Commentary: Youth and investing. They start with the vision of the apartment and it won’t let them go

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Especially among the young generation, I increasingly observe an increasing interest in investing. The reason is clear – more and more young people are beginning to understand the importance of investing for their future financial stability and independence. Saving is no longer enough. Although the appreciation of around five percent per year in savings or term accounts may seem attractive, in reality, long-term inflation shows us that our money is losing value in a direct transmission.

A recent AKAT survey shows that 35% of young people aged 18 to 26 are considering starting to invest, which is certainly a positive development in terms of access to financial planning. Young people are finally starting to see its key advantage in investing – if they start early, even with smaller amounts, they will use the power of the famous financier Warren Buffett’s favorite term – compound interest.

This works on a simple principle, where a person does not choose short-term profit, for example in savings, i.e. interest, but adds it to the original capital. This increases regularly and thus generates higher interest or profit and so on and on.

So regularity is the key to notional success, and at the same time it shows that investing is not just for the rich with high incomes who can put together a one-time “bundle” at the start of investing.

Lately, I have also come across the opinion that young people are losing interest in owning their own home for various reasons. Owning real estate is not important to them, following the example of the Western world, or given the prices of real estate and the level of interest rates on mortgages, they do not even hope that they will ever be able to afford their own home. At the same time, it is known that it used to be the first thing that young people thought of when they started to earn money.

I see investing in own housing and comfort as a frequent motivation for young people to start investing in the first place. And whether they succeed, or whether they end up settling for rent and evaluating the investment differently, it probably doesn’t really matter. If owning your own home only serves as a motivator for someone to get up from their chair and start investing, that’s still good news.

I know from my own experience that the inclusion of financial literacy in the education system is necessary, but in my opinion, it is a bit of a rub in schools these days. It is important that basic financial skills are not limited to theory only, but also include practical application.

I try to convey the idea to young people who want to jump into investing that investing is not just about accumulating wealth, but also about accepting responsibility for one’s own financial future. With this in mind, I urge everyone, and not just young citizens, to not hesitate to enter the world of investments, use available resources for self-education and pay attention to long-term planning. The sooner we take responsibility for our future, the better we will live in it.