“Money today is worth more than money tomorrow”

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I get that the value of money depreciates over time hence why they tell you that the best time to invest is now. But i don’t get how exactly investing now helps you in the future if the cost of living increases with time too anyway. So like let’s say you invested $1000 today and then in the future that’s equivalent to $4250, but then the price of things have also increased so how much richer are you really if you have to spend a lot more in the future anyway?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Suppose you have a junk car sitting in your back yard. Would you rather sell it to me for $1000 today, or for my promise to pay you $1000 in a year?

What about my promise to pay you $1010? $1050? $1100? $1200?

Your neighbor Bill wouldn’t sell his (identical) car for a promise of $1050 in a year, but he would take either $1000 now or a promise of $1100 in a year. Bill has decided that waiting a year is worth 10%. (Of course, we won’t know for a year. There’s a chance Bill was wrong. For example, if I default on my promise, Bill loses.)

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