Comments on: What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

By: The Best Investment I’ve Ever Made « One-Year Tightrope

The Best Investment I’ve Ever Made « One-Year Tightrope — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:47:36 +0000

[...] 9:47 PM on February 26, 2010 Personal finance blog I Will Teach You To Be Rich has an interesting post about personal investments, with a few good examples of things not normally considered to be investments, but that have paid [...]

By: Investing 101

Investing 101 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:05:05 +0000

My best investment has been a $14.95 purchase of a domain and hosting account to start a personal finance blog that is now earning me a nice additional monthly income. Which is why I’m now starting a second one

By: Vas

Vas — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:46:57 +0000

My house and a website I purchased has been the best investment I have made so far. My site paid itself off within 6 months(better than any bricks and mortar business) and it continues to make money. And my property over the last 2 years has increased in value by 105k which I am thrilled about. It also is large enough for a development to occur on it in the future.

By: Ravi

Ravi — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:55:12 +0000

The best investment that I’ve made is recent which has been to understand personal finance better. And I’m so glad that I stumbled onto your site [ I've yet to buy your book..I'm seriously hoping to coax an 'autographed' one out of you! ] which validated the part about automating one’s savings. It feel so good now about “saving effortlessly” as Rachel Tera (commenter # 24) mentions above. The ‘CEO’ concept that you propose has been an eye-opener to me!

Thanks, seriously!

By: Katarina

Katarina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:32:42 +0000

Thanks for a great blog. A few years ago I paid my sister 5000 SEK, about 700 USD, to quit smoking. It was a lot of money at the time since I was a student but totally worth it. I had spent so much time worrying about her health (as a smoker she also maintained a crappy diet since smoking reduces hunger) and biting my tounge watching her light up, I felt desperate enough to offer her money. I was very surprised that she said yes and quit a month later. Aside from peace of mind from fantasies about her dying from lungcancer, I learned a valuable, valuable lesson of how important the right incentives are. There were so many negatives for her to have a smoking habit; being smelly, having bad nails, getting winded when running, supporting the ruthless and immoral tobacco industry, being stigmatized as a disgusting and undisciplined person and the potential future threats of illness. On top of this she was studying to be a nurse and felt she would lose a lot of professional credibility if she couldn’t stop. Despite all of these negative aspects she kept smoking, putting quitting at the bottom of her to-do list in a distant future. The minute I offered her a reward that was big enough for her to buy really nice shoes she gained momentum to achieve her goal. Prior to this I had used punishment to get myself moving, no going to the concert if the paper is not fininshed and similar, which worked sometimes and sometimes I just ended up procrastinating, feeling miserable for missing out on the fun and having written no paper. Rewards are much, much more effective than punishment for meeting goals, they give you energy to get moving. I would never have used this strategy on someone else because a) I’m not mean and b) I wouldn’t think it would ever work, yet I did it to myself.
I’m not sure how much this investment has earned me in absolute numbers but I’m sure it is a lot since my efficiency has increased enormously. This is why I love your blog, you go to the bottom of why people, even smart people, do things that are not in their best interest when it comes to money but it can really be applied on several areas. I’m pretty good with money so I often feel smug reading personal finance blogs, but the advice you give here is really thought-provoking and reminds me of the importance of living consciously. Thanks again!

By: bhahaha

bhahaha — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:10:32 +0000

Ramit, what’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

By: Student

Student — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:41:10 +0000

My two best investments:

Working for free. My current and past two jobs have been unpaid internships. I’m now a sophomore in college and have more opportunities and a better resume than 95% of my colleagues, including many juniors and seniors.

Losing a couple hundred dollars investing in stocks using an etrade account. I began investing about two years ago and was smart enough to pull my money out before the market completely crashed. I lost some money but learned a great deal about money, investing, and the markets, and was able to make the decision to pull out when it mattered most.

By: Marc

Marc — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:32:59 +0000

@ #58 Daniel

Hear hear on that one. I’m now 24 with my own business setting it up to be a muse. Should be able to not need a job in 2 months.

That book is awesome.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:25:28 +0000

Have to admit that the 4-hour workweek was the best investment I ever made.

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:05:15 +0000

Spending money in starting my business to become a freelancer

I love working for myself, even though 2009 was a tough year!