Worried about the job market? This Fool isn't.
Here on The Motley Fool, we're keen to promote the benefits of share ownership. Index trackers, individual shares, investment trusts, ETFs -- even modestly-priced unit trusts.
Why? Because time and again, research studies show that in the long run, investments in the stock market outperform investments in cash, bonds, and gilts. Your wealth grows faster, in other words.
And of course, that wealth confers a lot of advantages. A supplementary income, early retirement, a move to a better house, paying the kids' university fees -- you name it.
And occasionally, as regular readers of our discussion board will know, that increase in wealth is genuinely life-changing. Here's one memorable post from last year, for instance.
Security
But Fool reader GnomeYOB eloquently articulated another benefit of long-term wealth accumulation -- even though 'long term', in this particular case, only goes back as far as 2003.
Over that time, it turns out, he's built up a portfolio of 30 high-yielding companies. Not surprisingly, it's a portfolio that is delivering a decent dividend stream.
But it's also, as he reports, delivering a certain peace of mind, as well.
I've been in touch with him 'off board', and he's happy for me to reproduce the quote in question here:
"I now have a small independent income that makes the ever-present threat of redundancy look like an opportunity rather than a nightmare, so I am not unhappy. It also makes the yearly formal 'How you are doing?' chat with the boss much more productive, as effectively I can't be threatened any more -- which can be quite wealth- and life-enhancing in itself!"
Independence
Envious? I bet many people will be. If the axe falls, knowing that the shock of redundancy will be cushioned by an independent income can buy some very useful breathing space. It allows one to stand back and contemplate a wider set of options, for instance, rather than simply starting a desperate search for a job.
And, of course, in an era when employers put employees under increasing amounts of none-too-subtle pressure, the ability to make it clear that one doesn't actually need the job can come in handy.
Indeed, for some people, the idea of building up a fund that would eventually permit them to make a rude gesture at the boss and walk out of the door will have great appeal.
Naturally, there's no suggestion that GnomeYOB would ever contemplate doing such a thing. But it's a popular temptation, and I'm sure many people will have wished they were in a position to do just that.
And in less polite circles, such a fund even has a nicely alliterative name, which I'm much too well brought-up to repeat here.
Start today!
Good luck to GnomeYOB, and well done for building up that level of security. As he says, the level of comfort that such a cushion of cash brings is life-enhancing -- and to a degree which many people can only dream of.
But they can, of course, do more than dream. As I wrote yesterday, despite the parlous state of the economy, savings rates are at something of a record high. Unfortunately, many people will be sticking the cash in the bank, rather than following GnomeYOB's excellent example.
Fancy building up just such a fund of your own? Don't just save -- start to invest. Today.
More from Malcolm Wheatley:
> With The Motley Fool's Share Dealing Service, you can buy and sell shares in real time for a flat rate of just £10. You can also shelter them in an ISA or SIPP. Open an account for free today.
