Ways to please your future self
Looking long-term can reap big financial rewards
Investing secrets: It all starts with the right mindset.
I’ve been fortunate in my life to have met some great minds, people far smarter than I am, who showed me how to get ahead financially.
I’m very grateful for this and I think that’s why I wrote The Money Plan – to share some of the secrets they taught me so I can help as many people as possible.
This week I read a great blog by one of the people who helped me as he celebrated 40 years in business.
David Booth is the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisers and a genius in the investment world, so I wanted to share his thoughts – as well as mine – so you too can benefit from his wisdom.
Gambling is not investing
This is such an important message to take on board.
Gambling is a short-term bet.
If you treat the stock market and investing like a casino, picking your favourite share and trying to “buy low, sell high” then you may very well end up sorry.
If you bet on the stock market in this way, you need to be right twice – when you buy and when you sell.
Investing, on the other hand, is a long-term game; you buy, sit tight and go off to enjoy your life. The sooner you start, the luckier you could be.
Embrace uncertainty
The stock market does not go up in a straight line, which of course is what worries people about investing.
But as investors we are rewarded for the risk we take in the stock market. Over the last century the world stock market has returned around 10% on average per year, but it is hardly ever close to 10% in any given year. In some it’s far higher; in others it’s negative. We should embrace this uncertainty by buying into the world stock market and holding on for decades.
Tune out the noise
If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Fads come and go, but the world stock market is still here.
Television experts offering tips, my neighbour’s next sure thing – these are entertainment, not investments.
It’s important to think that way. You can do very well without having any insider secrets, being in the know, or first in line. While sometimes the world stock market is unpredictable and may seem chaotic, there is a form of order which rewards the long-term buyer.
What should I do?
I’m often asked: “If what you say is true, why do so many people try to beat the market? Why not just accept the market return and leave it?”
Because we all want to think we are better – that we can beat the market, just like we think we’re a better than average driver, lover or employee.
You would do very well by buying a world index fund and leaving it alone for as many years as you can.
Your future self will thank you for it.