Say it like this

Using something valuable now, hoping it becomes more valuable later. It might not.

For the grown-up

Investing means deploying a resource today in expectation of a larger return later, accepting that the return is uncertain. The uncertainty is not a caveat attached to the definition, it is part of the definition.

The easy mistake

Careful here. Investing is not a reliable way to get more. It is a trade of a smaller certainty now for a larger maybe later. Anybody presenting the maybe as a certainty is selling something.

The full explanation

What Is Investing?

A glossary entry is the short version. This one has the child explanation, the grown-up explanation, the questions and an activity.

Read it

Words next to this one

Save Keeping something now instead of using it, so you still have it later. Risk The chance that the thing you hoped for does not happen. Value How much something is worth to you. It can be different for two people looking at the same thing. Money A way to trade what you have for what you want, without having to find one person who has both. Profit What is left over after you pay for everything it took to make the thing.