Modern capitalism has led to some simple everyday "law" - the rich are getting richer, the poor are even poorer. Since more money -> more opportunities to earn -> more money. We, the IT workers, are a little lucky. Due to the demand for our work, which we, what to hide, like, we are stuck somewhere in the middle - there is enough money to satisfy more basic needs and there is still a small surplus.

And here many people start to worry about the question - “what to do with it?”. Many having concluded that “it is impossible to keep” in the solution of the question go further and ask the following question: “what to invest in?”. There is another related question: "how to ensure your old age?".

The fact that these issues concern many of us is easy to see - posts dedicated to them appear regularly and cause lively discussions. In each of these posts, the authors offer their own solution to the questions.
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True, for some reason, many throws from one extreme to another. Some offer to solve the third issue right away and start saving and saving even more right now. Others offer investment in securities. Or even better surplus to diversify into several different instruments. One more offer, having thrown everything to open the business, the startup, asserting that sooner or later, having opened several startups, one of them by all means should shoot.

And although, according to one and two polls, about 40% of us do not have savings, and many others have already decided for themselves these questions, I offer the public my answer and try to justify it.

Preamble

The answer to the question “keep and multiply”, oddly enough, depends on your priorities, goals and opportunities. For example, if you plan to start a tractor in the near future, then investment in real estate will not work for you. If you have little free time, then trading in the securities market will not work for you either - news and data analysis takes a lot of time. If you want to engage only in IT, that is, you do not have an entrepreneurial spirit, then the discovery and management of your business also does not suit you.

Assuming that the tractor is still in the garage, let's look at several answer options and consider them in more detail.

Option number 1: Drag. metals

Not a bad option. There are both pros and cons.
+ Always in the price (is it always ?!)
+ Easy access to purchase in the form of scrap and decoration
+ Easy access to purchase in the form of collectible coins
- The problem with access to purchase in the form of ingots
- The problem with the reverse conversion into liquidity, in any form
- The problem of confidence in the banking system in the case of impersonal metal accounts
- Storage issue
- Dependence of price on many factors (on crises, on Maidan, on speculators, on China, on new deposits, etc.)

Verdict: no.
Only as not the main option when diversifying. You can compare with the money under the mattress - you never know exactly what and how much you can buy for them in a year. If you still decide, I recommend to go on the link scarab .

Option number 2: Securities

Modern securities markets reduce the threshold of entry - they need new blood like air.
+ Easy access - through brokers
+ Possible indecent incomes, in a good way.
- It takes a lot of time to analyze the situation on the market - you should always be "in the subject"
- Easily purchased - even easier lost
- Dependence on the market
- Dependence on the broker / brokerage company
- Problems with conversion into liquidity - local markets may close / suspend, overseas markets - a long cash journey into your hands

Verdict: no.
Well, only if you have time and you won’t feel sorry for losing your investment. Roughly speaking - the market is a closed system - someone has acquired, someone has definitely lost for this amount. The new participant only increases the size, but does not affect the closure / openness of the system. And you need to have at least basic knowledge in order not to climb on Forex-like exchanges, mutual funds, PAMMs and the like. I was always amazed by those who are willing to voluntarily give their money to some slavik777, who a year later will successfully merge them to some EuroMoney01.

Option number 3: Deposits

Bank here it is, get paid on the card. And before the deposit one step.
+ Convenience
- Loss of liquidity - the percentage of yield is less than inflation
- The problem of trust in the bank - despite deposit insurance

Verdict: only for small amounts, only for a short period.
Deposit insurance is an unreliable thing. I will give a simple example. One of the largest banks in Kazakhstan until 2006, Valut-Transit Bank . A deposit of $ 11,000. After accruing interest for two (since 2004) years, we have a deposit of $ 12,000. The insurance is returned in tenge by the equivalent at the time of opening the deposit - 120 tenge per dollar. Now the rate is about 180 tenge per dollar. Total we will receive 12000 * 120/180 = $ 8000. That is, it was $ 11,000, after 10 years it was $ 8,000. And that's not the fact that you get them .

Option number 4: Invest in yourself: study / study

A qualified specialist can sell themselves more expensive.
+ Available
+ Increase of ChSV (I do not see anything wrong with it, if it is reasonable)
- time-consuming
- New knowledge is not always in demand.

Verdict: you can, but with reservations.
You can do self-education if you feel that in some area you lack the necessary knowledge. Moreover, those that you need in your daily work and are personally interesting to you. But this option has a limitation - sooner or later, the career / salary growth of a specialist of any qualification will rest on its ceiling. Going to the next level is associated with retraining as a manager. Therefore, if for you money is the main guideline for the future, then it is better to immediately start acquiring relevant knowledge. If you want to continue to engage in picking the source code of your favorite thing, then it is best (imho) to have interviews from time to time and get a new job. New knowledge and experience comes from solving new problems. If you are not convinced, please read the following example with a blacksmith.

Option number 5: His case

Myself mr.
+ Freedom of choice - choose the projects yourself (if any)
+ Visibility in the movement of money
- Often required initial capital
- High threshold of entry (not all steel eggs)
- A lot of time costs (the state bureaucracy happily waits for new football balls, from which money pours when you kick them)
- High risks

Verdict: you can, but with reservations.
If you are ready for some (long?) Time to close your favorite IDE, if you are happy about the RPG in real life, if possible failures do not frighten you - you can try. Moreover, the gain can be very good. The main thing after the next defeat, to find the strength for a new attempt.

Option number 6: Real Estate

My hut on the edge - I know everything myself!
+ Stability
- Requires initial capital
- Problems with conversion into liquidity

Verdict: you need, except when you have decided to migrate for the next 1-4 years (and that is not a fact).
This is my choice. For those who see a lot of reasons not to buy property, I will give my reasons. I hope then it will be clear that most of these reasons are contrived.

The argument "against" No. 1: loss of mobility

Many who oppose the purchase cite mobility loss. It seems like "I bought an apartment near the current work, and a year later I work at the other end of the city." At least two solutions: take your own and rent near the work; sell your own and buy near work. Even if you are thinking about migration, you can always sell your apartment.

The argument "against" No. 2: unstable price

Another argument of opponents: a bubble inflates in the market, tomorrow it will burst and the price will fall. Since we have chosen the Western model of the economy, let's see what happens with this in your Europe. And we will see that everything is sad there: up to 40% of residents do not have their own housing and do not even have the opportunity to purchase it. Strongly developed rental market. What happens if suddenly you can not pay the next rent - no one wants to even imagine - scary. In fact: the indigenous population practically does not increase, real estate has been distributed between them in several generations and they dictate prices and policies in the real estate market. Visitors are forced to give almost all of their earnings for rent and satisfaction of basic needs.

In general, if you do not want to work for food and rent - buy your property. Even if the price of real estate falls, you always have a gain due to the lack of rent.

The argument "against" No. 3: unavailability for the price

It's hard not to agree. But there is an opportunity to take advantage of a mortgage loan. Here you have to be careful. Personally, my opinion, you can get into a mortgage for a maximum of 10 years, having at least 30% of the cost (and preferably 50%), and with the expectation that mortgage payments will not exceed 50-70% of your salary. You can also listen to the opinion of vxsw .

The argument "against" No. 4: we must live now, and not save for a down payment

No, of course, if you want to become like a dragonfly from a famous fable, then why not. But remember, in case of problems, no one owes you anything. Here, the choice of everyone is his own - I will not impose anything. If you want to live in a rental housing in Bali now, then why not. But if you catch a cold and tear off the delivery of the project, then you will only have to blame yourself, not on the circumstances.

The argument "against" No. 5: I already have an apartment: bought / donated / inheritance

And your kids? You do not have kids? And you just will not have children? Do you want to try everything in life first and then have children? Personally, my opinion: to raise children is the best thing you can try to do in this life. If you have the opportunity, try not to condemn them to the same meal buying your corner. Here I recall the comments bat . Good luck to you!

In general, we take an apartment on credit (with an initial installment) and rent it out, let the rent pay off the loan. After 10 years you have your own apartment at your disposal, albeit with an added 10-year depreciation.

The Pros No. 1: Stability

Here, I think, everything is more or less clear. Here it is, worth it, and it is not afraid of crises, inflation, devaluation. Of course, there remains a small risk: a revolution (and even that is not the fact that the apartment will disappear), natural disasters, fires. In general, its own apartment - a source of small stable income: either from renting, or from savings in rent, if this is the first.

The argument "for" No. 2: insurance

If you are suddenly out of work, or God forbid, your family is left without you, real estate will help to survive this period with the least difficulties. Compare what is easier: your spouse will go to work for you, or she will rent an apartment.

The argument "for" number 3: income

Renting a second apartment smoothly leads you to the solution of the third question "how to ensure old age." In retirement, I want to relax / travel, and do not go to my company by kicking careless developers every day. Having rented an apartment for rent, you can only come once a month for rent. Or you can not walk, and ask the children to run.

Of course, someone will argue that it is necessary to monitor the general condition, household appliances, communications, taxes, and so on. But so far in our (CIS) realities this does not require much time and money.

Bonus track

For those who read to here.

If you have not yet found the answer to the question: “why the poor get poorer, and the rich get rich”, I will try to state my vision of the problem.

Consider a small abstract example.

A blacksmith in the village makes spoons. Why only spoons? .. Because narrow specialization helps to reduce some expenses, and he knows how to make only spoons - this is how they taught. Spoons he sells and buys food and some other necessary items, raw materials (coal, ore), and so. There are several neighboring villages that also buy spoons from a blacksmith. After a while everyone has spoons, the blacksmith has problems with implementation. It is necessary either to put fast wear into products in order to ensure constant demand, or to enter new markets - to distant villages, or to start producing new goods - forks, axes.

And then a merchant appears with the offer of services for the sale of spoons in distant villages. The contract is made, everyone is happy - residents of distant villages have spoons, the blacksmith has resumed the cash flow to which he is used, the merchant has a small percentage of sales. Over time, the merchant negotiates / hires other blacksmiths from distant villages who produce forks, axes.

We look at what happened: residents and blacksmiths remained with their own, and the merchant's money supply increased. Further more interesting. A merchant establishes a monopoly and dictates his prices. Blacksmiths can not get out of his influence, and even if they come out - coal mines and iron mines already belong to the merchant. Expansion of the market is impossible - all villages are already covered by the influence of the merchant. Either fast-wear is introduced into products, or active marketing — new spoons with a particularly curved Mobius-shaped sheet — is good for health (and is a necessary thing in self-respecting people).

The blacksmith thinks that in order to become rich one must produce even more spoons, or even go through training and / or advanced training and start making forks and axes, but one cannot jump above certain physical abilities.

So, if we discard all the husks, we can draw the following conclusion:

In the economy, there are cash flows, that is, people and businesses pay for what they need (or not really need). Wealth can earn one who controls these cash flows. The more money you have, the more cash flow you can control.

That is, if you look again at the options for solving the question “how to save and multiply” discussed above, you will notice that options No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 answer only the question “how to save”. And options number 5 and 6 - "how to multiply."

Head over to the other side. What are the cash flows in the economy? Just look around: who pays for what? And if you want to get rich, then try to take control of these flows in order to have a percentage of them. But as you understand, it takes a lot of time, patience, knowledge, connections, and in the end just good luck. Slightly asocial IT is not always suitable. In addition, perhaps, option number 6.

The basic cash flow from an ordinary person is not so much: food, clothing, housing, utilities, transport, entertainment, some of them have children as a separate item.

At the macroeconomic level, these are: raw materials, transportation, storage, production, marketing and sales, legal services.

It turns out that in order to get rich, there are only three ways: 1) to take control of the flows; 2) to offer services to reduce costs / increase turnover; 3) create new threads.

As you can see: own property is a way 1 and partially 2 (if it is the first apartment); its business - as a rule, this is method 2, sometimes - 3; A successful startup is usually method 3, sometimes 2.

Two news

As always, one is bad, the other is very bad.

Having joined the race for trying to accumulate a down payment, many do not have time / fail. Rising prices, lower incomes due to inflation and devaluation. Even more people are simply not able to start saving money - everything goes for food, rent and so on. That is, roughly speaking - a person works for food, the rest of the trifle is spent on entertainment. Such is the face of modern capitalism. Everyone should think only about themselves. A person should not save money, money should go through it, it is necessary to motivate him with entertainment imposed by Ponte, inflation, instability. He should not have accumulation. It must be a cash flow sieve. Here is such a law of big capital.

In addition, if a person does not yet have children, he spends more on entertainment and unimportant things. Such a consumer is advantageous to capitalism. Moreover, the consumer society at the subconscious level says - if you have children, you will automatically become poor, you will not be able to buy our nishtyachki, you don’t need it, be yourself, live today, children later. I think this is one of several reasons for reducing fertility. The consumer society educates the egoists.

So, the sooner you realize that it is foolish to be selfish, that children are just your gift to yourself, which adds meaning to life, the easier it will be to start saving for the initial payment. Even if you have no children. Do not think that being an ant is bad. And yet, do not underestimate the help of parents. It may also help that you live with them while you are saving up the down payment (try to calculate how much you will save on rent and food, for example, for 3 years), and an increase in the down payment and insurance in case of force majeure and unpaid payment and looking after your children when the wife goes to work after the decree. This is simply wonderful, invaluable help. Unfortunately, not everyone understands this.

This is the first news. Not even news, but so - information for consideration.

And the second news is that the merchant will try to take control of the cash flow associated with the rental of real estate. All more or less good options will be bought up, agencies owning a large amount of real estate will appear. Monopolism and collusion will not allow real estate prices to fall. In general, if the state does not intervene, then everything will be even worse.

The flip side of the coin. After you have (if you will) a second or third apartment, it will be easier and easier for you to buy the next one. You will gradually turn into the very merchant. This is probably a matter of time only. And if your children are connected to this business ... In general, you understand. Even with your apartment, it is advisable to buy another one as soon as possible in order to start controlling a small cash flow, which over time will make it possible to increase the controlled cash flow. Here the law "the sooner the better" or, to be shorter, "time is money" plays.

I do not know what Robert Kiyosaki wrote and recommended, as they say, did not read, but I condemn. Since, under the impression of his arguments, several enthusiastic posts appeared on Habré, which, from my point of view, further disorient people who begin ... mmm ... to gain financial independence.

Finally, a couple of vyserov truths tips from the sofa analyst:
Children are the best thing that can happen to you (those who are against, do not argue, you have nothing to compare).
The house is not where you sleep, but where they wait for you.
Parents do not judge and be grateful to them.

And, of course, the traditional vote