
Ask HN: How to get my friends interested in investing? - lekeve
I&#x27;ve been investing both passively and actively since I was 20. I invest primarily in index funds with a small amount allocated to equities and forex.<p>I see a lot of value in investing early (I&#x27;m 27 now, which I suppose is still relatively early), but I&#x27;m having a hard time convincing my friends to invest in their future. I often hear from my friends that they don&#x27;t have the money to invest at all, but my frustration comes from hearing that while we&#x27;re at a bar or out to dinner. I try to explain to them that they could try not buying that extra drink or appetizer, saving maybe $10 monthly, and having $120 to invest at the end of the year. It&#x27;s small, but it&#x27;s a start and it adds up over a long period of time.<p>I guess my main struggle is getting my friends to understand why that small amount will matter in 30-40 years when they retire. I learned early on about the power of compound interest, but I feel like it&#x27;s incredibly difficult to get people to care about something that is so distant.<p>What techniques or methods do you use to talk to your friends&#x2F;family about investing for their future?
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gus_massa
It's not so much money.

Let assume $10 monthly, during 50 year, and a 5% annual interest rate. For
simplicity let's use the compound interest over all the 50 years. The total
is:

$120/year * 50years * (1.05)^50 ~= $70000

[That is assuming you live in a stable country without hyperinflation, bank
bankruptcy and fraud. Hello from Argentina.]

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cauterized
That simplification results in an enormous exaggeration of the benefits. The
actual result is between $25-30k. Assuming the rate of return is steady (which
it's unlikely to be).

Which isn't an awful return on $6k total investment, but isn't a mind-blowing
10x return either.

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rijoja
Well if you are interested in more risky investing then you could sell it as a
game. Appeal to their sense of cleverness.

