The investments that have yielded the highest return, are investments I have made in myself.
Stocks and bonds are not going to make me rich. What is going to make me rich is my ability to earn money.
To increase my earning ability, I invest in myself. I make investments in my education, my health, my support team, and my network. The more I invest in these categories, the greater my earning ability becomes.
To get more specific, here are 8 different investments I have made in myself.
# 1 – Diet
Mrs. Gen Y Wealth and I spend above the national average for a family of 4 on food (I wrote a longer article a while back titled, How Much You Should Spend of Food?). The investment in healthy food improves my productivity, saves on health care costs, and allows me to support my beliefs.
# 2 – Health
The gym I belong to costs over $100 a month. I know a lot of frugal people out there think I’m crazy. However, I see this as a steal compared to working out at home. First, I miss the chance to network, when I work out alone. Second, I get to train personally with top Yoga teachers.
# 3 – Communication
As you saw in last Friday’s post, I recently joined Toastmasters International. The fee to join is only around $50 a year.
Th purpose of my investment in Toastmasters is to improve my communication skills. Just a 10% improvement in my communication skills, can mean a 50% to 100% improvement in income.
# 4 – Writing Coach
I’m currently searching for a writing coach. (If you know of any, let me know) I must have slept through Elementary School because my grammar is awful.
My budget for a writing coach is $2,000 for 2011. My hope (and probably yours to) is to find someone who can sit down with me once a week for 60 minutes to work on my writing.
# 5 – My DIY MBA
I recently created my own MBA program. The goal was to give myself a world class education in business.
The course I designed is two years long. The costs associated with creating my own MBA are around $1,000 a year. A lot cheaper and more efficient than paying $30,000 a year to attend a MBA programs.
# 6 – The Empire Builder Kit
The Empire Builder Kit, which I paid $250 for, was the largest one time investment I ever made in my education. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this course was more valuable than I could have ever imagined.
It wasn’t just the information that was valuable. I was able to get to know the author and other members of the course. Also, I was able to join the affiliate program. To this day, it has accounted for over 80% of the income from this site.
# 7 – Conferences
In 2011, I will be attending South by Southwest one of the largest conferences for the technology industry. The cost is $600.
This is my first conference, so I’m not sure what to expect. My goal is to build relationships with people I have met online. One or two key relationships can easily be worth the admission fee.
# 8 – Time
If time equals money, than time can replace money when it comes to investing.
Some things I do, don’t necessarily cost a thing but I still consider them an investment in myself.
For example, for ten minutes a day I try to just sit, relax, and breathe deeply. This activity costs ten minutes of time, but gives me energy to last throughout the afternoon.
Another example is journaling. I get a lot of benefit from opening up a blank text file and letting words flow.
Comments – Investing in Yourself
What specific investment have you made in yourself? What has given you the highest return?
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Photo by: Epicharmus
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