How would your life change if you had $100,000 more every year?
Perhaps you’d buy a home, start a company, or finally going your dream vacation! When money isn’t an option, you can take your life in any direction.
If you’ve been daydreaming about making more money, then this article is for you. We’ll help you explore the differences between investment vs gambling.
Gambling can be a great choice if you’re looking to have a little fun. But if you’re looking to build a strong financial future, investments are the way to go.
What are the differences between gambling and investing? Read on to find out.
What Is Gambling?
What is gambling? Gambling or betting happens whenever bets are placed on situations that involve chance.
Gambling can happen at casinos when somebody sits down to play a hand at a blackjack table. It also happens when sports fans place wagers on players.
A couple of friends can place a wager between each other, and that would be considered gambling too. Basically, in any situation where you’re betting with money, you’re gambling.
Here are a few situations that would qualify as betting:
- Lottery tickets
- Scratch offs
- Placing wagers on events
- these non gamstop casinos
- Placing wagers on sports
- Friendly bets
- Electronic gaming machines
- Table games
- Card clubs
In addition to the list above, there are also charitable gambling events.
Different Types of Gamblers
There’s more than one type of gambler. There are professional, social, and problem gamblers.
A problem gambler is somebody who makes bets in a compulsive manner. They feel compelled to place bets, even if they don’t have the money to spend.
Problem gamblers may be dealing with some type of addiction that’s driving them to casino slots or horse races. Sometimes problem gambling is the result of a mental health condition too. Thankfully, there are a lot of support groups out there, such as gamblers anonymous, where individuals with problems can get help.
What Is Professional Gambling?
Have you ever seen a movie where someone was counting cards? That would be a great example of a professional gambler. Professional gamblers can do things like count cards at blackjack tables or consistently win at poker.
There are professional poker players worldwide. You can watch them in the act, thanks to streaming channels. You’ll notice as you watch that professional poker is a serious affair.
Instead of gambling for fun, it’s all about statistics and maximizing the best chances of winning. A professional gambler can easily bring in over 6 figures a year if they know what they’re doing.
However, gambling for an income is a lot of work! Professional gambling requires studying, practicing, and putting in a lot of time at the poker table.
What Is Social Gambling?
Finally, there’s also the social gambler. When somebody jets off to Las Vegas to spend a weekend having fun, they’re a social gambler. Social gambling is a great way to meet new people and try something new.
If you’ve never gambled before, and you’re doing it for the social aspect, play a table game. Instead of going to a slot machine where you’ll be sitting by yourself, be brave and sit at a poker table.
If poker intimidates you, sit at a blackjack table. You don’t have to know how to play blackjack; the dealer will tell you.
Blackjack is such an easy game; you’ll pick it up in less than 5 minutes. You might even walk away from the table a winner!
What Is Investing?
What is investing? Similar to gambling, investing involves using your money in the hopes of making more money. However, the main difference when it comes to investment vs gambling is that you’re no longer solely relying on luck.
Instead, investing is all about weighing the different risks. When you’re investing, you can create short and long-term plans to reach major financial goals.
You can track your progress and continually adjust your plan. With the right plan, you’ll be able to incrementally earn more and more on your investments over time.
What type of investments can you make? Here are some examples:
- 401K
- Roth IRA
- Savings Acct
- Mutual fund
- CDs
- Bonds
- Annuities
- Stocks
- Retirement plans
- Commodities
In addition to the list above, you can also look into investing in cryptocurrency. However, cryptocurrency would be a high-risk investment. Why?
Bitcoin and other types of crypto haven’t been around for a long time; it’s harder to predict what the future looks like. While you can get professional advice from a financial counselor, that doesn’t mean they’ll know the whole picture. Investing in cryptocurrency is something you should do cautiously.
Different Types of Investments
You can make low or high-risk investments. Typically, the higher the risk, the higher the reward will be. However, that doesn’t mean you should put all of your money into one high-risk investment.
Instead, most financial advisors will suggest that you diversify your investment portfolio. By diversifying, you’ll be able to spread out your risk, so you can keep investing long-term.
In addition to low vs. high-risk investments, there are also different categories you can look into investing with. For instance, there are growth, shares, property, and defensive investments.
Growth Investment
A growth investment is a long-term plan. These investments are for individuals who are willing to ride the ups and downs of the market.
If you’re looking for a fast return on your money, then a growth investment isn’t the right choice for you. Instead, this is a type of investment for people who are looking to plan for retirement or other long-term goals.
Long-Term Shares
Shares are considered a type of growth investment. This is because shares can help grow your original investment over a long-term period. When you own shares, you can receive a portion of the income from the dividends.
The dividends are a portion of the company’s profit that gets paid directly to shareholders. Since prices can be volatile, shares are good for long-term investors.
Another term you might hear for shares is equities. Shares or equities are famous for delivering higher returns than other assets. However, they’re considered to be one of the riskier investments.
Choosing Between Investment vs Gambling
Now that you know about investment vs gambling, which category do you fall under? Are you a gambler? Or are you an investor?
If you’re looking to earn serious cash, investing is the best choice. Be sure to diversify your investment portfolio so you spread out the risk.
Of course, if you’re just looking to have a little fun, gambling can be exhilarating! Just don’t expect to bring any money home. Instead, focus on having fun and meeting new people!
What could other tips help you make smart choices? Read on to find out.
