Friday, January 10, 2014

Is Your Investing Turning Into An Addiction

By Andrew Block


Investing your money in worthwhile ventures and investment vehicles is a worthwhile pursuit. The desire to see your money grow and to secure your financial future is normal and encouraged in most cultures. Is investing turning into something that is out of control? Is your pursuit to leverage your savings to make more money turning into an addiction that borders on something unhealthy?

The rush of having an investment pay off is exhilarating. The adrenaline rush that you get when you cash out along with all the other emotions that go along with seeing an investment through to its conclusion can be addictive. The nervousness of your entry into the market gets your heart beating. Your nervousness as you watch your investment by the hour and then the thrill when you see your money literally growing can rival any thrill imaginable in this world.

Allowing these emotions to grab hold of us and begin to rule us can happen very quickly if we're not careful. The mistake many of us make is to believe that if we make money in an investment then we are a winner. Likewise, it's tempting to feel that if an investment turns on us and we lose money then we are the opposite of a winner or a loser. This can lead us to chase those positive emotions and make poor decisions when it comes to investing in hope of not feeling like a loser. This is where the addiction begins.

It can be tempting to check the status of your investments a couple of times a day. The childlike glee that we get when we see that an investment has improved or a stock has gone up in price brings a smile to our face. Of course, if you find yourself glued to the computer screen refreshing the page you might have a problem. If you mood and how you feel about yourself and those around you is affected by what you see then you need to check your emotions. Being nervous or overly concerned about an investment that you have researched and done your due diligence with is insanity. You have safeguards in place, such as stops and sell orders, which will take care of losing too much money and selling your stock or option when your predetermined price has been reached. Also, if you find yourself moving your stops and sell orders because you don't want to lose or because you are feeling greedy then you might have a problem.

Going to extremes to find stock tips or advice about investments from dubious sources is another sign that you might be dealing with an addiction rather than a desire to make good investment decisions. Subscribing to stock tip newsletters that tell you which stocks or investments are primed to move on any given day is a sign that you're grasping at straws for investment advice. Often these newsletters themselves are the reason behind the jump in price and the owners of the newsletter have already put their money in place and are simply using people like you to pump the price up artificially. Steer clear of nameless, faceless advice. You are being used and this is not investment advice at all that you are receiving.

Most of us have one or two investment types that we prefer. We all have a knack for picking stocks, a feel for a certain currency pair or we enjoy investing in companies that we know a little bit about. If you find yourself chasing after profit and trying many different types of investments because someone told you that they know this particular investment is going to pay off then you might have a problem. Stick to investments that you enjoy learning about. Venturing off into uncharted territory when money is at stake is an unwise investment no matter where your information came from.

Lastly, if you find yourself using money that is earmarked to pay bills or that is put aside for savings or your child's education then there is a real problem. Stealing money from savings accounts or other investments because you lost some money on your last investment or because you feel a need to make money is a sign that there is a problem. Lying or not telling a spouse or partner about your investments and thinking that you can return the money as soon as you cash out is your investment addiction talking and no common sense.

If any of these points strike home for you then you are encouraged to take a closer look at what you are doing with your investment activity. While it is a pleasant experience to make money through investing, it should never be something that is addictive or that you chase after. There are plenty of opportunities out there in investment vehicles that you are interested in. Learning about investing can be fun but chasing after money is always a bad move in investing.




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