Recently I met with a financial advisor to learn how to start trading crypto at immediateconnect to make my family more secure in the future. To me investing has always been a bit of an abstract idea and most of my investments have been in the “collectors editions” of comic book realm and my thousands fronted to free up the accounts of the deposed king of Nigeria. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m promised a hefty little return on that one!

Well, in my meeting with this advisor we discussed the benefits of long term and short term investing, and what I can expect from each. He also advised me that reading crypto news would be beneficial if I am considering investing in cryptocurrencies through crypto exchanges. Once I am investing in cryptocurrencies, being familiar with quantum ai is a must to increase investments. I also learned that there are frameworks like substrate that you can start with if you want to learn how to build your own blockchain. Once he had presented his charts and statistics my eyes glazed over sufficiently and my mind started drawing comparisons to my own life. Specifically the investments I make in my children and what risks and rewards that are associated with just about all of my decisions.

I thought about short term investments and what they meant. In just about every situation with my children I know of some sort of short term fix that can free up some time for myself or just generally defuse a hectic portion of the day. Two of these short term fixes are snacks and TV.  They are easy, they are quick and I get instant returns from each. Suddenly the house gets quieti-sh. Things stop crashing, messes are suddenly not being spontaneously created and a calm envelops me. At first, the only real cost of this investment is replaying the theme from Elmo’s World in my head for the next 8 or 9 hours.  As a short term solution for snacks I can very quickly give some graham crackers or a bowl of goldfish and enjoy the serenity of crunching and only have to worry about wading knee deep through the crumbs later.

The problem with these quick fixes are that they are just that. Quick fixes, and nothing more. Once the show ends, another is instantly demanded. If I don’t provide another show, I have nothing but pandemonium and run the risk of my investment collapsing into itself. The kids are worse than they were before and are nothing short of contemptuous when I suggest anything other than TV. If I add another show, they are far worse at the end of that one. This becomes a ponzi scheme of broadcast investment that I must continue to pay into in order to avoid being the Bernie Madoff of my family.

The snacks take hold in a similar way. Try giving a kid a cookie and then following that up with a carrot. Soooooooo not going to work. Now, after watching all of those shows they are hungry and you need to give them something. So, sugary snack it is again which makes them wired and more energetic for the argument of another show. I’ve effectively given my nemesis the weapons of war that will ensure my defeat.

Clearly the short term investments are not working out for me. The key to making them work financially, according to my friends who read occasional investment newsletters, is being able to pull your funds back out at the right time. Well oddly enough pulling out of your investment of a child is not much of an option. You can’t really return them used (can you??).

So this brings me to the long term solutions. The ones that are harder to work at and require giving more, but in the long run are offering a steady increase in returns with a smaller risk of complete loss.

I try my hardest these days to stick to long term plans. Plans that I know are more time consuming and drawn out, but plans that I also am fully aware are better for my kids and myself. Instead of flipping on the TV and being content with Zombie children who’s main exercise is drooling and the occasional blink, I get them out to a park. Or, I’ll head over to the pool. I don’t know of a single instance ever when my home was fully stocked on bananas and milk, might as well take a walk with them to the store. Even smaller things that don’t require a ton of get up and go can be equally beneficial. Pulling out the crayon bin and a cardboard box can entertain us all for hours. Seriously, coloring never gets old. I would have done phenomenally better in college had all of my text books contained coloring sections.

If I had I been on my own when it comes to feeding them I probably would have been fully stocked on mac and cheese, and packaged anything. McDonalds would have been the quick fix du jour multiple times a week for lunches and dinners. And if they wanted a 2600 calorie McGriddle for breakfast here and there, who am I to stop them right??  Thankfully for them, I am not the only parent and I have learned how to prepare healthy snacks and meals for them. Sure, it takes longer and from time to time it’s a pain trying to get the kids to love vegetables, but I know that investing the time will show a return of healthier, happier children.

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As it turns out, I love these investments as much, if not more than they do. When I’m finished with my days I’m more tired and so are they, but they are soooo much happier than they would have been had I taken the easy short term investment. If they are happy, I certainly am. If I put in the effort and go for the long term investment my kids go to bed faster, sleep better and wake up with a smile (most times). Turns out, the long term investments also have short term gains! Of course I still fall back to short term investments here and there, but I don’t remember with any clarity a day spent with the TV. I do, however, remember every millisecond of a park, pool, walk or project we may have worked on together. I can play back in my head with delight the smallest nuances of these times spent together. I just hope they are going to remember some of them too. After all, I want them to pick a sweet friggin retirement home for me one day. Now that’s long term investing!!