One of the reasons I have never really had much "luck" in the world of investing ultimately boils down to the simple fact that I have never had significant "free capital" to invest.
It isn't that I haven't invested, but my modest attempts at doing so have invariably been with small bits of the grocery money, or from cashing in the jar of loose change, or with the "emergency fund" I might have managed to scrape together.
Perhaps it was ill advised every time, but my tiny attemps were typically prompted by a sense that life — in the broader sense — seemed to be stabilizing and even taking a bit of an upturn.
The "uphill" part reflects the reality — which I expect many of us face — that all it has really taken has been some minor life setback (which we pretty much ALL experience) and I have been forced to liquidate the investment (often at inopportune times) on the spot to fund some medical bill, or to get my car back on the road, or to pay for an unexpected "revision" from the tax department.
Lately, I have gotten a little more realistic about the whole investing proposition, in view of the tangible reality that the cost of living is rising much faster than my income, and has been for a good 20 years. And that's an equation that can only have one eventual outcome... if you have tried to set aside any of your income to invest with: You'll have to cash out because you need to buy groceries.
I worry about the future.
Lately — over the last 3-4 months — a particular trend has been troubling me.
As you all know, algorithms and AI exposes us to certain content... typically based on some formula derived from our scrolling behavior.
Typically, I look for items and events that show movement in a positive direction and I avoid "Doom Scrolling" to whatever extent I can.
And yet?
Even as I seek out the positive, I seem to be served up more and more "the end is near" content. Which, I might add, definitely does not coincide with the officially sanctioned narrative that things — economically, and in the world — are better than they appear.
I just don't really think that they are.
So this leaves me contemplating the (likely) possibility of simply forgetting about the whole idea of trying to invest, because it seems like it is a proposition only for those who enjoy financial stability and a surplus in their day-to-day budget.
Perhaps my only "investment" that can remain will be this Hive account. We'll see!
Thanks for coming to visit, and do leave a comment if you feel so inclined! Engagement matters!
