I Gave Bard $100 To Make As Much Money As Possible; It Ended Up Teaching 3 Wealth Lessons
When we ask chatbots about investment and making-money, we usually position them as consultants who make money from giving advice, rather than from track records.
So it’s typical to have them rehash the same lists along the lines of “10 Ways To Quickly Make Money Online,” as contained in thousands of blogs on the internet.
“Never ask the doctor what you should do,” Nassim Taleb once said; “ask him what he would do if he were in your place. You would be surprised at the difference.”
What we usually ask these chatbots are “what do I do” questions, rather than “what would you do” questions. So when I wanted to ask Bard how to make money with $100, I gave it the money and watched how he’d do it. I wanted to see the difference:
My first prompt: If I give you $100, what is that one thing you’d do to make as much money from it as possible?
Its response went,
“The best way to make as much money as possible from $100 would depend on a number of factors, including your skills…”
It would go ahead to list things like: invest in the stock market; start a side hustle, start a blog or YouTube channel; take online surveys and renting out your car or spare room. Typical stuff. Further advising me to be patient as there is no guaranteed way to make a lot of money quickly.
But I didn’t want it to tell me what to do.
So I changed the prompt to: This is not about me but you, and I’m not interested in making quick money. So let me ask again, if you’re given enough time, what will you do with $100 to make more money from it?
Then came the dynamite.
Its reply:
I see. If I were given enough time to make more money from $100, I would invest it in a low-risk investment, such as a high-yield savings account or a certificate of deposit. These investments would not make me a lot of money quickly, but they would allow me to grow my money over time.
I would also use some of the money to learn new skills or take courses that would help me improve my earning potential. For example, I could take a course on how to code or how to start a business. These skills could help me get a higher-paying job or start my own business, which would allow me to make more money in the long run.
Finally, I would use some of the money to invest in myself by taking care of my health and well-being. This could include things like eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Investing in my health would allow me to be more productive and earn more money over time.
Here are some specific things I would do with the $100:
Open a high-yield savings account and deposit $50. This would earn me interest, even if it was just a small amount.
Invest $25 in a certificate of deposit. This would earn me a higher interest rate than a savings account, but I would have to commit to keeping the money invested for a certain period of time.
Take a course on how to code. This would teach me a valuable skill that could help me get a higher-paying job.
Buy healthy groceries and cook at home. This would help me save money on food and eat healthier.
Get a gym membership and start exercising. This would help me improve my health and energy levels.
With this response, my focus immediately shifted from the specifics and I go a hind of what the chatbot implied but didn’t explicitly say: that wealth is about investing in three things:
- Portfolios
- Skillset
- Health
Regardless of amount, if you want to be wealthy, let the things you’d do with and without money revolve around these three things.
Investing In Portfolios
When we talk investment, we usually mean using money to buy financial assets that will generate ROI. A portfolio is a collection of these assets; like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, and others. Portfolios differ per individual, and what you put there will depend on your goal, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Caveat: the best way to choose an investment portfolio is to work with a financial expert. They’d help you determine your risk tolerance, and individual needs and goals.
Nonetheless, I asked Bard how it’d go about building a portfolio. It’s response came with percentages:
60% stocks
30% bonds
10% real estate
This asset allocation is just a starting point. I would need to adjust it based on my individual circumstances and goals.
I would invest in stocks through index funds or ETFs. Index funds are a type of mutual fund that tracks a specific market index, such as the S&P 500. ETFs are similar to index funds, but they are traded on an exchange like stocks.
I would invest in bonds through high-quality, short-term bonds. These bonds are less risky than long-term bonds, but they also offer lower potential returns.
I would invest in real estate through a real estate investment trust (REIT). REITs are companies that own and operate income-producing real estate.
I would rebalance my portfolio every year or two to make sure that it still aligns with my risk tolerance and investment goals.
Investing In A Skillset
I asked the chatbot the best way it’d go about learning coding, affiliate marketing, and content writing. From what it said, I go a hind of a process anyone can use to learn any other skill:
- Plan: set a goal; in coding this can mean knowing what you want to do with coding, like building websites or mobile apps, and knowing what programming language to learn for your goal. It’s here you pick a niche for content writing, and a niche and platform for affiliate marketing.
- Start: Actual learning starts here, and the first step is to choose a learning resource. No matter the skill, how to go about learning it is almost the same: read books, take online courses, and watch tutorials.
- Practice: constant practice is the best way to learn any skill. Set aside time every week to practice the skill you’re learning; write codes, create content and drive traffic to your content for affiliate marketing and content writing. The more you practice the better your chances at getting proficient.
- Get Feedback: this will help you know where you’re doing great at and where you need improvement. You can show your codes and written content to others, and when you put anything out there, you can track your results and also get feedback from users/readers.
- Patience: the magic won’t happen in a whim. It takes time to get good at anything. So when initially it seems you’re not making headway, it’s helps to understand that this is a plateau, and plateaus are a part of the learning process.
Investing In Your Health
Here’s what the chatbot implied but didn’t explicitly say:
- Eat a healthy diet: This means eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It also means limiting processed foods, sugary drinks, and unhealthy fats.
- Get regular exercise: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.
- Get enough sleep: Most adults need around 7–8 hours of sleep per night.
- Manage stress: Stress can take a toll on your physical and mental health. Find healthy ways to manage stress, such as exercise, yoga, or meditation.
- Quit smoking: Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death. If you smoke, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health.
- Limit alcohol intake: Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a number of health problems, including liver damage, heart disease, and cancer.
- Get regular checkups: See your doctor for regular checkups and screenings, even if you feel healthy. This is important for catching any health problems early on.
The central lesson is that wealth consists in finding ways to, earn, to put what you’ve earned to work, for ROI, and staying healthy so you can keep doing the two.
