What Is Investing?
Investing means putting money into something with the hope that it will grow or produce money in the future.
Investments can grow in value — but they can also lose value. Investing is never a promise of making money.
Saving vs investing
🐖 Saving
Putting money aside to keep it available for later — like $100 in a savings account.
📈 Investing
Putting money into something — like buying shares in a company — with the expectation it may grow or produce income over time.
Unlike a savings account, the value of shares can go up or down.
A few examples
Cryptocurrency is another asset some people invest in — we'll look at that separately in a later section.
Investing takes time
Investing is generally about the future. Someone might invest money they don't need immediately and leave it invested for years, giving it time to grow.
Investing involves risk
$100 — what would you do?
You have $100. Would you keep it as cash, put it into savings, or invest some of it? Why?
There's no single correct answer — different choices suit different goals and comfort with risk. The important part is being able to explain your reasoning.
For younger children, focus on the concept rather than real investing. Pretend examples work well before introducing actual investments.
Where to next
More on banks, interest and saving.