Investment mistakes we make, over and over.....!

A very wise man once told me in passing that you should sensor what you listen to and what you read. He said that when you are in your car, be very critical about the content on the radio and rather use the time to reflect in silence than to get worked up over an agitated caller's personal opinion.

There are 3 things I can think of right now that can be called the bully in the playpen. These 3 things will detract from your long term financial wellbeing as surely as filling your mind with crap will manifest in your daily life.

Instant gratification
Warren Buffett once said that he hates spending money because he knows that with every dollar he spends, he could have made $10 by investing it. Now if you do not know who Warren Buffett is, go Google him! People love to shop and some more than others. Miraculously there is always something you need urgently because it will do something extraordinary. Like, if you buy a new HD plasma TV you also need to buy a new HD DVD player and a sub-woofer to complete the experience.

Now that is all very "live in the moment" but just remember that one day when you are almost blind and probably deaf, that R1000 you spent when you were 30 years old, would have grown to over R230 000 when you turn 70 if you invested it in an investment yielding 15% return per annum.

Procrastinating
Such an ugly word but it does even worse with your potential investment returns! We all get caught by this one. I sold my house in November 2012 and "parked the cash" in an interest bearing account yielding 5.2%. I was busy with life, and waited for the Rand to strengthen to R8,20 to the $ because I want to invest in the USA stock market.

Well, here I am, still waiting. The R/$ is at R9,58 and the Dow Jones in Rand terms has gone up 20%. So I have made 2.5% return on my cash and my intention of investing would have given me 20%. We have to ACT when it comes to investing!

Investing on rumors and promises
This is a crap shoot, a roll of the dice way of investing. If you make money you are lucky and luck always runs out. Look at Sharemax, Kings etc. If you see your buddy making money on a share or some property investment, congratulate him/her and invest your money into something you know or into something with a proven history of performance and stability.

So don't just buy stuff, invest now and don't listen to hot gossip!