Have you ever wondered what top 3 investments there are to give you the highest ROI?
I am often asked what is my all-time favorite asset that I love to invest in. My answer today is the same that has been for the past decades: yourself. Your number 1 asset is your brain and investing in yourself and your own education has the greatest return on your investment (ROI). In my humble opinion and here I will share my top 3 investments I believe every individual must make if they are looking for greatest returns.
Financial Education
First and foremost, I believe that you must have some most basic personal finance education to be successful in today’s world. Sadly, schools don’t teach much beyond how to balance a checkbook, which sadly most of the individuals my age and younger don’t ever use. We are online and on apps, sending money digitally and often don’t ever see or touch the cash we send or receive. Many young adults don’t even know how to write a check so the education that is being taught in many schools is simply obsolete.
Digital Money
Cash is digital and we are swiftly moving away from physical cash and checks. It’s just a matter of time when all of those papers will disappear from our lives and some type of smart wearable device will automatically put money into our accounts or take money out of them based on our action.
Of course, this appears to be quite futuristic, but it is my belief that this is where we are heading. Just take a look at all of those cashless stores and self-check out restaurants. Only 5 years ago that was impossible, but today for some areas of the world, this is the new normal. Now use your imagination to see what can be possible in five to ten years and tell me that my line of thinking is wrong! Can you seriously say that it’s not possible?
How Money Works?
Understanding how money works and systems already exist that we can all tap into and benefit from seems to be the most logical of the investments in my mind. If for nothing else, for the mere fact that, love it or hate it, we all need money, whether physical or digital, to live in today’s society. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather learn how to use something that can benefit me and my family, than ignorantly put my head in the sand and pretend it’s not there.
Our money is debt and while people know that, they don’t understand what that actually means or how to use it. Einstein said (or so I’m told, I actually never met the guy): “Compound interest is the eight wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it, he who doesn’t, pays it.”
If you can:
- recognize that money is debt.
- appreciate that debt compounds consistently.
- understand Einstein’s statement regarding compounding.
It will shift your entire view on our financial system. And that is the knowledge that 99% of individuals do not have.
But you have a power to change all that by investing in your own financial education.
Time
What do you mean invest in time? Am I missing something? Is there a stock for that?
No. No stock or app for that. But you can still invest and leverage it, if you are wise.
If your brain is your number 1 asset, then your time is your number 1 commodity. Let me explain.
Most of us waste time like we have been given 17 lifetimes to live. We aimlessly wonder around the malls, killing time. Seriously, how many of you have ever said to the store attendant when asked if you needed help that you’re fine and only killing time?
We get home only to pop on the couch and allow for a television programming to transport us away from where we are while time is ticking.
Then we claim that we are busy and don’t have time to devote to our spouse or kids, to our friends or business associates.
We say…
- that we don’t have time to exercise or eat healthy;
- enjoying the sunset or noticing the smell of leaves in the fall is a waste of time;
- no time to build long-term relationships.
Our lives are busy and we all say it. So, we keep busy, doing things that don’t matter and counting things that don’t count.
But we can stop the madness. Are you willing to try my top 2 things to get more time in your life?
- Get rid of your TV
Oh, I can already hear the gasps and protests… but, but, but, I need it!
No you don’t. No one needs a TV. It’s a distraction from life and it’s destroying your relationships and killing your brain cells. Stop it.
There are other ways to get information, if that’s your excuse for having it. Sports watching can be once in a while thing and unless you own the team, who cares who won!?! Seriously!
Instead of hours in front of the television set, spend time with your kids or your spouse.
But we watch stuff together. Isn’t that spending time?
No.
Build Relationships
When I say spend time with them, I mean talk to them. Remember when you were first in love with your spouse and all you wanted to do is look at them and hear all about their day, their thoughts, inner most feelings. Do you know any of those today?
Spend time with your kids doing something they love doing, without TV or other technology. Go for a walk. Rent a boat and go fishing. Play a board or a card game with them.
Read for pleasure or knowledge. Learn how to cook. Take a dance class. Go rock-climbing. There is just so much to do and experience in life rather than starring at a colorful box.
This type of time spending will grow your relationships and will likely increase your satisfaction with life. It may even make you healthier too.
- Buy your life back
I never understood people who spend their money on a beer in a bar, especially when they go for a drink by themselves, but refuse to spend the same amount on improving their lifestyle. It just doesn’t compute. But I’ve been told before that I’m weird and different.
Why not spend $20-30 per week to get your house cleaned instead of spending hours doing the same.
If it fulfills you and makes you happy to clean and organize, then fine. But if you hate it, why do you keep doing it? To save up a few bucks?
Let’s look at it from the mathematical standpoint. Say that it takes you 3 hours to clean your house. Say that you can earn $20 per hour. So by cleaning your own house, you’re wasting $60.
Now the question is, can you find someone who can clean your house for less than that?
The Solution
If the answer is yes and you don’t like doing it. Then hire them to help you out.
That 3 hours you can focus on working or your business or simply spending time with your family and friends. And if you get rid of the TV and ban phones, computers and other highly addictive screens at dinner, you get to have an actual real meal with a conversation with those you love the most.
I’m not saying you have a find a house keeper. I’m not saying you don’t have a good relationship with your family. You likely do.
If you find yourself strapped for time, consider delegating some of your work and leveraging some of your money to buy your life back.
For what is the money worth if you can’t buy your life back?
Business Skills
Most of us have jobs and careers. Many of us love what we do. Yet there is a large number of individuals who absolutely hate it.
Regardless where on the spectrum you fall, there is no such thing as a safe, secure job.
As such, you may wish to start your own business, part-time or full-time. And for right reason.
Business has one purpose, to generate profits and to fulfill the need, both yours (your passion and your purpose) and that of your customers and clients.
Learn To Sell
Invest in learning how to build business that grows and is profitable. Focus on number 1 skill in business and that is sales.
We sell all the time: to get kids to eat veggies and brush their teeth, to get a date, to get the better deal on that car, to move up in the world…
Robert Kiyosaki says that learning how to sell is the most important business skill and I absolutely agree.
Start by taking classes on selling and going out there and practicing. Learn how to do it online and offline and keep implementing techniques you learn. Eliminate those that do not work for you. Keep everything that seems to work. And keep going out there and testing consistently.
Because of your practice of what you learn, eventually, you will hit your own sweet spot. You will find out what works for you and your clients and your business.
Focus On Your Number 1…
Asset
Focusing on your number 1 asset, you learn to train your brain to think differently. By learning more about financial opportunities that exist, you are able to leverage them to help yourself and your family.
Skill
Number 1 skill to keep growing is selling. It will help you in your investing negotiations as well as your business, career, and life in general. Learning how to be brave and ask for what you want is important. Learning how to offer many options to your clients is crucial for you and for them.
Commodity
Number 1 commodity is time. We all have it in limited and uncertain quantity. Squandering it doesn’t make sense. Using it wisely, does. Leverage the money from your business and investing to start creating a lifestyle by your own design and a life worth living.
These 3 things have the greatest return on investment and it all boils down to 1 thing: YOU.
At 1 Deal Away, we are committed to ensure that number 1 asset, number 1 skill and number 1 commodity are always in top performance. If you are interested to improve the number 1 thing (YOU), take our online course. It will save you time, improve your skills, and build your asset.
