And depending on who you're talking to, having a spare $1,000 risk on investment is "having money".
True enough. Because they spend it, like the person who bought a new car. How much do they spend on beer/cigarettes/weed in a year?
> And knowing what to invest in is another can of worms in itself.
That's true. Apparently investing is more than "doing nothing", and one is taking a risk. But it is within the means of the vast majority of adults.
For the record; knowing what to invest in is easy: a broad based low cost index fund. The research in "A Random Walk Down Wallstreet" statistically shows that actively choosing specific companies has a less than 50% success rate and often comes with higher fees. For the record, most public libraries have a copy of "A Random Walk" and its conclusions are well shared.
The point is invest early in your working life, and you'll have the needed results when you're ready to retire.
$1,000 is not what people would consider "having money" is. $200,000 is. If you have a car, it surely cost far more than $1,000.