Who are the Fools in Investing?
Bernard Baruch said, “The main purpose of the stock market is to make Fools of as many men as possible.”
So what is a fool? Baruch’s Fool may not be the fool you have in mind. But employing philosophy, a fool may well be made idiotic by trying to foretell the daily swings of the stock market. A Fool, on the other hand, buys and holds. If you have to become a Fool, why invest? Why is it necessary to learn investing basics?
Learning the basics before you actually try investing is crucial to avoid common pitfalls. What are the cautionary points? They are the mortal sins in investing. Examples of which are the following:
Doing nothing. Simply because doing nothing at all will not provide healthy wealth flow.
Starting Late. Delaying your investing career is second to doing nothing. When you get a little older than you are now, you’ll realize the time and potential wealth you have wasted. To preclude regrets from haunting you, start investing now.
Investing before paying down credit card debt. Many credit cards have high interest rates and before you know it, they are accumulating to destroy you. The right thing to do is to pay off the debt before thinking of investing.
Investing for a short term. Savvy investors only use this strategy when they need money in the short term. Other than that, this strategy is avoided.
Turning down free money. You are a fool in refusing a dollar with no strings attached. Take advantage of the free money at all times.
Playing it safe and creepy. If you are still young, you have all the time to weather dips. Indulge…
Trading in and out will just give you heavy fees. Still, it redounds to the best strategy – and that is to go for the long term investments.
