

Automakers want less stringent standards on work trucks
Michigan still says proposed CAFE standards will cost jobs






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By mindless1 on 7/26/2011 10:00:07 PM , Rating: 2
It depends on how you define investment, in strict dollars or in the monetary value of the function it provides and/or the monetary savings later, or saving time.

Suppose you buy a car that costs $20K instead of one that costs $16.

Suppose the $20K car saves you $3K in gas over its lifetime, $2K in repair bills, and you're not left stranded in a parking lot or the side of the road a couple times, and it lasts 3 years longer before going to the junkyard.

To me, the more expensive car was an investment that paid off. If all you can see is the most narrow definition instead of the larger picture of what the point of the money is in the first place, a higher standard of living for you and those you care about.

Another example - investing in nutritious food. It doesn't directly make your bank account larger but it improves your quality of life, possible preventing disease, obesity, improving stamina and overall fitness among other things.

An investment can be anything that has a return (of any type) later that was more valuable to you than if you'd just earned the minimal interest you would've with that money sitting in a bank.

Another example is higher education, although the value of an education has depreciated today relative to what it used to be (due to such a large % of people having them yet the cost of one has gone up), it's still an investment in your future even if it never results in your getting a job that makes more money than you otherwise would.

