You’ve probably wondered what the difference between savings and investments is. You want to begin your wealth creation journey and are a bit confused; should you save your money or invest it?
Many people confuse these terms for the same thing. In this article, I explain everything you need to know about them.
- What are savings?
- What are investments?
- What is the difference between savings and investments?
- How to decide between savings and investments?
A lot of us are more familiar with savings and how they work, but we don’t know much about investments. We understand that investing your money might seem a little complex. So we’re here to simplify both terms so you can make great financial decisions.
What are Savings?
Savings are all about putting money aside. We advise you to save about 20% of your monthly income. This money can be towards future purchases and emergencies that may arise.
Savings are usually easy to access when they’re needed. In cases where your savings are in the form of fixed deposits, you may not be able to withdraw as you wish. The interest rates on savings accounts vary but with Cowrywise, we offer competitive returns that can be as much as 3x your bank’s offering.
What are Investments?
Unlike savings, investing is purchasing assets that may increase in value. These assets could be stocks, bonds, mutual funds or even real estate. They can also earn you a return on investment. The main aim of investments is to use capital to generate substantial financial gain.
Investments are usually aimed at accomplishing long-term goals. They also allow you to diversify and have different assets in your portfolio.
What is the difference between savings and investments?
There are quite a few differences between savings and investments:
1. Investing has an element of risk that savings don’t have. With investments, you could lose the money you invested( your principal). There is also the possibility that the interest rate is not fixed and may change.
2. Savings generally have lower interest rates compared to investments. While there is a higher risk factor with investments, they sometimes have high returns.
3. Savings are best for short-term goals, while investments are for long-term goals. Investing is best for long-term commitments to earn returns and grow wealth.
How to decide between Savings and Investments
You might need to decide how to divide your money between savings and investments. You have some spare cash, and you’re wondering whether investing or saving is the right choice. Don’t fret, we’re here to help you make that choice!
On Cowrywise, you have both options. If you’re planning a large purchase or building an emergency fund, savings are the best choice. Savings are also a great idea if you want to earn interest with zero risks.
One reason you should choose to invest is to have financial security since investments are best for achieving long-term goals. Lastly, investments are a great option to protect yourself from unforeseen economic instability. You can invest in other currencies like the dollar mutual fund on Cowrywise.
You can begin your saving and investment journey with Cowrywise. We’ve made it very simple to choose from a pool of mutual funds and create a custom savings plan that works for you.
Watch this video to learn more about saving and investing for beginners:
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Simple and educative. Thank you Ope.
Thank you. I’d like for you to explain how the “sell unit” option on Cowrywise works
Hello Ega, when you invest in a mutual fund you buy slices of the fund (units). When you sell units, it means you are taking your money out of the fund.
It is the option you use to withdraw from a mutual fund.
Great innovation from Ope;Cowrywise,just pray it works out well.
Nice educative piece.
Hi, hum how long does it take to get my money back when I sell my units
Is this related to buying shares in firms while cowrywise is the stockbroker?
No please.
Thank you Ọpẹ. This is really simple and enlightening. The pizza analogy made me understand the intricacies of mutual funds.
A very good investment idea.
Like a previous question, how long does it take to get my money back after selling my unit?
Thanks Ope
Everyday I go to my dash board to see how my funds are growing. happy and greatfull to this platform and the decision I took. More investment!!!
Hi Adetoun and Racheal, it takes about one working day to get your funds back.
What a nice write up.
Please keep the flag flying.
You guy are doing a great job.
Thanks
If by chance ah can’t sell the unit expected yet ensure dat my deposit is automatically withdrawn every day what the risk involve there?
I am sold to this idea already. Well done.
Thank you
That’s very explain Tory and educating as well but being a newbie in investment market,
1. Is mutual fund as flexible as T-bill, if the rates on a particular investment increase in a country’s stock market will ROI on the investment mutually increase across board..
2. What’s the duration on mutual fund, it’s it annually or your company’s has a fixed duration before one’s unit can be recoverd, need more clarification on that .
Hello, when a share unit is sold, is the investor still available to receiving dividends?
That depends on the fund type.
Good write up. I know little more than the words. My questions are 1.what’s the tenure of the investment?
2. What’s the interest rate?
3. Can I terminate the investment anytime?
Hello ope, thank you for the explanation.
Does this mean that money can not be lost on mutual funds due to market change?
For money market mutual funds, yes.
Thank you Ope
Pls explain the ‘sell unit’ in Cowrywise and how it works. Thanks.
If you want to withdraw from your mutual fund, selling the units helps you do that.
Can I continue to save in my mutual funds without buying units can it run in auto pilot?
Thanks ope
My question is what is duration time can I terminate my investment , what is the percent interest rate on investment and what is tenure of investment..
The duration is a personal choice you have to make. I play for the long term though.
Thanks Ope dear!
Good write up. My questions are: if I invest 100k, what’s my interest rate? Secondly, if there is an interest rate, how often does it flow into what I have invested? And lastly, how long is the tenure?
Hi there, this depends on the mutual fund you choose. Have you checked them out.
Thank you Ope for the briefing on Mutual funds.
You’re welcome
Thank you Ope, i’ve been to trying to understand this for a long while now i have it like a box of pizza
Sir,
If invest in money market fund,what will be my expected interest?
This is really interesting,I always had a thing for mutual funding but I couldn’t get any better explanation than this,I once had an account with cowrywise but I lost the phone and eventually forgot the password,guess i would have to create one for this
If cowrywise are inactive on NSE, will it affect my investment with them and why are some stockbrokers that were active now inactive?
Very good explanation. Have been saving with cowrywise for some time it has been going I think I will now switch to the investment colum. Thank guys
Many of the questions on my mind have been answered.
Thanks, Ope for the simple explanation.
I’m definitely going to start one today!
Good explanation
Thanks for reading, Adewale
Very Interesting,
My questions now are
1.what’s the tenure of the investment?
2. What’s the interest rate?
3. Can I terminate the investment anytime?
What are the chances of losing money on this platform. Please I need a very clear and understanding response.
Good morning Ope.
Hi Odeniyi.
You don’t lose money with any of our Savings Plans.
For Mutual Fund investments on Cowrywise, there are different ways to earn.
I’ll recommend you begin investing in Money Market Funds as those are low-risk funds.
Thanks federal government for helping us
Thanks … I’ll like to know how possible is it that I’ll earn with out the fund managers selling my units in this platform.
Thanks
Hi Solace.
If you would rather not sell your units, you may also earn through dividends which are paid periodically, depending on which fund you’ve purchased on the platform.
Please let me know if you need any more clarification.
I have alot of questions to ask but just want to ask with these few…
1.what does the sell unit stand for?
2.is it the investor that gets to choose how long the investment would stay….
What’s the minimum amount to start with investing
Hi Ope, Saving on cowrywise has helped me but now I Intend to invest in mutual funds. If I no longer want the funds, can I sell them on cowrywise?
If yes, how long will it take to sell and get my investment back?
Very good write up…. thank you for the information
You’re welcome
So how would I see my profit….
Please I need more information about the dollar mutual funds on cowrywise, the difference between both and which to invest in(talking about Nigeria eurobonds and arm eurobonds)
Please I need more information about the dollar mutual funds on cowrywise, the difference between both and which to invest in(talking about Nigeria eurobonds and arm eurobonds)
Hello Ope, you said “Distribution in this case, would mean waiting on the fund manager to deduct the ₦100,000 gained and pay it to you without selling your units.” does this mean you still have your ₦200,000 phone [which you can still sell and gain another ₦100,000 which still enjoying your ₦100,000 gained from your fund manager?
A
Thank you for this insightful piece.
In case of appreciation of the fund, what would the fund manager do, since I am not monitoring the market fund? Since I don’t want to withdraw yet, what happens next to the fund and the gain, will the fund manager automatically increase my fund with the gain or will he send it to my account?
Thanks for the information, please how do I redeem my mutual fund?I invested in money market fund on the 7 of February,I requested to withdraw from my money but it’s saying I haven’t redeemed my mutual fund
Thanks Ope for this education.
Please, is mutual fund the same as index fund? If no, do we have in index fund in Nigeria?
Thank you again
How long does it take to get your money back after selling your units?
And, what happens if you only sold a certain percentage of it, not 100% of the units?
Very educative Ope, thanks. I hope we can get on clubhouse someday, so much opportunity there
How long does it take to sell your unit
Please Ope I need more clarification on this money market mutual fund. If I invest #5000 this month and continue same in other months just like savings do I still stand a chance of getting gains. Please explain more
How do I sell on mutual investment fund?
Please do I need to invest every day or just once. And too I needed to know more about investing. Finally don’t you have agricultural products investments?
Educative and insightful.
Hello Ope, it was quite insightful.
My question is under *capital appreciation, at what point would the fund manager distribute the gains if I decide not to sell my units, as there an agreed period like in the case of *periodic distribution. Is it going to be at the fund manager discretion?
I
Thanks
Thank you for always simplifying your write up, it’s very informative and educative.
I really want to invest but I kinda still need more explanations, maybe in an ABC way.
And I want to know which investment to go for. Thank you.