Forget about trying to time the stock market or go “all-in” on a risky cryptocurrency play. If you know what you are doing in these pursuits, by all means, but for the rest of us: the cards are stacked against you. In the case of the stock market, you literally are going against machine learning backed by caffeinated PHD’s on a sole mission to screw you. To top this off, they have their supercomputers linked in close proximity to exchanges for a decided victory in terms of beating you to the trade. For crypto, well, I don’t even need to get into it as I’m sure you’ve read the headlines of consumers being bilked time and time again. If not, then, you probably have a relative keeping their loss on the hush.
Saving is quite frankly the biggest investment you will ever make. Whether it is tax-sheltered (TFSA or Roth IRA), deferred (RRSP), or non-registered (plain jane savings account), putting money into one of these vehicles is the best thing you can do for yourself financially and here are the reasons why:
You are planning for contingencies.
Let’s face it. One day you will get into your car and it won’t start. Or you hop into the shower and a blast of cold water hits you furiously as the water tank has conked out. Or the government reassesses your latest income or corporate tax filing and notices a few discrepancies and demands repayment of taxes owed. We are going to be hit by life’s trials and tribulations, and you need to be prepared for them. Don’t rely on credit, where the bank is essentially filling in that responsibility gap for you. Why pay interest and commit yourself to more debt?
Not only does having an emergency fund in place bring you confidence to face challenges in the road (which breeds psychological well-being, as you are not tossing and turning each night fretting about how you will pay the latest bill salvo), but it really gives you options. The option to breathe, which is so critical and often overlooked. You need to be able to absorb shocks just like your car traveling down the road. If you get jolted financially, then it can create the kind of stress that really impacts your health, relationships, and outlook.
Setup an automatic transfer into your savings with your bank. You could even configure your debit card to put away small sums into your savings every time you make a purchase, by rounding to the nearest dollar (or what have you). The trick is to make the amount viable and not to invasive to your prevailing budget. Over time you can make tweaks to this, but the real challenge is just getting started. If you think you can’t afford it at the current moment in time, then start looking at your expenses and ways to decrease them. Tone down your discretionary spending, if you can.
Saving enables you to do things.
Maybe not right away, but eventually. You could go on that trip you were always dreaming about, or even think about going back to school for re-training. The central point here is that simple savings is about affording you the ability to make more decisions that you want or need to make. Many people feel that they are locked into jobs that they don’t like because they paycheque-to-paycheque and cannot afford to step back and think about their trajectories in life. You want to get out of this cycle by any and all means necessary, as you are not working for yourself in this situation. Get control of your life and open the door to more opportunity by investing (saving) in yourself.
I implore you to view saving as an investment in Yourself Inc. You cannot expand as a person or even be viable if cash moves out just as quickly as it moves in. I’m a fervent believer in the Pay Yourself First financial philosophy, whereby you earmark or set aside a certain amount each payday to a savings account. With so many things vying for a portion of our living wages and salaries, you need to make sure you are paying yourself first! You work hard for your money, so start standing up for yourself.
Rate of Return on Your Labour
Investing into a balanced mutual fund will likely bring you compounded returns over a long enough time period. Putting money into a savings account means the return on your labour is being actualized (secured). 
Otherwise, it is money on paper or in an account that you fleetingly have control over. This is a huge concept that I want you to pay attention to. If you live paycheque-to-paycheque, essentially you are just a middle person between a company transfer of funds to another company. You supply the labour and facilitate this transfer, but otherwise you reap no benefit other than the product or service you are subscribed to. In this sense you have absolutely no control of your life and this is why I am so adamant about savings.
Think about the curious case of Mike Tyson. He has reportedly earned $400 million in lifetime earnings throughout this illustrious boxing career. Now, however, those riches are lost to unbridled spending on high dollar items and a hefty dose of tax evasion. I think he may be back on the mend to some degree, but Mike Tyson may never have been taught the invest in yourself philosophy. I will refrain from judgement in this case as Mike Tyson had a very challenging upbringing that most of us would be foreign to. It really doesn’t take a rocket engineer to know that he would be in a better spot if he simply put $10 or $20 million aside for contingencies. Now, the fruits of his labour are being enjoyed by some other individual or company. This is the tragedy of our society playing out over and over again.
Get Your Savings Started NOW
The point is here is that you don’t have to be rich at all to start saving. It is all in relative terms: wealthier people have higher expenses than you. Why play the middle person to the capitalist machine? Get your head out of your ass and give your head a shake. Invest in yourself and I can guarantee you…it will be the best thing you have ever done for your financial well-being. Like, start now and call your bank to get things setup. You are your own financial advisor and professional money manager, and it’s time to take Yourself Inc. to new heights.
