It would be hard to develop a strategy to pay off your debt if you had no idea how much debt you had. Its just as difficult to develop an appropriate investing strategy if you dont have a reason for investing. Without a purpose, its impossible to make decisions about the type of investments you should invest in, and without a goal- how do you measure your level of success?
People invest for a wide variety of reasons. The most common reason people invest is to save for their retirement. Most people want to stop working at a certain age, in order to enjoy the last years of their life without the stress of going to work every day. The only way its possible for people who are not independently wealthy (by an inheritance or a business that will operate without the owners input, for example) is to have money saved that can be used to pay expenses and entertainment costs once a person retires.
The other common reason why people invest their money is to reach a certain short-term financial goal.
Investing for Short Term Goals
While most people first think of retirement and long term investing when they think of investing, there are many instances when...