Be careful with comparing real-life things and experiences with a (virtual) number on a screen, especially for children.
I used to know an adult who only cared about that number going up, despite making more than a comfortable amount of money. Live with parents, save on rent/mortgage, number goes up faster. Buy cheapest food, take leftovers from work-catered lunches, number goes up faster. Scam your way into being hired for a position you are severely underqualified for, get terminated after three months, keep the salary and sign-on bonus, number goes up. Invest pretty much everything (because there are almost no expenses), compound interest.
This feels like a severe anecdotal example which I'm not sure applies to most people.
It is definitely a single point, but that is who this post immediately made me think of.
And to be fair, investing does not apply to most people either.
> And to be fair, investing does not apply to most people either.
Why doesn't investing apply to most people?
Because most people are neither properly educated about investing nor have the money to spare to even start.
Most people are living paycheck to paycheck.
Agreed, in 7th grade we did a stock market simulation, it made winning feel too easy.
Ahah but green ticker good red ticker bad. What's the problem sir