Until recently, the thought of investment has never entered my mind. I know that it exists. I know that I should probably learn about it or do something about it, but investment has always been like fat women or balloons in the sky—nothing to do with me. It’s probably a mistake. But a mistake that I think most young people share: we consider ourselves impervious to old age and live our financial lives in the moment, never looking beyond the month’s rent.

I’ve talked about selling my condo to travel and work abroad, but it wasn’t until recently that this idea formed into action and I realized that, should I sell, I would end up with a sizeable profit in my bank account. To me this is the equivalent of winning the lottery. A lot of opportunities open up like long-term travel, the time to work on writing projects, the chance to learn new skills or accomplish dormant dreams. Yet most people I talk to think I’m making a mistake that I’ll regret.

“You should rent out your condo instead of selling,” they say. “Once you get out of property,” they warn, “It’s impossible to get back in.” Or, “It would be stupid to sell and then rent.”

I think this advice is well intentioned but it’s based on fears and misconceptions hovering around the idea of investment. They are:

a. Property Isn’t a Sure Bet. We like to think that property is a guarantee, and everyone in property will praise and pamper the idea that buying is better than renting while the majority of the time, renting is cheaper and the money you save not paying for property tax, insurance, and maintenance could be invested in more lucrative opportunities. Property typically pays for itself over time and even then usually only at the rate of inflation. In other words, it’s not a good investment if what you really need is cashflow, or if you want to make a profit quickly. If you spend a lot of time and money on renovations and maintenance you could easily lose money. The New York Times has a great tool which compares the costs of renting to buying. Try it and you may be surprised by how much you save by renting, and how long it takes for property to pay for itself. See the New York Times’s article: A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent or The Wall Street Journal: Your Home Isn’t The Nest Egg You May Think It Is for some sobering thoughts before you jump into real estate investment. In my situation I bought at a time when the market was at a low point, I bought modestly, and then spent a lot of time and handywork fixing it up myself one area at a time.

b. Property Is Not the Only Option. As my mother likes to say, “You have to live somewhere,” and it seems that paying yourself over a landlord would be sound advice, but having owned property for a while, and having gilded it’s cage myself, I realize it’s only nice once you forget the bars are there. Real Estate isn’t just about making a profit, because if it was then I should be getting pats on the back instead of “advice.” Property is a status symbol and it’s that symbol that people hold on to and want to preserve. Successful People seem to have property in the suburbs with a double garage and a golden retriever and two kids and a breadmaker, but there’s no reason why that has to be everyone’s life. And it shouldn’t be. My other problem is that property owners, if they do everything right and aren’t subject to a market slump, are lying on a pile of gold. But then what? What do you do when you sell your house? Is it finally time to start living your dreams? No, everyone advises, that money should be re-invested in more property. When does it end?

c. Retirement is stupid. Most people invest everything in retirement. Now, before you think I’m mad, I do think it’s a smart idea to save up money for the future. However, I don’t believe that all of your work and life should be bent on the act of retirement. For starters, it postpones the crucial question of: what do you want to do with your life?, until close to the very end where it’s most likely too late to do anything about it. Too many people have found that, after a life of work and distraction, they have no comprehension about how to fill their time. Boredom sets in and they inevitably fall back on Puttering Around the Garden or on a part-time job—anything!—to get out of the house.

I know a lot of people that are passionate about their work and given all the gold in the land they would still be doing what they’re doing but I also know other people in a job they hate, counting the days to retirement. Neither of them are ready to retire. The former’s only passion is their work, while the later’s only passion is to complain about their employer, both have no idea what to do once their working life ends. Fundamentally, free time is a call to action, it’s a chance to do something, but what do you do?

d. Investments Aren’t Strictly Monetary Ventures. Benjamin Franklin said that, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” What about investment in knowledge, or a skill or an experience? These things have value that are easily overlooked when you have eyes only for gold. A cooking class so you know how to eat well. A martial art so you can confidently yell at the kids in the theatre to shut the fuck up. Time to write, or time to sew, or time to do whatever you’re interested in doing. None of these will make you rich, but they have a huge potential to improve your life.

What are we investing for?
If you don’t know what’s important, and how you want to spend your time, then what is all this talk of investment for? Most people think immediately of property, stocks, and RRSPs as a way to save and grow money for the time when you want to stop working. And yet, most people I’ve talked to haven’t made it rich in the stock market, most Canadians are way behind in their RRSP contributions, the baby boomers won’t have enough money for a pension, and any money you’ve saved probably isn’t enough. I think it goes beyond the idea that investment is there to make you comfortable in your old age. It goes beyond the idea of saving money in a bank account or pouring your efforts into the stock market.

No one wants to move back in with their parents, or have to rely on anyone for their financial well-being. The goal then, isn’t to bet everything on retirement, but to invest in yourself, on your future and on experiences that push you towards finding an answer to the question: what do you want to do? and, if you find solace in an answer, then investments should help you to actively pursue it. Some will tell you that it’s important to invest early, to put away money for the future, but rarely will those same people tout the value of investing in one’s dreams while you’re young enough to realize them.

What I’ve been dancing around is that investments should help you live the life you want. Money is essentially a tool that we trade for experience. We trade it for a place to live, for an evening with friends, for a pair of shoes or a new coat, or a vacation, or a cappuccino. I think it’s prudent then, before you get wrapped in something like property, or stocks, or retirement, to first figure out what’s important. What do you want to experience? What are you investing for?

Other investments
One of the most important investments I’ve made recently is an investment in time. Time, like knowledge, like a craft, pays for itself slowly. It’s not a way to make huge sums of money overnight but it will pay for itself, many times, over the course of a lifetime. The luxury of time is that it forces you to live simply, to slow down, and focus on what’s important. I’ve felt the huge weight of too much time pressing down on me. I’ve experienced the crushing boredom that idleness brings to every party. And then, instead of Puttering Around the Garden to take away the pain, I became active and started doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

There is an abundance of investments available. Nature lovers think it’s best to invest in the earth, mothers and fathers think it best to invest in the children, while others agree that happiness or goodness or the stock market is the most prudent choice. Personally, I’m going to invest in travel, in coffee and mornings to write another book, in a business that I’ve always wanted to start, RRSP savings, and a pair of shoes I’ve had my eye on. The point is to invest in what drives you.

To quote Shakespeare, “Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends.”