We all know the saying: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” The intent of the saying still holds true today – money isn’t something we can just get when we want it – but now there are ways to significantly increase the amount in your bank account without all the hard work. One popular method is to invest your money for returns; whether it be interest or dividends.

According to this article by Dan Kadlec, millennials (born 1980s) just recently became more interested in putting their money into stocks as investments. This is because the previous perception of stocks was that they were too risky and the market was not in the best shape. Compared to investments like bonds, term deposits, and GICs, stocks are definitely more risky, but I realize now that there can be opportunity cost to leaving money uninvested too.

Based on previous knowledge, I’ve always thought that stocks were much too risky to invest in by yourself since many external factors can change the price in a matter of seconds; as mentioned in class, time is risk. While the uncertainty of making money from stocks is still present, becoming more educated on how they really work and how to value companies has let me be more open to thinking about stock trends and managing my own portfolio someday.

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