The man with the golden investment

It's 8:21 now.
I'm wondering how long it takes to write (and edit) a 450-word piece...


I know a man. he's got this sure-thing investment. pays him thousands—a month!
it's got an almost-certain growth rate of between 10% and 15% annually, plus dividends.
this guy's investment is so certain, in fact, that he's bought a car and a house with it and plans to send his kids through college with it.

on just thousands a month? you bet.
see, banks allow this investment as a collateral, so he can get virtually all kinds of loans with it. and pay off the instalments with it.

his investment also comes with its own particular derivative—about 11% of his monthly returns are automatically reinvested, and they in turn earn him about 6% per annum.
quite a cushy deal, innit?

since he was doing so well with this particular investment, I asked him, "why not invest in other things also?
you know, like a 'never mind if the dollar drops, my gold is rising' kind of thing.

he gave me a knowing smile.
"too risky. I could lose money with those. with my single investment, I'm guaranteed of returns as long as I show up at the investment centre every workday."

"what?" I asked him.

"oh yeah, it's great. there's no money down. just show up, get busy, and the money comes rolling in like clockwork."

"have you factored in the opportunity cost?"

he stared blankly at the horizon for awhile. just a moment.

"too complex. not bothered."

he looked at his big shiny watch.
"oops—gotta get to... my investment centre."

"what if it crashes? what if your investment crashes? what if you can't put in the time anymore?" I yelled after him.

but he was gone.
off to maintain his precious investment.


it's 8:34 now. I've finished the first draft.
not exactly 450 words, but I  felt that the point was conveyed and I didn't want to belabor the point.

8:44 and I'm done editing.

8:50 and I've finished polishing.
29 minutes in all...

see you next time—when Spider Man says:
uwheeeoo uwhooo!