What I Learned From My Stock Market Simulation Experience

People often worry about planning for the future; they want to make sure they can live a

long, happy life. This leads people to get an education, so they can hope to get a high-paying job

to accumulate money. However, many people overlook the importance of investing. Throughout

the stock market simulation, I learned how much money can be made without doing any work.

Unfortunately, this always comes with risk, but with the longer period of investments, more and

more people tend to come out on top.

For example, many people are afraid of investing because there is no guarantee; the stock

market fluctuates a lot and can be unpredictable in the short term. Since there is no guarantee, the

best way to optimize your chances is to research before you invest. My research simply was

looking at past trends of each of the companies I had an interest in investing. All three companies

stock had been increasing in value steadily over the past few months before I invested, so I

decided to invest in them. Ultimately, this philosophy worked for me because I have ended up in

first place currently at the end of this semester.

Furthermore, there are also other ways of investing that are not the stock market like real

estate, bonds, and certificates of deposit. Like the stock market, investing in real estate also

comes with risks. It takes a lot of money to buy a house, so you have to really commit to the

endeavor. Luckily, real estate values have been increasing lately and as long as your property is

in a decent location and well-kept, renting out the property should not be too hard of a task.

Unlike the stock market and real estate, savings bonds and even corporate bonds are relatively

safe. Loaning money to the government or even a reputable corporation can be an easy way to

make money. Another type of investment is a certificate of deposit. Since loaning money to a
bank through a savings account accumulates very little interest, it is wise to have a certificate of

deposit instead if you do not need access to the money. This will allow you to make more money

on the interest than typically with bonds. However, with being safer alternatives, they also will

not grow as fast as an investment possibly could in real estate or in the stock market, either. To

summarize, if the stock market seems too risky, you can always use other investment types to

make money. Keeping in mind, typically the safer the investment, the lower the rate of return.

Clearly, investing is one of the best ways to ensure a financially healthy future. Whether

investing in the stock market, real estate, bonds, or certificates of deposit, they should all be

financially beneficial in the long run. Personally, I would invest in the stock market once I get

more money saved in the bank because in the long run you are almost guaranteed to end up with

a profit that can be very substantial.