Investing

Spin Wheels, or Invest?

When is a good time to invest? Say you’re living below the poverty level. You get food stamps, and you’re on an employment program that pays a minimum wage stipend for twenty hours a week. You’re not allowed any other earned income while you’re on the employment program. You’re not eligible for TANF or disability, though you have some job-related physical limitations. You have a vehicle that won’t go anymore. Getting another one is obviously a very high priority. You’re older than the average job seeker. You’re not getting any job offers after several years of looking.

But you’re very creative, good with words. You also write music, and are an awesome singer. You’re well educated, and a seasoned worker, with life experiences that could help a lot of people.

People have asked you if you’ve recorded a CD. You haven’t, but a good friend of yours has a CD burner, and knows a good engineer who would be willing to do a recording at a greatly reduced rate.

This same friend says you should write a book about your life experiences. The two of you decide to self-publish, because you want to be in control of the time factor, and not be locked into the publisher’s schedule. You’ve done your homework. You know the disadvantages. You know what it will cost, and go with the most economical option.

But the economy is bad. Your friends are maxed out financially. They’ll help you in a pinch. But will they help you invest and move forward? Your friend has a vehicle you can use for two or three months while you look for a more permanent transportation solution. You have a prospective buyer for your vehicle, someone who can fix it himself. What do you do with the money from the sale?

Buy another vehicle immediately? That’s the maintenance mindset, putting out a fire. But the money is not enough to get you a decent vehicle. And you have some great income-generating ideas you’re not acting on. So are you really improving your situation if you buy a vehicle immediately? No.

Invest in one of the above projects? Now you’re moving forward. Those projects can bring in more income. Take the time you’ve been given to look for another vehicle, to wait for God’s provision. Invest in one of the projects, though the CD project costs less to start than the book does, and has the potential to bring in more income more quickly. Thus you can recoup your investment and have cash on hand to pay the initial costs of the book publishing project. And you might generate enough cash to buy a better vehicle.