The world of investments seems complex and bland.
From the amount of jargon thatâs tossed around which include commodities to bonds, assets to cash and sayings such as, âinvesting in yourself through educationâ to ânot putting all your eggs in 1 basketâ, these are the phrases and terms we most likely think of when we hear the word investments yet this game is much more creative and fun than you think.
Finance is made to be impossible and boring to those who donât try.
Until the late 20th century in the 70âs, women and people of color finally got the opportunity to trade on their behalf, apply for a credit card and open a bank account. Prior to these times, they had to rely on men, mostly whites who also happened to work on the stock exchange or at a bank to support themselves.
If you were a construction worker living in Wisconsin, there was a 99.9% chance you werenât invested in the market and still till this day although itâs dropped to 50%.
Although at the time divorce rates were lower, households relied on mainly 1 income, their earned income and there was more stability in the workforce, relying on anyone at anytime is scary, especially when you know very little about finance as women did during that time. Women live longer than men and depending on them is dangerous especially when they went to war.
Thankfully as the world of retail trading, stay at home dads and free commission trading came about in the past few decades, minorities and women starting rising the ranks and becoming part of a world they were once banned from entirely.
As weâve witnessed throughout the pandemic, the rise of retail traders on Robinhood and WeBull accounted for 20% of the volume in the market and there was a record number of brokerage accounts opened.
Investing is finally becoming ubiquitous as opening a bank account and seen as a new wave of âtrendinessâ.
Yet majority of these newly minted investors have no idea what theyâre doing.
They follow others and are convinced that day trading will save them time and money later on in life when in reality, passive investing always beats out active investing 99% of the time with less hassle, burden, energy and money spent.
Investing has moved beyond the fundamentals and now into emotions a.k.a dangerous territory. I propose this is because people are too lazy to understand how to truly value companies and rather make guesses based on ones theyâve heard tossed around.
They blab about investments they want to get into, discuss ROE, P/E and ROI pricing valuation metrics as if they know what they are talking about yet leave out one crucial step.
Investing in themselves which starts by getting detached from the text books, media and earnings reports.
The Truth
I needed to set the scene in order to prove that vacations are part of the investment world too and will help you navigate your portfolio because most arenât convinced. Iâm not saying dishing out $7k to go to Aruba will make you more but it will clear your head and help you think differently that your couch or 3rd monitor cannot provide.
Not until today are we seeing more of a relaxed and accepted culture behind time off especially in the states where taking any days off was looked down upon for centuries.
But the truth is. We all need a break and so do our investments.
The truth is. The less tinkering and gambling you do, the better off you will be.
Sure youâll match the market and wonât beat it, but why would you need to destroy the market while risking everything?
Youâll make extraordinary returns in a few years through passive investing just buying into a basic index fund like SPDR that tracks the S&P 500 as a whole.
The indexes always go up overtime because the largest asset classes are residential real estate and stocks, two areas the rich are invested in the most and own 90% of.
They are also people who work the least and let their money work for them.
Follow them.
If youâre a slave to your time, then you will work till death as Buffett proclaims.
There should be no reason you SHOULDNâT be taking more time off.
Work Less Earn More
You can most definitively get more done in less time by earning passive and sustainable income instead of W2 earned income or adopting day trading habits.
By saving 80%+ of your after-tax income and investing the rest will help you get ahead of 90% of the population.
We all have an energy tank and it gets depleted just like a car. It needs to be refueled before its stuck on the road and needs AllState to tow it away.
For us humans, towing is called burnout and workaholism.
If we keep running too much on a small percentage of fuel or stimulate ourselves with fake stimulants like caffeine and Red Bull, itâs harder to recover because we dig a deeper hole for ourselves.
Thatâs why, if you can, I would recommend taking incremental breaks throughout the year and definitely in your day.
Follow the Pomodoro method. Work for 20 minutes, get up for 5. Invest in a standing desk, sit less and get outdoors to refresh yourself just like your beloved computer re-sets.
This is something Iâve had trouble with since I started working at age 13. Itâs been a problem since but Iâm getting better at it although itâs difficult to log-off since I genuinely enjoy working.
Secret Investment
Vacation can be a pain. From packing to scheduling, the itinerary to kids, dreaded sunblock and reservations, thereâs a lot of hassle that goes into it even solo traveling yet people still embark on it and want to do it more than ever these days.
Whatâs the point of working so hard and earning more than you ever dreamed of but not letting it benefit your life?
Thatâs a 1% problem but still a serious one.
Might as well make yourself feel better spending it on a trip than only on taxes and living expenses.
Vacation Visits
Going on vacation scares me.
For the past couple of years Iâve been attempting to get better at doing nothing.
Last week I took time off for the first time in a couple years.
Vacations are challenging and scary for me especially since my pet peeve is wasting time and I genuinely love working and learning.
Yet removing myself from any form of digilitzation and staring into space allowed me to do much-needed introspection.
Iâm not a yoga mediative type person. I exercise and read for 2 Horus a day to keep me sane and consistency keeps me focused. Yet what I couldnât uncover not going away was that the more I check in with myself, the more I understood what I need.
What Iâve learned is that not having a clear head isnât bad.
My thoughts have always been a part of me and keep me going and happy. Without them, Iâm not me.
So you do you and remember,
âWhy do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes.â Terry Pratchett
Your investments need a break from you too. Too much tinkering gets you nowhere.
Your hard earned salaries are in the stock market for a reason.
Let them work for you not against you otherwise thereâs no point in investing.
Invest to STAY rich not GET rich and loose it.
Happy traveling and doing absolutely nothing.