Yes, this old adage still rings true.
Even in a period of rising interest rates, hyperinflation, constant uncertainty, and donât even get me started with Januaryâs swings in the market, thereâs still no need to panic buy or sell for that matter.Â
Resisting pain puts investors into a dirty trap they cannot dig out of. After all, emotions are the enemy of investing. Pain doesnât come from dealing with losses, it comes from avoiding them over and over. They are bound to happen eventually. Itâs whether you are willing to ride the long road to be in the driverâs seat later on.
Americans have been practicing faulty habits since rates hit rock bottom back in March 2020. No wonder 80% of millennials regret their pandemic homes! They were priced out of the market and needed to execute a speedy transaction on whatever they could get their sticky fingers on. Luckily with climbing mortgage rates, the housing market will cool and ease up inventory for more cashed-up buyers with less speculation and more certainty. It helps sellers feel confident they have a reputable buyer willing to pay a higher mortgage and the buyer is thankful they have more time to think about the most expensive purchase of their life instead of feeling rushed walking on eggshells throughout the process. Several of my colleagues who purchased properties in the last two years compared their home buying experience to walking on a thin tight rope where any minute a buyer from across the globe could swoop in, offer a higher price, and seal the deal within hours.
If you know you need it, not just want it, you go for it. Every piece of real estate is non-fungible and scarce.
Sabotage
I know you want to do it but itâs really not worth it in the long run. Itâs a similar realization the wealthier you become. Sure, you could own more real estate and assets, but do you really want to manage and delegate all those properties, yachts, collectibles, and stuff? Whatever you own, you manage in some shape or form. True wealth is when you get your time back which entails buying less even when you could buy the universe.
You and I know far too many people who sabotage themselves all too often when a sale is sparkling. Itâs a sale for a reason. It will always come back. Nothing is scarce at the supermarketâââin the NFT Bored Ape Club, thatâs a different story.
These days, it would seem abnormal not to make a financial mistake. Retail trading platforms to home lenders allow you to make the most expensive and vital decisions of your life on your mobile device connected to public wifi! Nothing is more lethal than that! FinTech platforms such as Affirma and Afterpay make it seamless and way too convenient to buy something we cannot afford to continue paying it back in incremental amounts for the rest of our lifetime. Crypto and digital wallet platforms such as CoinBase, Ledger, Gemini, and Coinlist encourage gamification, memeification, and speculation, practically replicating gambling. To many financial institutions, reporters, and investors, crypto isnât even considered an asset class or investment due to zero regulation, crazy volatility, security concerns, environmental impact, and wild market cap!
Where do we draw the line with the abundance of Gen Zer made âget rich quick schemeâ investment options and realistic and responsible, ethical options towards building wealth?
It starts with what you can control.
For the most part, most things we encounter in life we cannot control yet what we can do is dictate how we react to it. 10% of life happens to you, 90% is how you react to it.
All we do know is that platforms and big tech know more about us than we know about ourselves. Itâs too easy to spend money, hard to keep track of it since itâs all over the place. Every single app you engage with has some sort of payment option. Maybe not Wordle though since the NYTimes now has control over it.
There is countless data proving we are likelier to spend more online with a card than physically with cash. Itâs not rocket science, it is common nature to easily spend more than with cold hard-limited cash we must embarrassingly count.
What can a piece of plastic or fake mobile wallet make us do? Apparently a lot.
No one is watching out for you, including the IRS. We have to be there for ourselves with starts with taking charge of our own financial future.
The Golden Rule
When you desperately want something, thereâs a good chance you want it simply because your neighbor or ex has it and you want to live up to their style of living, disregarding your finances entirely. We make poor choices with our money since everything is readily available at our fingertips.
Whenever you get into this sticky situation, and as sticky consumers, this is hard to avoid, ask yourself, how would your future self feel? If you executed this transaction, consumed this product, went to the store, etc., what do you end up compromising and losing out on later on? Regret is the absolute worst feeling especially since you cannot go back in time. Tangible materialistic purchases wonât be as cherished as appreciable assets or true investments in yourself later on. There is no price tag to the irreplaceable things in life and the best thing is, you donât need to go into debt for them or worry about giving up something else if you focus on what really matters.
Time = Money. Opportunity cost plays into everything. We are always giving up something to do something else. Multitasking doesnât work nor help and we cannot get two things done at once. We must budget appropriately and know our limits which starts with paying attention to the consequence and result of todayâs purchase.
Itâs a good thing nothing is for free or else we will feel nothing. Money messes with our heads. Donât wish you had no constraints or limitations. Paying off that debt is teaching you the best lesson. Without it, you could be a frivolous purposeless spender not appreciative of anything. Because of this, look how messed up the fictitious Roy family from Succession is. Too much of a good thing is clearly bad.
Moderation is key and moderate moderation is as well.
Life should be enjoyed and the best feeling will come when your finances are in order and your purchases are thought through, two steps ahead.
Money can control you or you can control it.
Climb the ladder. You have more control than you think.
Impress yourself no one else. Life is too short not to think ahead.
That Birkin really isnât worth it. When in doubt, invest in yourself instead.