Managing time a practice in investing

A lifetime career in investing begins now. Despite the
association with the stock market that investing brings, investing
is more than the ticker symbols flashing across the New York Stock
Exchange.

Investing is resource management, and time is our most valuable
resource. While classes may only take three hours from a 24-hour
day, the decisions made in the remaining 21 hours reflect how
students invest their time.

Bombarded with fliers from dozens of clubs, incoming students
face an abundance of opportunities to invest. In addition to the
academic workload, each student is further pressed to choose from a
variety of social events ranging from parties to rushes in
fraternities and sororities.

As the quarter progresses and students choose the popular
alternatives to studying, grades may reflect opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost is a forsaken alternative to the present
choice.

Is a D+ on a global environment final worth the Thursday night
binge? In the end, investing one’s time depends on the
personal value assigned to competing interests; not every party is
attended and not every exam is aced.

Opportunity cost also applies to scholarships. Are scholarships
worth pursuing given the time spent applying, application fees and
slim chance of receiving money?

As a student, what level of risk can you handle? Do you prefer
the security from a job’s guaranteed rate of income, or would
you risk applying for a scholarship? Answers vary based upon the
need for money and competing interests for time.

Whether or not a scholarship is awarded, students should
appreciate total costs of applying: the time spent and the forsaken
salary.

According to UCLA’s Office of Strategic Communication,
total average student fees for undergraduates in 2004-05 will be
$6,230 per year.

What if instead of studying, students worked at a full-time
minimum-wage job? After four years of working, perhaps a higher
salary and a management position would ensue.

With this forsaken alternative considered, the true total
students will pay for their education may exceed $20,000 per year.
The expected counter-argument is that upon receiving a UCLA degree,
graduates work at higher-salary jobs and the difference in wages
will compensate the total cost of tuition.

Once again, students face an investing dilemma: Money in the
pocket now, or line the pockets later? Should a compromise be
considered? Is it possible to study and make money?

Even though there’s no guarantee that a degree will ensure
a higher salary than would four years’ experience at a
minimum-wage job, UCLA doesn’t have trouble finding
applicants, and perhaps students find these opportunity costs
acceptable.

Investing starts the first day of class as students must decide
between competing interests of work and education.

Despite the importance of managing time, are students afraid to
realize their responsibilities as investors?

During 2003-04, UCLA’s Undergraduate Investment Society
had fewer than 50 members. While perhaps a reflection of how less
than stellar advertising may attract little attention, is it also
possible that students are intimidated by managing their time?

After all, isn’t it easier to live in the moment than to
adhere to a plan? Incoming students are warned that without time
management, freshman year may flash by with little yield.

While UCLA enrolls students, it graduates investors. As
newcomers must decide between countless activities, they’re
making investment-based decisions that reflect their appreciation
for competing interests.

No matter which decisions are made, everyone is an investor, and
we’re all investing now.

Osowsky is president of the Undergraduate Investment Society.
Look for the society’s future columns about student investing
on the Finance & Economy page.