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One could say that the difference between investing and speculating is simply a matter of risk tolerance, with speculation being closer to gambling. However, the truth is that there is no clear line between them as all investments involve risk. Still, there are differences you should be aware of regardless of your financial goals.

Investing is usually a long-term game

Definitions vary, but investing is most often viewed as an attempt to profit from transactions, stocks, or assets. Often there is a “safety first” approach, as the most conservative investors trade potentially higher returns for lower risk of loss principle. Safe investments can include bonds, buying real estate, loans to low risk borrowers, or investing in Blue chip stocks.

To ensure the highest margin of safety, investors evaluate various assets, industries and market trends and try to select an investment that best offers their chance for constant returns. The most conservative investor will avoid short-term market volatility by investing long-term in assets or stocks that are often traded over many decades, known as “passive” investing.

This strategy has worked well (think Warren Buffett), especially when investing in the stock market like it had a historical return of around 11% per year, on average. The “average” portion is important because the longer the money is invested, the more it becomes connectionmaking it less prone to short-term, double-digit market drops.

Speculations tend to be geared towards short-term gains

The old adage “big risk comes big reward” applies to speculation, where money is put into investments that are more likely to fail and sometimes pay off with a big reward. Speculators (including Momentum trader) tend to trade more often, and they will bet on higher risk markets like commodities, cryptocurrencies, or stocks of small or distressed companies.

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Just because speculation is more risky doesn’t mean it’s all just gambling. The same level of scrutiny and research that is applied in looking for long term investment opportunities can be applied to short term cycles and market behavior (you can argue that the Gamestop’s Short Squeeze was rational investing, for example). However, if you have people making these trades based on zero knowledge of what they are investing in (such as Crypto, often), well, basically it’s gambling.

Risk is a spectrum that encompasses both investment and speculation

Knowing whether you are investing or speculating is not about what you are buying, but why you are buying – and that varies depending on your financial goals. For example, a low-income earner close to retirement is likely to not want to cash out his 401 (k) nest egg in order to pursue a short-term rally in AMC stock. In contrast, someone with more wealth might want theirs Exposure only stocks or bonds, so they’re happy to invest a small portion of that wealth in high-risk intangibles like crypto.

While it is important to know the difference between low risk and high risk investments, it is more important to know your own risk tolerance (more on this Here). And since so much depends on your age, financial situation, and retirement goals, think about it Consultation with a financial advisor to guide you through the tradeoffs that come with investing and speculating.

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Not all advice has to be professional. Sometimes your problems deserve a little blunt honesty from a guy with only a computer and a conscience. Luckily for you, I’m that guy. Welcome back to Tough Love.

Today we’re talking about a peculiar dilemma that most people (probably) never face: what to do with the ash-gray remains of someone – or something – that has mysteriously come into your possession. How do you pay tribute? Should you?

Note: I am a columnist, not a therapist or a certified doctor. With this in mind, my advice should be heeded. If you have a problem with something I say complain here. Now to today’s letter.

Dear sam

I have an ethical dilemma and maybe you can help solve it.

My husband and I recently moved. While unpacking and sorting our household items, I discovered a plastic bag full of “cremains”. The problem is, I don’t know who they belong to. Lots of things were stowed away because we didn’t have space for them in our old house. This move unearthed a number of things that we had forgotten, including those ashes. The ashes do not contain any identifying markers or tags, so we cannot identify them, but there are three options:

We cremated a beloved dog many years ago and my kids and I scattered the ashes on a hill we used to walk the family on, but maybe not all of them were scattered. I vaguely remember promising to keep something for my ex-husband to disperse. But I remember that I didn’t want him to have any part of the memorial for the dog, so it makes sense that they are not left of him.

A dear friend of mine also played me something from her husband’s ashes for safekeeping, while her living situation was unstable after a fire and she lived with me so that they could be his too. I thought I would have given them all back to her at some point, but I remember there were two bags of ashes when she planned to scatter them in different places. I would be embarrassed to tell her, but she’s pretty relaxed and would probably just find it humorous and welcome the opportunity to remember her husband again.

Eventually my husband thinks they could be his ex-MILs. She was brought home by his ex-wife, but they haven’t spoken in about 20 years.

So what is to be done morally / ethically? Do I bother to have them tested (is it even possible?) To see if they are animals or humans? Given that we supposedly share 60% of our DNA with bananas, I don’t want to pursue a completely fruitless (sorry) exercise. Or do we keep this discovery to ourselves and just scatter it around our wooded property and spend a quiet moment pondering the transience of human and animal life and each of the three beings that could have been them?

You can probably see that we’re not interested in having unknown ashes in a teapot in our kitchen, but we want to do something about it after we find it. But what?!

Signed,

ashes to Ashes

Dear ashes to ashes,

Wow what a predicament you are in, uh, brew. Usually, people in possession of ashes know where they came from. However, you are in the unenviable position of having mysterious ashes: everything that is left of someone (or something) on ​​Earth in a short period of time – but whose? That is hard. Our loved ones can really haunt us after they’re gone, or at least annoy us over bizarre ethical dilemmas.

This situation is funny in a way that is reminiscent of the Monty Python cast knocking over an urn which allegedly contained the ashes of her co-conspirator Graham Chapman in front of a live audience (although that is exactly what is not desired) In a way, what you stumbled upon is somehow beautiful: you hold in your possession a symbol of a completed life – a life that has passed into a realm truly unknown to humans. And from what I hear, whether human or animal, all of the lives that could possibly belong to that pile of ashes really meant something to you and your husband.

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned “the ephemeral nature of human and animal life” and you are lucky in the sense that you have in your possession a capsule that symbolizes the universal mystery of life. Regardless of who / what is in this vessel, it represents both the transience of life and the unknowable mystery of death, your own grave of the unknown soldier (in a teapot).

The first thing to consider is whether you need to do anything at all. No death is more or less important than another, even if the deceased is anonymous. The possibility that you are clinging to a physical representation of one of the lives you mentioned will undoubtedly bring back memories of these beings. Maybe these memories are painful, or maybe they are nostalgic or make you laugh. Keeping the leftovers in a container somewhere in your home could be a ever-present reminder of how fragile life is and the importance of enjoying our experiences with others before (and after) they’re gone. We all only have so much time until we too are ashes in an urn (metaphorically or literally).

You could theoretically for a DNA test, but the results might be unclear, since nowhere is ash sequencing as easy as performing a DNA test on an exhumed corpse, let alone a living person. (Online opinion on DNA testing for cremated remains is split so do your research if you really want to go this trail). Another option could be to ask your boyfriend or your husband’s ex-wife if they have more specific memories of those ashes, but that too could be fruitless.

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Scattering them in a nice spot is always a good option, although in that case it might be for housekeeping rather than a tribute to the life and legacy of an anonymous being. In any case, think about it and do what gives you security.

Nothing rounds off a bowl of pasta like grated parmesan or pecorino – unless you’re vegan. Good vegan hard cheese is probably out there somewhere, but I haven’t found a brand or recipe that comes close to the real thing yet. Instead of going broke and putting my dinner on one failed contender after another, I gave up and started adding fried breadcrumbs on top of my noodles instead.

This is by no means an innovative technique. Southern Italians have been putting seasoned breadcrumbs on their pasta for so long that they have a word for it: pangrattato. A pinch of crispy, toasted pangrattato enhances the textures and flavors of pretty much any pasta dish, and it’s way cheaper than a slice of parmesan, vegan or otherwise. You would never confuse breadcrumbs with hard cheese, but you really shouldn’t. But both cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs are salty and tasty, and have enough texture to stand out from the pasta – what more do you need?

My go-to pangrattato situation is basically garlic bread in breadcrumbs form: light, crispy panko fried in olive oil with granulated garlic, Cavender’s seasoning (which is just garlic salt, oregano, and black pepper), and fresh herbs. It’s hearty, crispy, and just a tad greasy, with a few sprinkles of green for balance. I think it’s the ideal pasta seasoning. To do it you will need:

• 2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup olive oil (depending on how much richness you want)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, preferably panko
• 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic
• Cavenders Greek all-purpose spice, taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh green herbs, usually a mixture of parsley and spring onion

Heat the oil in a pan on medium to low heat, add the breadcrumbs and dry spices, stirring constantly until golden brown and toasty. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh herbs. That’s it. (You can store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 or 3 days; simply reheat in a dry pan over low heat to make them crispy again.)

This flavor profile, bordering on garlic bread, goes perfectly with any Italian or Italian-American dish, even if it’s just spaghetti with marinara in a glass. But don’t limit yourself to pasta: I recently got the Smitten Kitchen pizza beans with a thick layer of pangrattato instead of mozzarella, and frankly I liked it better. It’s a different dish with no cheese, but the combination of red sauce, butter beans, and crispy, garlic, salty breadcrumbs is just as satisfying in its own way.

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Feel free to play around with the spices that suit your taste – that’s half the fun. Crushed pepper flakes are always welcome, and if you’re craving a more authentic cheese flavor, add some nutritional yeast or even a bit of miso paste. You won’t end up with a parmesan or pecorino clone, but you can find an infinitely versatile new pasta topping that is just as valuable.