没钱到底能不能投资？

投资需要初始金额，无非是金额大小的区别。

我们常说的没钱，通常是说没有大钱。

可你要知道，这个世界是呈正态分布的: 极端有钱和极端贫困是极少数的，绝大部分人既不会太富裕也不会太贫困。

正态分布

如此说来，对绝大部分人来说，都没有大钱。

然而，交易市场却经常看到这些人的身影，又作何解释？

事实上，投资并非一定要很多钱。

此外，你认为钱是投资最重要的条件吗？

《通往财富自由之路》里，笑来老师说过:

智慧 > 期限 > 资本

资本固然重要，若是使用期限太短，恨不得当天买当天卖，那获利是很难的，或者说干脆亏钱；若是有资本，使用期限也很长，但是选错了标的，或者操作方法不正确，那也不行，不是吗？

定投策略，就是这样一个经多年验证的智慧。不仅有效，操作还足够简单明确: 定期定额投资，并且长期持有。

定投，不仅用资本，还使用时间挣钱。

今天带来的文章，将讨论这一点。

原文:

1.4 What Can We Use to Regularly Invest?

It's an undeniable fact that most people don't invest. And they have an answer as to why they don't invest:

I don't have any money to invest!

This is a frustratingly common misunderstanding. In fact, in addition to investing money, we have another resource that we can invest -- time.

It's not just non-investors who forget this. >Even the few who do invest don't realize that, in addition to money, their time is also an investible asset. They haven't thought about how important time is, and how strong an influence it has over us.

Warren Buffett is undoubtably the most commonly-researched investor in the world, and you'll find his name in most books on investment, this one included. There's no way around it, as most of what he says is correct, and, perhaps more importantly, he's been so successful that most of what he says on the topic must be correct, and most people can't help but agree with him.

Buffett is not just successful, he's also always very open in sharing his thoughts and ideas. The problem is, he's told us everything that we need to do, so why can't we just go do it? Even though the difference between knowing and doing is the difference between monkeys and humans, there is a yet more important reason:

Warren Buffett has a zero cost of capital!

Berkshire Hathaway's key turning point in its early years came in 1967, when it bought National Indemnity Company and entered the insurance industry. Remember, Berkshire was a textile company that Buffett took control of in a fit of anger, and he regretted getting into the textile industry for many years. It wasn't until 1985 that Berkshire finally exited the textile business, nearly 20 years after Buffett took control in 1965.

But after entering the insurance market in 1967, Berkshire became an investing machine. The reason was simple: Buffett not only had a huge amount to invest, the funds also came at zero cost, and they could be used almost indefinitely. This was a huge relative advantage over all other investors in the world.

Books about Buffett talk about his incredible returns, and they treat his investment principles as the Bible. Even a casual statement at Berkshire's annual meeting can be taken as law. But 99.99% of investors will never have access to massive amounts of free capital to invest over an unlimited term, and that's a big reason why Buffett has been extraodinarily successful.

Regular investors are different. They may not have that much money, but they are investing more than just money. Since they are continuously investing over the long term,

they are also using time to invest.

生词:

1. undeniable adj.不可争辩的，不可否认的；
2. frustratingly adv.令人沮丧地；
3. misunderstanding n.误解，误会；
4. resource n.资源；
5. addition n.加法，添加，除此之外；
6. investible adj.可供投资的；
7. undoubtably adv.毫无疑问，毋庸置疑；
8. capital n.首都；省会；资本；
9. key turning point 关键转折点；
10. insurance industry 保险行业；
11. a fit of anger 一气之下；
12. regretted adj后悔的；
13. indefinitelyadv.无限期地；
14. relative advantage 相对优势；
15. incredible adj.不可思议的，难以置信的；
16. casual statement 非正式声明；
17. annual meeting 年度会议；
18. extraodinarily successful 极其成功；
19. continuously adv.连续不断地；

翻译与结构划分参考:

1.4 What Can We Use to Regularly Invest?

我们到底在用什么定投？

第一句:

It's（主系） an undeniable fact（表） that most people don't invest（真正主语）.

有个不可否认的事实: 大多数人从来不做投资。

第二句:

And they（主）have（谓）an answer（宾） as to why they don't invest（状从）:

然而他们是这样解释为什么不做投资的:

I （主）don't have（谓）any money（宾）to invest（目的状语）!

我没钱投资啊？

第三句:

This（主）is（系）a frustratingly common misunderstanding（表）.

这是个令人沮丧的普遍误会。

第四句:

In fact（状）, in addition to investing money（插入语）, we（主） have（谓） another resource（宾）that we can invest（定从） -- time（同位语）.

事实上，除了用钱投资以外，我们还有另一个可以用来投资的资源—— 时间。

第五句:

It's not （主系）just（状）non-investors（表）who forget this（定从）.

这不仅仅是非投资者忘记了这一点。

第六句:

Even the few who do invest don't realize that, in addition to money, their time is also an investible asset（状从）.

甚至连那些少数投资的人，也没有意识到除了钱，他们的时间也是可以用来投资的资产。

第七句:

They（主）haven't thought（系）about how important time is（表从1）, and how strong an influence it has over us（表从2）.

他们没有想过，时间是多么地重要，以及时间对我们的深远影响。

第八句:

Warren Buffett（主）is（系） undoubtably（状） the most commonly-researched investor（表）in the world（状）, and you'll find（主谓）his name（宾）in most books on investment（定从）, this one included（插入语）.

沃伦·巴菲特毫无疑问是这世界上被研究过的最多的投资者，你会发现在绝大多数投资类书籍中都提到他的名字，包括本书在内。

第九句:

There's（主系）no way（表） around it, as most of what he says is correct, and, perhaps more importantly, he's been so successful that most of what he says on the topic must be correct, and most people can't help but agree with him（同位语从句）.

这是没有办法的事，因为他说的绝大多数都是对的，并且，也许更重要是，他已经是成功人士，他给的建议必须是对的，因此绝大多数人情不自禁地认同他。

第十句:

Buffett（主）is not（系）just（状）successful（表）, he's（主系）also always very（状）open（表）in sharing his thoughts and ideas（表从）.

巴菲特不仅是十分成功，他也经常公开分享自己的思考和想法。

第十一句:

The problem（主）is（系）, he's told us everything that we need to do（插入语）, so why can't we just go do it（表从）?

可问题在于，他告诉我们必须要去做的所有事情， 为什么我们就是做不到呢？

第十二句:

Even though the difference between knowing and doing is the difference between monkeys and humans, there is a yet more important reason（让步状语从句）:

Warren Buffett has a zero cost of capital!
（同位语从句）

尽管知道和做到之间是从猴子到人类间的差别，然而还有一个更重要的原因:

沃伦·巴菲特的资本是零成本的!

第十三句:

Berkshire Hathaway's key turning point（主）in its early years（定从）came（谓）in 1967（状）, when it bought National Indemnity Company and entered the insurance industry（状从）.

伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司早期的关键转折点是，它在1967年的时候购入国民产险公司进入保险行业。

第十四句:

Remember（插入语）, Berkshire（主）was（系）a textile company（表）that Buffett took control of in a fit of anger（定从）, and he（主）regretted getting into（谓）the textile industry（宾）for many years（状）.

记住，伯克希尔曾是巴菲特一气之下买入的纺织品公司，这使得他后悔很多年。

第十五句:

It wasn't until 1985 that Berkshire finally exited the textile business, nearly 20 years after Buffett took control in 1965（时间英状语）.

巴菲特控股近20年后的1985年，伯克希尔公司终于退出纺织生意。

第十六句:

But after entering the insurance market in 1967（状从）, Berkshire（主）became（谓）an investing machine（宾）.

然而在1967年，巴菲特进入保险行业之后，伯克希尔公司变成一艘投资航母。

第十七句:

The reason（主）was（系）simple（表）: Buffett not only had a huge amount to invest, the funds also came at zero cost, and they could be used almost indefinitely（同位语从句）.

原因非常简单: 巴菲特可以拿去投资的资金不仅有金额巨大，并且成本几乎为零，几乎可以无限期地被使用!

第十八句:

This（主）was（系）a huge relative advantage（表）over all other investors in the world（定从）.

这是在世界上相对于其他投资者的一个优势。

第十九句:

Books（主）about Buffett talk about his incredible returns（定从）, and they（主2）treat（谓）his investment principles（宾）as the Bible（比较状语）.

关于巴菲特谈论他不可思议的利润的书，他们把他的投资原则当作圣经。

第二十句:

Even a casual statement at Berkshire's annual meeting can be taken as law.

甚至伯克希尔的年度会议上的非正式声明也被视为法律。

第二十一句:

But 99.99% of investors（主）will never have（谓）access（宾）to massive amounts of free capital to invest over an unlimited term（定从）, and that's（主系）a big reason（表）why Buffett has been extraodinarily successful（定从）.

然而99.99%的投资者从未有过可以无限期投资的大量自由资本，这也是为什么巴菲特极其成功的重要原因。

第二十二句:

Regular investors（主）are（系）different（表）.

定投策略常用者是与众不同的。

第二十三句:

They（主） may not have（谓）that much money（宾）, but they（主2）are（系） investing（表）more than just money（比较状语）.

他们或许没有很多钱，但他们投资的不仅仅是钱。

第二十四句:

Since they are continuously investing over the long term,they are also using time to invest（时间状语从句）.

自从他们长期持续定投，他们就是在用时间投资。

往期文章

1.《On Regular Investing》翻译与划分（017篇）；
2.《On Regular Investing》翻译与划分（018篇）；
3.《一篇文章学会找宾语》（必学）。