Difference Between Investment And Gambling Comparison Chart
Recognizing the differences between saving, investing, and gambling will help you compartmentalize each, and avoid common mistakes. It’s an easy mistake because not enough people think it through, and the terms are used interchangeably in our culture. Keeping saving, investing, and gambling three separate activities in your mind and in your account structure will help you be more successful at managing your money and growing your wealth.
What is Saving?
Saving is the act of preserving income for a future use; or an amount of income that is not currently consumed. Very simply saving is income that is not spent or put at risk.
Gambling is time-bound The concept of time is another key difference between stock investing and gambling. Gambling is a time-bound practice, but stock investing can last several years. In gambling, once the game or hand is over, your chances to make more profit from your wager are closed. To help you keep straight the differences between day trading, investing, and gambling, this article explains which is which so that you can better understand what you’re doing when you day trade. After all, you can increase your chances of success if you stick to the business at hand. While investing and gambling do share one major feature in common, namely risk, the similarities pretty much end there: With traditional casino games, your expected return is negative (typically between -½% to more than -5% on each wager, depending on the game). In other words, the “House” (the casino) has the advantage, not the player. Why Investing Is Nothing Like Gambling. Although money must be risked and can be lost both in a game of poker and in the stock market, there is one critical difference between the two. Informed decisions are against the rules in gambling. When playing a game of poker, you can’t walk around the table and take a peek at the cards your opponents.
In other words, saving involves money put aside for the future with capital preservation the primary goal. It’s possible to save toward investing activities. For example, you may want to transfer money from savings to investing when your emergency and short term goals become fully funded.
Examples of Saving would be: Bank Savings Account, Money Market Mutual Fund, CDs, U.S. Treasury Bills or Savings Bonds.
Items you might be saving for: An emergency fund, a car, or an event such as a vacation or wedding.
What is Investing?
The act of placing money in risk assets expected to grow from producing a product or service of benefit to others. Investing generally involves putting the original investment at risk with the hope of higher returns than savings.
Investing is having a claim on an entity that produces a product or service with the goal of profit and the risk of loss. Investing is different from saving because your investment is at risk. While there are many different levels of risk an investor may be willing to take; the primary goal of investing is not preservation of capital but long term wealth building. The best investments have growing cash flow and divide an expanding “pie” among the stakeholders.
Examples of Investing: Individual stocks, bonds, most mutual funds, most ETFs, etc. Real Estate used as rental property or for production of goods and services. Buildings such as factories, office space, retail space, etc.
Investing involves the possibility of profits and losses based on performance of the asset.
Example of Difference Between Saving and Investing
Here is an example where the same asset can be saving or investing depending on where it’s placed. A money market fund can be saving in your emergency fund account, but it also can be investing if located in your investment portfolio account.
A money market fund within your investment portfolio should be treated differently than a money market fund for short term savings. The money market in your investment account serves the purpose of lowering portfolio asset correlation and can be used to buy risk assets when opportunities arise. A money market in your emergency fund is for capital preservation and should not be touched unless you have an emergency.
What is Gambling?
Gambling is accepting risk based on chance. Almost all gambling involves risk that exceeds the expected reward. In other words, gambling usually involves dividing up a fixed pie among winners and losers based on chance. In most gambling there is an additional factor such as costs, fees, or odds that results in dividing a shrinking pie.
Examples of gambling:
Currency Trading of Futures and Options (except hedging), Commodity Futures and Options Trading (except hedging), All Lotteries, and Casino games such as cards, table games, or electronic games.
In all these examples the odds are against you because they divide among the “winners” a smaller pie than originally existed!
Difference Between Investing and Gambling
Some people confuse investing with gambling. This is one good reason it’s important to differentiate and compartmentalize saving, investing, and gambling. Most gambling involves risking capital and dividing a fixed amount among winners and losers based on chance. This is different from investing where you place your money in an asset expected to increase in value over time.
Additional Reading:
10 Investing Principles Fundamental To Successful Outcomes
The Importance of Compartmentalization
Investors frequently get in trouble because they fail to differentiate and compartmentalize these three very different activities. An emergency fund should be kept completely separate from your investing activities. As pointed out, even if you have the same asset (i.e. Money Market Fund) in each they need to be viewed and treated differently.
Saving is a passive activity for short term goals. Preservation of capital is the primary goal. A separate account for each goal or activity promotes correct thinking and actions consistent with meeting the goals of the account.
Investing is an active activity and keeping accounts separate from saving accounts keeps the asset allocation and diversification process clear and separated from the fund reserved for capital preservation. Keeping funds separate is sound planning and a risk management concept.
Gambling should never be mixed with saving or investing. If someone chooses to gamble it should be with entertainment monies unassociated with saving or investing accounts. Only monies that individuals are willing to lose should ever be wagered in a game of chance.
Keeping saving, investing, and gambling three separate activities in your mind and in your account structure will assist you in building wealth. Too many people gamble with investment money, or invest when they should be saving. Differentiating and compartmentalizing saving, investing, and gambling, is an important first step to a successful investor.
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Disclaimer
While Arbor Investment Planner has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, we make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third-party information presented herein. The sole purpose of this analysis is information. Nothing presented herein is, or is intended to constitute investment advice. Consult your financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Many people do not differentiate between the following terms when they invest their hard-earned money in different asset classes, particularly in stock market and often get confused between;
1. Saving
2. Investment
3. Speculations
4. Gambling
We often use the word savings and investment interchangeably, while both are different and both are necessary to secure our future. Saving is done for purchases and emergencies while investment is being done for creation of wealth. I have heard from most of the people that they are savings for their retired life, we need to understand that if we are saving for our retired life we need to invest that money to create wealth. We need to allocate the money wisely between saving and investment, it depends upon behavior of each individual and allocation can be made accordingly. In general, we shall allocate equivalent of three to six months expenses for savings and any excess over it should be allocated for investment.
There is a razor thin differentiation between investment and speculations, in reality it depends upon our own behavior as an investor to differentiate between investment and speculation. Investment and speculative deals are generally done for real assets.
Investment can be defined as “The employment of funds to acquire certain assets after due diligence for mid to long period of time, with the objective of wealth creation and additional income in future”
Speculative investment can be defined as “The employment of funds to acquire assets for shorter duration of time to take advantage of fluctuations in prices of underlying assets”
However, Gambling can be defined as “The employment of funds for entertainment/fun with the chances of return depends upon probability of certain situation or events”. For example, deploying funds on horse racing can be defined as gambling.
Difference Between Investment And Gambling Comparison Chart 2020
Key differential of investment vs speculation vs Gambling is;
Difference Between Investment And Gambling Comparison Chart 2019
1. Risk Analysis and Risk appetite: Investor will generally rely on the fundamental analysis of financials and other factors which can affect the price of the asset class and their decision to invest in particular asset is based upon certain fundamental values associated with the asset. Investors do have long term risk and return perspective. While speculators generally rely on the flow of the wind without analysing any fundamentals. Speculators do take higher risk for expects higher returns in short period. Gambler risk entire capital on bet and relay mainly on luck. They are the highest risk takers and ready to lose original investment also.
2. Price of the asset: Investor does not look at the price of the asset rather it looks at the asset itself to determine the decision to allocate some money now to get some money back later on. Investor does not get influenced by daily fluctuations of the asset price, because his/her allocation of money decision is based on the intrinsic value of the assets rather then price. Speculators look at the price of the asset to allocate the money and they do get influenced by the daily fluctuations of the price of the assets, aim of the speculator is to get some quick reward. Gambling is based upon odds and bets are placed only on assumptions.
3. Time Horizon: Investors allocate money for a particular asset for longer period while speculators allocate money for shorter period, on the other hand gambler place bet for immediate gain.
4. Leverages: An investor allocates money from its own resources for investment while and speculators may also rely on borrowed money to allocate. This is applicable mainly to assets belongs to equity market. Gambler generally allocate their own money and place bet for entertainment or fun.
An individual’s approach towards investment identifies the individual either investor or speculators. If an individual is investing without fundamental analysis, only on the basis of market sentiments and certain news, for a shorter duration can be defined as speculative investor. An Individual who invests with proper fundamental analysis for longer period of duration can be defined as investor.
Difference Between Investment And Gambling Comparison Chart Printable
In conclusion, Investor will get stable return over a long run and I advise all my readers to invest wisely after proper analysis of the company to secure their hard money for fairly good chances for creation of wealth. If you are a speculator, make sure your entry and exit to the market is at right time and always be ready to higher risk of loss of original investment in worst circumstances. Gambling should be avoided always and in most of the cases gambling is not legal also.