Invest what you can afford not what you can afford to lose:

[Yucky]

I have read a lot of threads where people talk about investing an amount of Bitcoin they can afford to lose and sometimes I feel it's either they know what they want to say but don't know how best to express it or they don't understand the difference between investing what you can afford and investing what you can afford to lose. Let's get the difference;

1. Investing what you can afford: this means that you're buying an amount of Bitcoin or any other asset of your choice that fits your level of wealth. It could be that if you're earning 200k for instance,  the amount of Bitcoin you can afford to buy at every pay period could be 50k while the remaining 150k can serve your other needs. It's not as though you're throwing the 50k away but that you're setting 50k out such that if you continue doing that for months you should have an investment somewhere either in Bitcoin or another asset of your choice

2. Investing what you can afford to lose: this means that you're using your money to buy something that you can lose at any time. If that's the case, it means it will be unwise for someone who's earning 200k per month to keep investing 40k for multiple years.

A typical example of investing with what we can afford is;
1. Investing in Bitcoin
2. Investing into tangible assets like building
3. Investing into a business etc.

A typical example of investing with what we can afford to lose is;
1. Investing into altcoins, meme coins, etc
2. Funding our gambling account
3. Investing into a project we're unsure of.

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

[Doan9269]

2. Investing what you can afford to lose: this means that you're using your money to buy something that you can lose at any time. If that's the case, it means it will be unwise for someone who's earning 200k per month to keep investing 40k for multiple years.

Don't take it wrong, no one will be investing and still expect his investment to run on a lose, but we do encouraged that in making business, we have to understand that each has its own challenges, which is expected of us to know and be able to analyze both the good and bad side of it, while the investment we are going to make must be base on what we can afford to loose, not because we expect loss to come, but in other to help us get prepared for it in case of anytime it shows, we are all doing business in other to make profits, but not everyone understands the reason why they need to make the investment as according to how they can afford, you may discover some lending to make an investment they are not sure about, while some are diverting their asset into other investments that are liabilities and they end up loosing.

[Agbe]

OP investment is different from gambling it is only in gambling you gamble what you can afford to lose so that you will not be disappointed in investment you don't have to worry because your funds never lost. And all what you have to do is to plan your investment very well. Either long term or short term. If it is short term den go make some survey for the movement of di price so dat you no go go invest when di price dey come down but it is good to invest when di price e dey di dip and once im go up X3 or more of your investment den you sell it. But if na long term investment then you don't have to worry for anything just be buying until di time you like to sell. So I don't see any lose in investment but in trading and gambling should be what you mean.

[Moreno233]

Forgive me to say that this post is just like a pun, that is how it is perceived because all investments are risky and prone to losses. Investing what one can afford and what one can afford to lose is one and the same thing irrespective of the area the investment is made. However, your message is gotten and well understood.  According to you, investments in Bitcoin, real estate, businesses are investing in what one can afford whereas investment in altcoins, gambling and others are investing what one can afford to lose. For me both the first and second categories are risky as nothing is guaranteed. People lose money in Bitcoin through hacks, lose of seed phrase and storage medium or other means. People lose money in real estate and some businesses fail, leaving investors to cry. As long as it is investment, nothing is guaranteed so it is wise to invest bearing in mind the risk. So what makes the difference is the risk level and the risk appetite of the investor.

On the basis of risk level, your post is correct, just the choice of words that got me confused. Bitcoin and real estate actually seems less risky than gambling and buying shitcoins (Memecoins and the sisters). So, both classes of investment should not be made with the same level of confidence as Bitcoin and real estate.

[Franctoshi]

It means you're taking the risk factors that comes with investment out there no business without a risk and Bitcoin is not an exception, what it means when we say can afford to lose is that now is guaranteed of the future in the sense that ;

1. You can have your Bitcoin stolen or you get hacked when you did not properly store your Bitcoin
2. You can mistakenly send to a wrong address,  
3. Also While transacting with the centralized exchanges they can seize your Bitcoin or the platform may crash
4. You can even misplace your private/Key phrases.

All these are the risk factors that is associated with Bitcoin and the reason why they say invest the amount of Bitcoin you can afford to lose.

[Chiomaobi]

You are very correct I really like your explanation, that saying invest what you can afford to lose when it comes to the crypto world are for shitcoins and not Bitcoin, me as a newbie into Bitcoin investment I don't have the fear of losing my money Bitcoin investment is a very nice investment all you need to be successful is patience ever since I started my Bitcoin accumulation journey using the DCA strategy I don't disturb my self trying to know if Bitcoin is falling or rising because I know the fall of it won't last and for it rising is certain, so all I think of is accumulating as much as I can .
Shitcoins are so frustrating when you invest in shitcoins you can never have peace of mind and the chance of losing everything is so high and that is why they say don't invest what you can't afford to lose, some people go into depression because of investing so much on shitcoins and the reason a lot of people still invest on shitcoins instead of Bitcoin is that they believe Bitcoin is slow in making them gain profit and shitcoins are very fast in growing and giving them a lot of profit and some people all believe Bitcoin won't rise more than it is now so they prefer investing on Bitcoin all this mindset are not correct and is wrong. Bitcoin will keep growing it has not even reached half of it's growing point and if you want peace of mind investment without fear of losing your money I believe Bitcoin is the right investment.

[Yucky]

Forgive me to say that this post is just like a pun, that is how it is perceived because all investments are risky and prone to losses. Investing in what one can afford and what one can afford to lose is the same thing irrespective of the area the investment is made.

I know that risk is a common factor with every investment option but what I'm trying to say is that how you look at a thing determines how you will value it or take care of it. Factors like losing your seed phrase or losing your investment to hackers are things that are common to all investments but you can easily control them.

It's just like you're telling someone like Tony Elumelu who is the founder of UBA to invest in the bank with an amount he can afford to lose. Does it make any sense? It's almost going to make him look like someone who's not serious with the bank and not someone ready to create something out of it. If I'm investing in Bitcoin or buying land, I'm looking at the prospect of what I'm buying and that's what will help me to put in much resources into it, but if I already have the mindset that I'm investing in something I can loose at any time, the first thing it does to me is that I become too cautious not to invest too much so if it eventually fails, I won't be all that hurt. In the case of Bitcoin that's more profitable when you've bought more Bitcoin, can you comfortably buy more Bitcoin if you're buying the amount you can afford to lose?

[Stalker22]

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

I disagree. Even with long-term investing, it is good practice to only invest what you can afford to lose in the short term. Markets fluctuate, and even solid investments can experience temporary dips.

The concept of "afford to lose" depends on more than just income levels.  For instance, an individual earning $200,000 annually may not actually have the flexibility to risk $40,000 if that would disrupt their overall financial security.  The total financial picture matters - factors like existing debts and future needs should be weighed when deciding how much can reasonably be put at stake.

And I really wouldnt compare investing to gambling in any regard.  They are fundamentally different financial activities with vastly different risk profiles and outcomes.  Conflating the two does a disservice to the practice of thoughtful, research-based investing.

[Obim34]

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

I disagree. Even with long-term investing, it is good practice to only invest what you can afford to lose in the short term. Markets fluctuate, and even solid investments can experience temporary dips.

The concept of "afford to lose" depends on more than just income levels.  For instance, an individual earning $200,000 annually may not actually have the flexibility to risk $40,000 if that would disrupt their overall financial security.  The total financial picture matters - factors like existing debts and future needs should be weighed when deciding how much can reasonably be put at stake.

And I really wouldnt compare investing to gambling in any regard.  They are fundamentally different financial activities with vastly different risk profiles and outcomes.  Conflating the two does a disservice to the practice of thoughtful, research-based investing.

We don't invest into something and yield bad outcome in our thinking, a good investor will always even at his lowest remain positive to his investment, this is where it sits the difference between gambling and investments. We gamble with what we can be able to lose because our chances of getting profits from it is limited, so we deploy such methods in order to be on the safe side. Whereas In some scenario like more of a physical investment one can invest with a lot more than he can afford to lose because it's a very rare possibility of the investment collapsing. For example, building a house for rentage which we know the drag associated for owning one, what will be probability of finishing the building and not having no one to rent out the house. But in a good sense, and some specific investment deserves a compilation of both to be successful.

[EL MOHA]

We don't invest into something and yield bad outcome in our thinking, a good investor will always even at his lowest remain positive to his investment, this is where it sits the difference between gambling and investments. We gamble with what we can be able to lose because our chances of getting profits from it is limited, so we deploy such methods in order to be on the safe side. Whereas In some scenario like more of a physical investment one can invest with a lot more than he can afford to lose because it's a very rare possibility of the investment collapsing. For example, building a house for rentage which we know the drag associated for owning one, what will be probability of finishing the building and not having no one to rent out the house. But in a good sense, and some specific investment deserves a compilation of both to be successful.

You are basically getting what the post you quoted wrong and I perfectly agree with the member. There is no that investment that doesn’t comes with risk, the only difference is the risk is just more in very volatile assets than in solid assets but still the risk too is there. Investing what you can afford to lose also helps you to be able to hold on to assets very well and not panic due to having extra funds to fall back to if anything goes wrong.

Yes we all know bitcoin at the moment cannot come down to zero in value but still it can dip and probably the dip might be for a very long term which would create panic to the holder most especially if he uses funds that he can’t afford to lose and needs them Back. Even solid and physical assets also Carries its own risk. The housing example you brought is also a risk because the house can get damaged by any of the means like fire hazard or so and with this if you have invested what you cannot afford to lose then falling back will be a very hard thing to do

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

No go complicate the whole thing oh. You try but no dey take things out of the context wey e dey, in both scenarios they're saying the same thing but using different words to pass out their information. Reason the discussion wey dem dey get before dem say invest what you can afford to lose. Shey you go just invest to throw away money, even the person wey dey invest for ponzi scheme dey get hope say him go make better returns. Just know the whole internet can go down one day self (but we no dey pray for am) and we no go know wetin happen same thing fit happen to Bitcoin.

Your investments in landed properties and other valuable assets can still be a waste so as you dey invest make you no dey guaranteed yourself say your money dey alright. People dey buy land finish and enter court problem (losing money and still lose the land). Anything wey you dey invest inside no put money wey pass you, no put money wey you no go fit take the loss if you lose am. If you no fit take the lose you go commit suicide oh and the rate of suicide they increase and na because people dey do pass themselves. They believe say everything dey under control but when wahala come, dem no dey fit take am because dem dun go put money wey dem fit afford before because everything being dey go well but forget about when things go go south. Invest what you can avoid to lose not what you can afford to buy using only present conditions.

[Promocodeudo]

I have read a lot of threads where people talk about investing an amount of Bitcoin they can afford to lose and sometimes I feel it's either they know what they want to say but don't know how best to express it or they don't understand the difference between investing what you can afford and investing what you can afford to lose. Let's get the difference;

1. Investing what you can afford: this means that you're buying an amount of Bitcoin or any other asset of your choice that fits your level of wealth. It could be that if you're earning 200k for instance,  the amount of Bitcoin you can afford to buy at every pay period could be 50k while the remaining 150k can serve your other needs. It's not as though you're throwing the 50k away but that you're setting 50k out such that if you continue doing that for months you should have an investment somewhere either in Bitcoin or another asset of your choice

2. Investing what you can afford to lose: this means that you're using your money to buy something that you can lose at any time. If that's the case, it means it will be unwise for someone who's earning 200k per month to keep investing 40k for multiple years.

A typical example of investing with what we can afford is;
1. Investing in Bitcoin
2. Investing into tangible assets like building
3. Investing into a business etc.

A typical example of investing with what we can afford to lose is;
1. Investing into altcoins, meme coins, etc
2. Funding our gambling account
3. Investing into a project we're unsure of.

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

Op don't get it twisted, your definition of investing what you can afford to lose in Bitcoin setting is wrong, I want you to understand something, this is a common advise in Bitcoin investment, this advise is for an investor to know that whatevr risk he or she decide to take is personal so in that case the investor should invest what he can bear if loss occurs, this statetment doesn't necessarily mean that loss will occur, it just mean that investor should have an open mindset to expect anything be it positive or negative, with this statement an intending investor should know that Bitcoin is not a bed of roses, ups and downs may happen so if you really can wait for a longterm, you should try investing what you can conveniently watch depreciate without being pained, both advise are for newbies, the old folks already understand digital market at such they already understand Bitcoin, any investment move the take in Bitcoin is intentional, in other hand investing what you can afford simply means don't go borrowing or using all you have to invest, as an investor, you need to have reserve fund to solve some pressing needs if the eventually occur, just go the plan that fits your portfolio may be as time goes on, you will increase your investment depending on your earnings.

[Ishicryptic]

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

I totally agree with you that investing what you can afford to loose in a business that you have the believe that it will yield profit in the future is not a good business plan. Except when you don't have the believe that the business will last and you are gambling your funds, then it will become a good business plan to invest the amount that you can afford to loose. I don't think that it is proper to say that we should invest the amount that we can afford to loose in a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, it is a store of value and we can invest the amount that we have budgeted for investment like the DCA method, not necessarily the amount that we can afford to throw away. I can invest the amount that I can afford to loose in altcoins, especially the ones that have not gained reputation in the cryptocurrency market.

[laijsica]

1. Investing what you can afford: this means that you're buying an amount of Bitcoin or any other asset of your choice that fits your level of wealth. It could be that if you're earning 200k for instance,  the amount of Bitcoin you can afford to buy at every pay period could be 50k while the remaining 150k can serve your other needs. It's not as though you're throwing the 50k away but that you're setting 50k out such that if you continue doing that for months you should have an investment somewhere either in Bitcoin or another asset of your choice

You should first make up your mind that you want to invest in Bitcoin but it is recommended for you that it may not be a good decision to invest the entire disposable money that you have after meeting your daily needs after earning every month. The decision to deposit bitcoins every month with full amount of disposable income is definitely a good one but it is more important to have assets or cash that you may need urgently because suppose you earn $200 per month $150 is for daily household expenses and the remaining $50 is the entire amount. If you keep your bitcoins as a deposit, you won't be able to run your deposit for long unless you have an alternative currency to meet urgent needs. If you have an emergency fund system, you can aggressively accumulate bitcoins for your emergency and long-term investments.

2. Investing what you can afford to lose: this means that you're using your money to buy something that you can lose at any time. If that's the case, it means it will be unwise for someone who's earning 200k per month to keep investing 40k for multiple years.

None of your assets are as safe as you might think. In an era of inflation, the value of each of your assets gradually declines, which you may lose or lose over time. Each of your investments tends to lose be it real assets or crypto. This is how you should make your mindset. But Bitcoin is an asset that can provide more guaranteed profits than other assets. Although Bitcoin is volatile, its trustworthiness has been proven time and again over the years and you can keep your investment confidence in Bitcoin deposits for a long time. Holding.

[Miles2006]

It’s kinda complicated when it comes to investment that requires sacrifice and money because an investor must have the understanding and knowledge first before investing. According to op points he made mentioned of different investment etc. firstly the concept of investment is attached to profit because you invest knowing fully well you want a profit in return, no one will want to invest without expecting any profit except for the ones who don’t know the risk involved and honestly speaking some investment are not worth investing and at the end of the day when there’s no profit the investor will be disappointed so in such investment I will advice the person to invest what they can afford to lose, secondly there’s no risk free investment. I will only advice an investor to use what’s available at that moment for investing because sometimes over investing can be a problem mostly when dealing with long term investment like bitcoin that requires time and patient, when using the word lose I’m sure you’re not expecting any profit and bitcoin investment doesn’t move in such direction.

[Marvelockg]

The difference is clear, investing what you can afford is used when you are interested in building future wealth while investing what you can afford to lose applies to cases where you just want a short-term profit and it mostly happens when you're trying things out.

Generally we know that every choice we make in life is risky and none of it is certain to give us our desired result regardless of how sure we are with the choice we're making. Even when you're investing in yourself by learning a skill or getting the normal education, we all know that sometimes after learning those skills and or getting the required educational qualification, it doesn't mean that it's 100% guaranteed that we're going to be successful at it. In the context of investing into Bitcoin, though we have faith in bitcoins future, that doesn't in any way suggest that we don't know that things can go wrong and Bitcoin will become a thing of the past. These are just some of the reasons why you see people talking about investing what you can afford to lose while you're making any investments. It's not as though they are anticipating any losses but if you're going into anything without counting the cost which in most cases involves considering the possibility of loses, you get fooled to invest blindly.

Note that even when you buy a property or establish a reputable business, it's not 100% certain that the business will not crash. Event do happen and the land you've invested all you've got into goes out of your reach and what do you do at that point? The reason why people diversify there investment choice is to place themselves in a position where they aren't risking too much. If you see opportunity in an asset, it's not out of place to invest huge into it but you don't go about the investment with all that you have or else it becomes almost 100% gambling and when anything goes wrong, it hurts you to the peak.

[Derek jnr2001]

OP investment is different from gambling it is only in gambling you gamble what you can afford to lose so that you will not be disappointed in investment you don't have to worry because your funds never lost. And all what you have to do is to plan your investment very well. Either long term or short term. If it is short term den go make some survey for the movement of di price so dat you no go go invest when di price dey come down but it is good to invest when di price e dey di dip and once im go up X3 or more of your investment den you sell it. But if na long term investment then you don't have to worry for anything just be buying until di time you like to sell. So I don't see any lose in investment but in trading and gambling should be what you mean.

Of course is only in gamble that you stake with what you can afford to lose, because there's no guarantee about what will be the outcome. Actually I think op is referring to meme Investment you know  memecoin is always like that is very hard to predict their future most of the memecoin after been hyped they get dumped so that is why if you're investing in memecoin is always advisable to invest with what you can afford so that even if you experience lose in the market is not going to affect you in anyway. Moreover you don't have to say that there's no lose in Investment you know there's always a risk in everything that requires money there are two things involved in crypto investment that's is either you lose or you gain those Investors who are very deep in crypto investment knows how crypto investment works though everyone will always want to make profit whenever time they make Investment but it never works like that you don't expect profit to come everytime you make Investment.