Introduction
Whenever someone invests in something or another, his primary goal is to get profit from the investment. This profit is mainly in terms of money. Investment can also be of different types, such as investing in some property, cryptocurrency, etc.
Sustainable investment
Sustainable investment refers to the investment that, along with providing profit to the people, also positively impacts the environment and society. Such a kind of investment also benefits humanity. In this kind of investment, industries such as tobacco are avoided.
Sustainable investment is also called socially responsible investment and is of different types. There are three factors of sustainable investment. These are discussed below.
It includes the workplace that the company provides. It also includes whether the company pays on time or not. The products of the company must be safe to use, and it must protect the personal data and other information of the customers.
The company should take various protection steps against natural calamities, such as changes in environmental conditions and depletion of natural resources. The energy to be used should come from renewable resources only.
The process should not cause any pollution or harm the environment. Also, it should be in accordance with the environmental regulations and laws.
The company must be transparent to the customers. Whether the company has independent directors is also given attention. The business practices of the company must be ethical.
The investors who want to invest only in sustainable companies first look at all the three factors mentioned above. If the company doesn’t meet any of the requirements, the investors don’t prefer to invest in such companies.
Sustainable investment is a broader term that includes many plans for the improvement of humanity, whereas ESG is a component of sustainable investment that helps to meet this goal. There are various other categories that come under sustainable investment. These are
Impact investment includes where you get social as well as environmental benefits along with earning a good amount of profit. An example of this kind of investment is in the US; there are many areas where no fresh and healthy food is available.
This is an example of impact investing. In this type of investment, the people get access to fresh and healthy fruits, vegetables, and other food products, and also a good amount of profit is earned from the investment. This fulfills both the criteria of impact investing.
Another way for sustainable investment is thematic investing. In this, you can use thematic funds for investment purposes. For this, you need funds such as mutual funds, which invest in a particular cause or a theme, such as women empowerment, global health, etc.
Along with this, you can also invest in companies that work on a particular cause if that cause meets your needs and requirements.
What makes an investment sustainable?
There are many approaches to making an investment sustainable. The investments which take care of the society along with earning profits are sustainable.
Are sustainable investments profitable?
Most people think that sustainable investments don’t provide as much profit as provided by other types of investments. This is still controversial because some say this kind of investment provides profit the same as other investments, whereas others say the profit generated through this investment is comparatively lesser.
It is found that if you invest at an individual level, then it is equally beneficial for you as some other kind of investment. Sustainable investments give rise to more innovative ideas, and it is less risky than other companies that invest without keeping any record of the investments.
Where to find sustainable investments?
Sustainable investments can be found in several places, such as.
Robo advisors use the information provided by you, such as goals, to form a customized portfolio for you. You can also incorporate ESG factors in your investment.
There are many financial websites and other brokerages that provide you with different mutual funds and ETFs.
If you invest in individual stocks, it is more riskier than investing in others, such as mutual funds. However, sustainable investments in individual companies are beneficial.
If you’re unable to find something that you want, then you can contact a financial advisor. He will help you to prepare a portfolio that is based on your sustainable needs. A financial advisor also tells you about the risks involved in it.
How do we teach children about money?
Children love to watch video games. Video games are the teachers for the children. They teach them the desired values in a fun way. Most of the video games that are used for teaching finance-related things to children use the real content related to finance to teach the children.
This is a very interesting video game and provides great knowledge about financing to the children. This game is available on Nintendo Switch.
In this game, the users have to collect fruits, crops, and other valuable resources so that they can pay their loans and mortgages on time without having to pay any penalty.
This game is the most successful video game ever in the area of teaching finance and related activities. You can access this video game on any PC, and it’s free of cost. In this, you live a virtual life, and you have to perform real-life tasks while living a virtual life.
You can create your character and also choose the job you want to do. You have to do a job like you do in real life. You’ve to go to the office daily, then they’ll provide you with the salary. After that, you can invest whatever you save from your salary.
In this video game, a small city is to be converted into a larger one. For this, the economy of the city should be strong. You can select all the things according to you, like what form of government will rule the country, etc. This game is available on various platforms, including PlayStations.
This platform is the biggest of all gaming platforms. Here, you can play various kinds of games and chat with your friends while playing the game as well. An amazing feature of this platform is that you can create your games here.
This app is free of cost, and you can access it anywhere, like on your Android devices, iPhone, PC, as well as mainstream consoles.
Video games are meant for small kids who find it boring to study huge books. For them, video games are fun, and they also teach them valuable things. In Spite of video games, which are for children, various other means teach you about finance and investing. One such means is personal finance books.
The personal finance books help you boost your knowledge about finance, investments, and banking. Various websites provide you with knowledge about finance, but these books contain an in-depth and detailed knowledge of the topics.
The Bogleheads’ guide to investing
It is the best decision to start investing as this will help you in the future as well in case any emergency arrives. The book is really helpful for people of all age groups and experience levels. This book teaches you how to break pitfalls.
This book reveals the secrets behind America’s wealth. This book teaches you how to manage your budget and invest your money.
The women in our society must be independent. This book helps young women to earn money as well as respect in society. The personal and professional topics are covered in this book. Thus, along with teaching about Money and related topics, this book also teaches how to manage family and relationships.
This book contains a detailed program of six weeks and teaches you how to become financially stable and compete with society. It also deals with very important concepts of today, such as credit cards, automatic bank accounts, etc.
Saving money is a necessity in today’s time. It is very important to save money for the future because the future is very uncertain. Also, one should have enough money saved to meet any emergency.
In order to save money, it is very necessary to have a budget. If you don’t have a budget, then make one today only. You have to gather all your income sources, such as your current job or any part-time job, and calculate your monthly income. After calculating this, you need to calculate your total monthly expenses. Now budget according to your income and expenses and try to save as much as possible.
To keep track of your income and expenses, you can use pen paper, or you can take the help of a budgeting app. This app automatically detects all the payments you make to the bank, such as loans, etc. This app sets a maximum limit on the amount that you can spend. This will keep you alert while spending and stop you from overspending.
In most cases, an electricity bill constitutes a great number of your expenses. Lowering your electricity bill is directly in your hand. You can limit the usage of electricity to decrease your bill.
In today’s digital world, the internet has become a necessity. To lower the internet bill, check your daily data usage and the speed of your network. Go for the offers which different companies provide and choose the one which helps you to save money.
This is another option that will help you to save money. People pay high amounts of interest. To lower the interest, you can refinance your mortgage. By doing so, you will get a lower monthly bill. You can also bundle your policies. This will help to cut off some interest costs.
If there is not enough money on your card, then you might have to pay extra interest charges. So, to avoid such chargers, you can make a switch. Look for credit cards that don’t charge an introductory APR.
You can choose the option of automatic payment to pay almost all your bills, such as your phone bills, electricity bills, ongoing subscriptions, etc. This not only ensures that you pay your bills on time, but also some lenders provide you an additional discount for your positive behavior.
Conclusion
In the above discussion, first, we looked at what investment is and why it is important to invest. Then we came to know about what is sustainable investing. Any investment that benefits society, humanity, and the environment, along with generating a good amount of profit, is known as sustainable investment.
Then, we looked at how to teach the young kids about investments. Video games are the best option for them as video games are a fun way to teach our kids the valuable knowledge we want.
Also, we must save our money so that we can invest in a good cause. To save money, one must follow the points mentioned above, such as lowering the electricity bill or mobile phone bill. Also, the bills should be automated. One can switch his credit cards if needed, etc. All this will help you save money and invest it for your future use.
