From the author: To invest or not? It's scary to lose your money, but I really want to make money. This dilemma confuses people. I suggest you see this with a live example. I write about money and investments a lot, often and with inspiration. They read me. They like. They comment. They scold me. I write only about my practical 25 years of experience working with money, so it’s difficult for commentators to impose their point of view on me. After all, an ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of bare theory. I suggest you track the behavior of Igor T., who asks me his pressing questions under my article about investments. Igor T.: Tell me, from what amount you can start thinking about investing your money. Basic needs have long been satisfied. The amount in the account, as well as under the pillow, is still growing inexorably. But taking risks in our markets by investing in real estate or precious metals is risky. It would be interesting to hear the opinion of a specialist. Me (Alexander Evstegneev): To answer briefly, then: 1) You need to start creating your capital as early as possible (the time factor in investments plays, perhaps, a key role); 2) At the same time, the size of the amount does not matter of great importance (you should start with any amount that is comfortable for your family budget - 100 rubles, 1000 rubles, 10 thousand, etc., or in monetary units - everyone has their own capabilities); 3) Investments are always risky for short periods time (because fluctuations in quotes for assets and investment instruments are chaotic and unpredictable)4) The only reasonable way is to form your capital from different components (real estate, stock market, different currencies, etc.). As the theory and practice of portfolio investment shows, the overall resulting profitability of such a portfolio is always more stable and higher than that of a single instrument. Igor T.: In our historical memory there is the Pavlovian collapse, when all deposits burned, and the defaults of the 90s, and financial instability 2000s MMMs, other pyramids and cubes... I, for example, am not at all sure that it is worth investing anywhere if you, at least, do not have an economic education. Me (Alexander Evstegneev): Russian merchants in 1917 greatly regretted it, that they did not have real estate and assets abroad. Economic education is overkill - mine doesn’t help me much in investments. Rather, you need the basics of financial literacy and reasonable caution so as not to keep all your eggs in one basket - in one bank, asset, investments, country, etc. diversification of assets. Dollars will save you from ruble devaluation. Stocks will protect against inflation. Real estate will provide a stable (but small) rental income, etc. etc. The work of an investor is complex and interesting. P.S. What did you notice in our dialogue? What caught your eye? PPS I have prepared for you a List of good books on personal finance and investments - see it HERE