I don’t always like the way we use the word “invest,” or “investment.” Too often, it is associated with the concept of risk. Conversely, it gets lumped in with reward. Rarely do we look at investing as something that is worth doing with no regard to outcome.
Years ago — many, actually — I spent five dollars on a pencil. It was bundled in with the rest of my books and supplies as I got ready for my first semester of college. (With tax, it was $5.39, which in today’s dollars is an even $11.50.)
As you can imagine, I was met with ridicule from some friends and family members, who wondered if such a purchase was evidence that my scholarships should be revoked. “You’ll lose that thing in a week,” they chided.
I don’t think it was a bad purchase at all, because it wasn’t about the pencil. It was about mindset.
Why, Pencil
I didn’t have a job going into my freshman year. College was going to be my job. I wanted to get off on the right footing, with good habits. The pencil, and the little box of graphite sticks, and the clickable eraser, were all about getting my mind right. If I want to do the job, I need a tool that reminds me this is a job. Take education seriously, because even this pencil is an investment.
At no point was there a need to justify that calculation. I wasn’t interested in figuring out how long I’d need to own it to cover the replacement value of disposable Ticonderoga No. 2’s. It was irrelevant, because the value I placed on it was much higher.
If you want a more interesting calculation, look at the cost of going to school. My first semester tuition at the University of Alabama was $585, as an in-state student. In 2013, that comes to almost $1,250. But the current semester for incoming students is more than three-and-a-half times that, at $4,600. (I’ve left off the dining plan and residence costs, and the class fees.)
The New Math of College
At some point, you have to wonder if the increased cost is worth the additional “investment.” Yes, I put the words in quotes, because an investment calculation takes on a very different character when you are incurring debt to fuel it.
The other piece to consider is the existence of alternatives to get the job done. While there always have been alternatives to getting a college degree, never have there been as many ways to get the same degree of training and knowledge without the actual degree. Online courses are threatening to change the entire business model of higher education, and economic upheaval changes the way we live and work.
Makes you wonder if some sheepskin won’t end up being worth less than the sheep it came from.
Oh, the pencil? The Niji Grip 500. I still have it.
It still works, too — both as a pencil, and as a reminder that true investment reaps reward when made, not when sown. And that the best investments you can make are in people, starting with yourself.
