Wed 3 Oct 2007
Going to a Doctor for Investment Advice …
Posted by Robin Bal under Investing , MoneyMatters , Stock Markets[12] Comments
I see a parallel here between medical treatment and investment advice. In both cases, the choice of expert is an extremely high-stakes decision. If your doctor prescribes the wrong course of treatment, you may not wake up the next day. An incompetent investment adviser may leave you unable to ever retire.
Investing to a lot of people is comparable to going to the doctor, you know you should but it’s kind of scary, so you put it off. Does that sound familiar at all? Well, the thought that should be even scarier is what may happen if you don’t start investing.
One of the biggest misconceptions about investing, whether it is the stock market, bonds, real estate is that you have to have a lot of money to do it, and you only do it so you can get rich. The truth is completely different.
The truth is, investing is something you do to secure your financial future and also build a retirement fund. Suppose you were downsized out of your job? Suppose your retirement is up in 10 years? By investing, you will be prepared to meet these new challenges.
That’s the real meaning behind investing, planning your retirement, not becoming a millionaire. I’ve found few of the biggest reasons why many people fail to get started investing in their financial future as follows:-
Read
Investing is just too difficult. Since most people don’t use investment terminology in their everyday life, they don’t understand what it all means, and they are scared off. Yes, trying to make heads or tails on blue chip stocks, index funds, etc., can seem overwhelming until you learn their meaning. Once you take the time to learn, it becomes easy.
There is too much risk in investing. This is another misconception that keeps people from building their financial future. The truth of the matter is that you can decide your own level of risk in any type of investment. It can be something very low risk like bonds or even mutual funds. If you want safety in your investments you can easily have it.
Investing takes a lot of money. You often hear people say they just can’t afford to invest. It requires too much money. Again, can you really afford not to? Are you going to leave your future up to social security? Or your family?
You can start with as little as $25 if that’s where you’re at. As time goes by, and your investments start growing, you’ll be amazed at how fast it can build. The key is getting started. Don’t wait, or put it off. By investing today you’re securing a better tomorrow.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 10:55 pm
[…] Robin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThere is too much risk in investing. This is another misconception that keeps people from building their financial future. The truth of the matter is that you can decide your own level of risk in any type of investment. … […]
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Hey there:
I am back! I am so glad that you are making good progress on your blog!
I love your articles! Keep it up!
I love investing something that has potential!
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:33 pm
[…] Robin wrote an interesting post today on Going to a Doctor for Investment Advice â�¦Here’s a quick […]
October 4th, 2007 at 6:42 am
Hi Terence,
How you doing mate? I am glad you are back. Good to know you liked my articles. Looking forward to reading some great stuff on your blog.
Take care and cheers.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Robin:
I like what your article have to offer. I would like to invite you to write a guest post about how to balance the investment between money and time.
Most people are afraid of invest money on something with risk. They are also often forgetting that time investment is also an import part of success. People sometimes pay too much attention on their ROI on money. They forgot that the time they spend on the investment is priceless.
I would live to stumble on it and write a post about your article and link back to you.
How does that sound?
October 4th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Hey Robin,
Well written. Too many people get the wrong idea of investing and I believe you have set it straight in this article. 🙂
I love what you have to say and just keep them coming.
Cheers
James
October 4th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Hi Robin
Finally been able to visit your blog. Did you know I couldn’t access your blog yesterday and the day before?
Anyway, everything is tough if we don’t make an effort to learn. I agreed that we can’t afford not to invest as most ordinary Joe’s salary cannot keep up with the rise of standard of living. Plus, interest from saving accounts at the banks is very meager. My approach is simple. I don’t know enough of stocks and shares but I stay clear of it. However, I like art, learning about them is so much easier for me. Naturally, I prefer to invest in art. So for those of you who likes antiques, stamps, watches, don’t just be a collector, be an investor.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Hi Terence,
Look mate, writing a great post is not too difficult, you have given me something to work my head on. Give me a little time and I’ll work on something. In the meantime if you could be a little more specific that will make it easier for me. Email me on balrobin@gmail.com.
Take care and cheers.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Hey James,
Good to see you back mate. Glad you liked the article and stay tuned, I am gonna keep them coming, to the best of my ability.
Take care and cheers.
October 5th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Hi Viv,
You are right, the Stock market is not the only place where you can invest, there are other avenues as well. You talked about investing in antiques, stamps etc, thats a great idea too.
Listen to this one, one of my clients has been collecting phone cards since many many years and I was surprised to learn from him how many people around the world collect phone cards. Now comes the fun part, he has actually started selling his collection. Whenever he want to go on a vacation he just sells a few cards at the same time keeps building his collection. What he started off as a mere collection is now paying dividends.
Take care and cheers.
October 7th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Just to test out art painting market, I bought and sold a small painting within 2 weeks, and made 20%. I got an acquaintance who is profiting from Swatch watches too.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:13 am
[…] to a Doctor for Investment Advice … Robin Bal created an interesting post today on Going to a Doctor for Investment Advice […]