6 Myths About Money and Investing

I wish I had a dime for every time someone called me with a hot tip or a new investment idea.  Boy I certainly would    be a rich man.  I am glad I did not take all that advice for sure.  Every single investor is different and has varying needs, wants, and desires. Here are some common myths about money and investing:
1)  You need a lot of money to invest.  It is actually the opposite.  The sooner you start with a disciplined, long term, financial strategy, the better.  I always say: “Start with $50/month for a while.  As life progresses, and your career advances, your monthly savings will increase as well.  Your long term plan will be off and running!
2)  You need to find a more complex investment strategy to beat the market.  While some portfolios need to be more complex and further diversified because of   the large size of the investment, although no strategy assures success or protects against loss, often times it is the simple buy monthly and hold, value oriented strategy that does the best over time.  Yes, I know this is boring.  But some of the best long term strategies I have seen over the years are the simplest, even if the personal or business assets get into the millions! Sometimes it is best to remain simple, and truly understand the investments you are making.
3)  You need to shoot for aggressive “home run” investments to get to where you want to be.  Again the goal here is really the opposite.  Let’s say your friend at work has a great tip on an investment.  You decide to invest $100,000, the entire amount of your bank account!  Of course, the investment does not work out and you lose ½ and sell the asset netting $50,000.  A loss of 50%! What will it take now to get back to where you started?  A 100% gain!  This of course will be very challenging to reach in many situations.  So instead of trying to hit a home run, it is often best to hit many quality singles and build for the long term.
4)  You need to study the market constantly in order to beat the market.  It is best to have a basic understanding of the various markets you are investing in, and to know what they are doing.  But it is often best to stop there.  At this point, I would rather you study yourself, and what makes you tick.  Study your needs and wants and desires and see how they all fit in with your big picture financial plan.  It is important to not get swallowed up in the latest stock or tip or what the media says.  With the help of a trusted advisor you may able to take some or all of the emotion out of the actual investment and really benefit from the understanding of the process.
5)  You need to do what your friends, family, and co-workers do with their money.  Believe it or not, this is what many people do.  They follow the herd and do whatever everyone else is doing.  It is obviously not the recommended path for anyone to take.  It is the foundation of emotional investing, and it is also commonly seen in certain consumer behavior as well as in politics. In dealing with the public and their money for over 23 years, I can truly say that no 2 clients are the same.  Even the best of friends or brothers and sisters!
6)  You NEED to own a home because renting is like throwing money away.  Rent is like other household money you spend like gas, food, and utilities that gets used up over time but is necessary for basic living. You would not consider those expenses as throw away, would you? Buying a home to live in is certainly an investment, but I like to think of it as my home as opposed to a certain investment that needs to make money.  Besides, with a traditional 30 year fixed rate at 4% on a $300,000 mortgage.  After 5 years you will have made ~$86,000 in payments yet still owe ~$271,000 on the mortgage.  Many would consider that throwing away ~$57,000 in interest.
Listen below to hear Win Damon and I review this very topic on FM 106.1 and wnbp.com on Tuesday morning.  Win and I have educational financial chats every Tuesday morning at 8:30!