We all want to grow our wealth. We want to be in a better position in a few years from now than at present. Yet a lot of us have trouble really getting off that starting point. Why is that? The answer isn’t down to luck. The answer is to not develop the mindset of an investor. Of making mistakes that will keep holding you back for as long as you keep making them. In this article, we’re going to look at how you get your act together and really start investing.
Procrastinating
It’s one of the most common stumbling blocks for a lot of people. Many know that they have to start investing, but they want to wait. They’re looking for the next milestone of financial security before they really start. They want to live more comfortably and have more to put in. But when it comes to growing your wealth, the sooner you get started, the better. Even if you’re only putting a little into it at a time. The point of real growth is that it takes time. The sooner you start, the sooner you start fulfilling your goals and seeing results. Don’t let deadlines at work, family concerns, or bills slow you down.
Not paying yourself first
A big part of procrastination is that people aren’t setting aside the money they need to grow their wealth. They get the bills out of the way first. Then you need to make sure you have for whatever services you subscribe to and get the groceries out of the way. The costs keep piling on until you have no money left. So you leave it till next paycheck. It’s time for that to stop. Paying yourself first means assigning a portion of your wealth that goes towards your investments and savings. Even if it’s a smaller amount this time, make sure that your future takes its cut. You’ll find that you’re not leaving yourself destitute just by setting some money aside. You might need to cut down your grocery shopping a bit, at most. As you get used to putting more aside and change your lifestyle accordingly, you’ll barely notice that it’s gone.
Prioritizing comfort
When you think of the wealthy and successful, you think of lavish displays of opulence. You think of going further and getting that purchase you haven’t been able to. Shopping a little further up the street for groceries, maybe. But that’s not how you grow money. That’s just scaling your spending to your income. In the end, you’re in the exact same financial position you were before the income rise. Comfort should not be the reason that you look to earn more. Grow that portion you pay yourself before you grow your expenditures. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a little luxury in life. But it shouldn’t be the motivation behind your money-making. Being more disciplined in managing your money will help you a lot.
Relying only on savings
It’s not enough to be putting money aside. You need to make sure that it’s actually doing something. Your money needs to work for you, not the other way around. There are people who will save diligently for years and years. But when it comes time to cash in, they find their money hasn’t grown to levels where it’s truly enough. It’s not enough for retirement, it’s not enough to live comfortably. If anything, inflation might even outgrow it. Savings aren’t enough to truly grow wealth. They should be used to keep a portion of it safe. But if it’s your sole tactic for putting money aside, it will undoubtedly let you down.
Not doing your homework
That means that you need to dive into the world of investing. There are a lot of ways to do it, too. Many people will prefer investments like property and starting a business. Investments they can get hands on with. For real growth, however, you want to start building a portfolio by trading. But it’s not a good idea to just jump in. As you’re building the money you’re going to use to invest, start learning, first. There are loads of online courses that can teach even the most oblivious about the essentials of trading. To get a bit of first-hand experience, you might even want to try demo trading. It’s no risk, which means that it’s not a true indication of how you’ll do on the market. But it can be the bridge that takes you from theory to practice.
Once you feel you’ve mastered the uneasy business of cfd online trading on a practice account, you’ll gain the necessary confidence to trade or invest with real money.
Jumping at every shiny opportunity
Yes, investing is about taking opportunities. It’s also about taking risks. But being too overzealous in either of those respects is going to lead to disaster. For example, you need to be able to tell whether or not an opportunity is genuine. Penny stocks, for instance, can be a good way to get a foot on building a portfolio. But, as you can read online at Money Morning, not all of them are legitimate. A lot of over-the-counter and Pink Sheet trading aren’t subject to the same regulations as others. Meaning that scammers can get away with a lot more. You need to stick to reliable sources for your info.
Lacking diversity
It’s also a good idea to not trust any single trade too much. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as they say. Sure, if one of your stocks soars sky high, it can net you a huge profit. But you also take on a lot more risk by only investing in one direction. Diversifying means that you’re spreading the risk out. You still want to make smart decisions, but a loss in one end of your portfolio won’t affect the rest. It’s a slower, steadier kind of growth. But if you can get any growth at all, then it’s worth it.
Not staying updated
Investing isn’t something that you can really take your eye off. If you want to grow your wealth, then you need to always be ready to spot an opportunity or a warning of risk. You need to stay informed. But it shouldn’t just be the markets that you’re paying attention to. It should be the news in general. The rest of the world has a big influence on how the markets play out. Business news will have an obvious impact on stock trading decisions. Global and national news can tell how you how to trade currencies. Whether to bet for or against the strength of a currency. You need to stay updated, with the kinds of sites that Money Crashers can tell you more about.
Lacking patience
As we’ve said, you don’t want to jump at every opportunity. Treat news, not as hot button calls-to-action, but more information to act on. New trends and events can cause a dramatic spike or low in certain trades. But a lot of these violent movements are very short lived. You could think that a new tech investment needs to be jumped on as soon as possible. In the end, however, you might be backing a losing horse. The same goes for your own portfolio. Just because you have a bad week, month or year doesn’t mean it’s time to pull out. Don’t push the panic button. You’re not looking for sudden movements. You’re looking at the long-term game. Be patient and don’t pull out just because you’ve had a nasty shock.
Riding the rollercoaster
This need for patience goes both ways. Money is easy to get emotional about. However, if you start acting on emotion, you’re going to get the raw end of the deal in most cases. A lot of people will come off of a great investment feeling like they can take on the world. They’ll use their newly found wealth to buy higher than they really should. On the other hand, people will react to dips by finding a whole new level of cautiousness. They’ll start pulling out their money as fast as they can. You need to fight your own emotions. You need to resist the temptation to buy high or sell low. Don’t make any rash decisions when it comes to your investments.
Taking risks without cover
If you’re putting a lot of your money into one investment, make sure that investment is protected. It’s a simple concept to understand. Mostly, this applies to bigger investments like businesses or property. A disaster can be hard to recover from and will make the investment more likely to be a failure. But if you prepare for them with insurance, you can at least make sure you’re not losing the whole lot of your money. All investments come with a certain amount of risk. That risk should come down to the strengths of the investment, however. Not accidents or natural events that can cause a lot of damage. That’s what insurance is there to protect you from.
To get investing properly, you need to be active and informed. You need to take risks, but not too much. You need to put the work in every day and pay attention. To make real money, you have to stay invested.
