THE ART OF INVESTMENT - Somehow, the concept of investment is usually attributed to rich people. Only the rich invest, people say, tend to forget that even the rich were once poor. So, did they start investing while they were still poor or when they began to cash out? The truth is, whether it's research or having conversations on the subject, the art of investment starts the moment you gain interest in it.

I call investment an art because it is a mix of subtlety and critical reasoning. If you are investing just to be a part of what’s trending, be rest assured that unless you are John Luck, you will make some of the biggest financial blunders right from the start. Warren Buffett, a leading American investor, always emphasizes the importance of proper analysis before throwing your capital in. According to him, it is far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than to buy a fair company at a wonderful price; it’s more about the quality of what you’re investing in than the seemingly good deal presented to you. So how does one know these key factors that must be considered before investing?

Read vast and conduct deep research

According to The Wealth Project, investment is not that difficult a concept; take away the idea of it being difficult and see it as a juice bar. Drop that fear and dig on that research. Up until recently, investment was a distant concept that few identified with. But in a recent survey, about 52% of Americans are into investments because more people are enlightened. Robert Kiyosaki, one of the prominent authors on the subject, has broken down in his many books, what it means to invest, it's an advantage over a 9-5, the investment opportunities that lie beside us daily, and how to start small. The real investors are the ones who know. You cannot have a host of information around you, yet go into investment ignorantly; the blame of a ripple effect will be on you.

Know what you want

Generally, there are three things one can choose to invest in; stocks, bonds, or cash. Haven conducted in-depth research, your next best bet is to make a decision. Don’t invest in something just because John Doe is doing it, or because it’s trending. An investor has to be able to analyze things critically.

In the modern-day, there are lots of investment plans. If you have a low budget, you can start with automated savings plans, where you are given fixed interest rates on money that you save. Yes, savings is also a form of investment. And generally, the higher the savings and the longer you save it for, the higher your interest rate.

Unlike stocks, your profit is not dependent on how well the market is doing; the fluctuation in profits rises or falls by a fixed percentage, according to the above-mentioned. If you are not interested in taking risks or you are a newbie, this is the best to start with.  If you would prefer stocks, there are many sectors to choose from and under these sections, several big and small businesses to choose from. But the thing to note is that investment is not a one-way traffic; it doesn’t work one way for everyone.

To read further on various investment plans, know the best plan for you, and calculate how best you can profit from your investment, you can read the article on this blog titled Investment plans.

Starting small gives you an edge

Starting small gives you an edge over those who wait to be in millions before they start investing. This is because when you start early, you make your mistakes early, learn from them, and rise to do better next time. Yes, mistakes are a sure thing in investment, losses are certain, so would you rather lose $500 now or $1,000,000 later due to ignorance?

Have the money

Since you ought to start early, don’t force it. You don’t have the money for it right now? That’s fine, plan for it better in your next budget. Returns in investment don’t come as quick as buying and selling, hence it is not advisable to lock money in that would have been useful in settling some pressing bills. Be wise in your making of “sacrifices.”

Investment is a gamble, like splashing paint professionally on a canvas yet banking on the hope that it turns out magnificent; it is the art of the financial world.