do and when.
With this approach, you would rarely earn money fast, but you would definitely start to earn money right away. In the long run, your actions today would make a real difference in your future.
Did you fall into the multi-level marketing trap? How many times did you make excuses to not start investing now? Let us know down in the comments!
Featured image credits: Anna Tarazevich, Crypto Crow, Karolina Grabowska, Helena Lopez
