This post is written with the South African small investor in mind with limited experience in the area of investing who would like to make smaller regular payments to achieve a certain goal.
Investments are money vehicles and just like ordinary vehicles you have to choose the right type of vehicle for the desired result in other words you need a goal or a plan when it comes to your money. In a perfect world a car would be like a James Bond car where it could fly; drive and go submersible all at the same time unfortunately this is not the case in real life you need to choose an investment based on your goals for that money.
The most important thing about investing or saving is the way you think about it; it works best if you look at your savings and investment payments as mandatory expenses like fuel and food instead of optional items that you only pay for when you have the finances for it.
You need to consider a number of things when you invest
Liquidity
Liquid investments are those type of investments you have immediate access to such as buying or selling shares; unit trusts and money in a savings or money market account. If you looking for liquidity you are looking for immediate access to your money and are ideal for people who want to make on the spot purchases or payments in the short term. Interest and capital gains are relatively low and may very well be below inflation but are useful when searching for a purchase that may need immediate payment or a deposit is required.
