Bill Gates, very famously, once said, “I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job because he will find an easy way to do it.”
And we are a complete believer of that. Why? We’ve seen this happening time and again – you give some task to a lazy person and you’ll most often see them getting it done, with the usage of less resources. And this is not just true for a particular sector, or a particular work environment or a person with some special kind of traits.
In the world of money, the most difficult way is, wait for it……………….not investing. It’s saving!
Whenever posed with that question, the most common words are – My salary isn’t enough to start saving. Saving is an old man’s job. I just can’t do it. I have other liabilities and saving isn’t a priority now. And even when you pressurize someone to do that, the ultimate methods they’ll resort to are cost-cutting, fighting the temptation to buy and trying to add every penny. While these do help, they are extreme measures and we are not interested in talking about that.
Saving money can be a daunting task and if you’ve not been able to do it until now, maybe, it’s time to try a different approach.
So, what could be a that different approach? – Be sluggish and “A Lazy Investor”.
Even world-renowned Professor of Behavioural Science & Economics and Nobel Prize awardee, Richard Thaler, was once quoted as saying, “My lazy strategy of doing very little, buying mostly stocks and then not paying attention has served me well.”
So following Mr. Gates’ and Mr. Thaler’s advice, let’s see how being a lazy investor can aid you in becoming more financially independent. (Trust us. It’s as real as it seems and as easy as it sounds!!)
- Automatic Transfers
Today’s buzzword is “automation”. Any innovation you talk about today has automation at its core. And automation in itself can be the perfect tool to aid your laziness, as an investor.
The two biggest benefits of this are consistency and shielding oneself from market movements. When you automate your investments, you come out of the decision making of whether to make timely payments or not. Hence, be lazy and step away from the challenge of making more decisions in your life. Automating all your bills can also help you in avoiding any penalties that you might incur, if not for a consistent payment schedule.
So, in order to not panic during the lows and not get overconfident during the highs, shield yourself from the market movements by automating your investments.
The simple mantra of generating handsome returns from mutual funds is to stay invested for long-term, and automating your payments will help you ensure that you hang on in there and not get influenced by market movements. Even the SIPs (Systematic investment plans) were devised so that people could automate their payments.
- Rewards and Cashbacks
You might argue that searching for rewards and cash back is not commensurate to being lazy. But hold on to your horses for a second!
Making the most out of cash back and reward points is not too difficult today as almost every company offers it. Yes, you might have to do a little bit of research but what good is a lazy person without the knack of finding the right things at just the right place.
Rewards and cashbacks are a sure shot and pretty effective way of spending less and saving more. And it actually offers a two-way return. Companies make their products available at low costs which then makes it an attractive trade-off for buyers and buyers get to experience high-end products and services at a reduced price. A win-win situation!
So, next time you plan to make a purchase or avail a service, go to the website’s promotions page first!!
- Earn Through Compounding
You might have surely heard of it N number of times – Compounding! But how does it help your lazy appetite?
Compounding involves staying invested for a long time, so that you can earn interest on your interests. Unlike in simple interest, compounding involves re-investing your returns, in turn increasing your overall gain. Hence, by being a lazy soul, you won’t be required to worry about “what to do with your investments and your money” when the market fluctuates.
Our investment decisions are a lot affected by the market movements; hence, compounding is a very good tool for the lazy investors as you just need to leave your money and let it grow. Although compounding works best when you start early, it’s still a potent weapon for all the lazy investors out there, looking to grow their money, without taking much of an effort.
So which route do you think would be best suited for you – Being an active investor or being a lazy one? The benefits are in front of you!
