Christine B.

Independent business owners and freelance professionals tend to invest more in their business than in themselves.
Considering most people cannot count on a pension plan anyways, investing in yourself is ever more important. However, how do you choose whether to put those dollars in your own pocket, or towards expanding your business?

I am not the biggest expert on personal finances, but I do know one thing: when you are ready to retire, and your business is not the next Google or YouTube, you will need some investments of your own.

I recently started buying stocks again, after going cold turkey because of very very bad experiences in the 1999/2000 crash. Seems to be going OK so far, I haven’t lost very much yet! I did try my hand once at FOREX trading, but although you can start with a $250 minimum, I would say you need to start with a little more just to increase your chances of success. The issue with FOREX is that with a low balance, your holdings may be sold if the price drops too much, forcing you out of the position before it has a chance to go back up.

Whichever your investment strategy will be, I strongly suggest that next time you are thinking of putting some of your own money into your business, think about investing in yourself as well.