How much do you think investors are focused on returns? Take a look at this picture:
We have two investors here:
Really Rich Ryan and Wicked Wealthy William.
Both say they have gotten 20% returns on an investment. And they are having a showdown to decide who is the better investor.
The rules?
Ryan and William will both start with $10,000. They’ll start on the same day and time and end on the same day and time.
The one who ends up with less money after 10 years is the biggest loser.
Question for you:
Who do you think has the best chance to have more money: Ryan or William?
You may think the odds are 50/50.
Me?
I rigged a bulletproof way to find out for sure.
Actual Investing Returns May Vary
Before placing my bet, I’d find the ‘real’ (actual) returns my money would have made, had I started investing at different times over the past 10, 15, 20+ years. I’d see when their actual returns start falling apart and ending up with less money.
Then I’d bet a large chunk of coin on the person with the most money in the end. And I’d win every time. The imperial overlords would politely like me to remind you – ‘past performance is not an indicator of future gains.’ and that ’nobody can guarantee they would win every time’.
Herein lies a REAL secret to building your investments the most:
Your ‘returns’ matter very little.
Why Don’t Returns Matter?
Because unless you invested on the exact day, with the exact amount as some of these marketing materials show you, you don’t end up with that hypothetical balance EVER.
But what if you change the date? The time of day? The starting balance? The monthly or annual contributions?
Then what you end up with could be way less. Way more. Or nearly the same. The only amount you’d ever want…is more.
Back to Ryan and William:
After measuring their account balances, Ryan is at $30,000. And William – $61,917.3
My money is on William. And I hope yours was too.
How is this possible?
The Math Of The Financial Circus
Ryan’s investment made 200% the first year, and 0% for the next 9 years. That’s an average annual return of 20%.
William’s investment made 20% every single year for ten years, and compounded. That too is an average annual return of 20%.
So they BOTH got the same 10-year average annual return of 20%.
William is Wealthier.
But BOTH Ryan and Walter have a long way to go if they ever want to achieve financial independence.
When they do, they will feel ultimate happiness. And growing their money won’t feel so confusing.
What about you?
Returns or What You Really Want
Want to close the gap between what you’ve saved and what you need to save?
The first step is knowing what your gap in savings is.
And I don’t mean by blindly ‘guessing’.
I mean by measuring every element of your plan.
- Your current savings
- Your risk tolerance
- Your risk capacity (Can you afford to take more risk? Do you need to?)
- Your debt payoff strategy
- Your mortgage payoff strategy
- Your investment choices
- Your healthcare strategy
- Your bucket strategy (for those pesky taxes that can consume 1/2 of every dollar) Tax free? Tax deferred? Taxed this year? Huh?
…and we haven’t even bought groceries yet or new cat beds.
I understand this is confusing. Today it’s important to learn that returns aren’t everything.
This is the stuff planners will help you with. You can find them at XY Planning Network.
With the right help, the gap in your plan can get smaller and smaller.
Bonus legal weasel stuff that I’m even going to put in mice type for added effect! These were hypothetical numbers. The stock market averages 10% annual returns over time. You can probably find some investments with 20% returns over the past decade, but nothing that grew at that rate every single year. We don’t have time machines. Evidence shows slow and steady can win the race.
How To Get Started Investing
The international bestseller by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Scott Alan Turner. Choose the right accounts & investments so your money grows for you – automatically. No jargon, confusion, or pie in the sky promises. Just a proven plan that works.
