Money is a like a seed. We can eat all of it now; but in doing so we’ll have none left to plant and grow into an abundant harvest.
The problem is that our “gotta have it now” culture stresses consumption over planting for harvest. Consumerism beats out investing for tomorrow.
Take, for instance, the recent hype surrounding the latest iPad. Thousands stood in pre-dawn lines just to be the first to shell out money for the latest iteration of Apple’s computer tablet. Apple sold 3 million iPad 3 units in the first weekend alone, even though many consumers could have made due with their laptops or older iPads.
Instead of consuming their seed by purchasing a shining new iPad, what if they had planted their seeds instead by investing the same amount of money in Apple stock?
If you had purchased $1,000 Apple stock a little over ten years ago on October 23, 2001 when the first iPod was released, your investment would be worth $69,000 today.
A $1,000 investment in luxury retailer Tiffany and Co. in the year 2001 would have tripled by 2012.
And if during that same year you had purchased $1,000 worth of stock in Coach, the makers of luxury leather goods, you’d be sitting on $22,000 today.
You can see why planting seeds and watching them burgeon into an abundant harvest is a habit of the wealthy.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy any old stock, especially not without thoroughly researching the company whose stock you intend to buy.
What I am suggesting is that instead of consuming all of our money (consuming all our seeds) that we plant some either through building a savings account, funding an Roth IRA or 401K account, investing in real estate, purchasing stock, or even paying off credit card debt (which brings a return equal to the card interest rate).
Consume some of your seeds now, but remember to plant some for returns later.
BMWK, are you consuming all of your seed, or are you investing some for future harvest?