No time. Perhaps the most common comment from those who say they don’t invest in the stock market is that “they don’t have time” followed closely by “I don’t have any money.”
In reality these are contradictions for most of us. Having a retirement account means you are investing in the stock market even if you don’t really do anything to manage your account. Saying you don’t have time doesn’t truly hold water when all it takes is a few hours to learn a personal investment software program and then 20 minutes every week or so.
Perhaps the more real answer to why so many of us don’t take an active role in managing our retirement or building a safe investing plan is we are afraid of failure, of losing what we do have.
Can you convince yourself that you can really improve your finances by managing your retirement account or building an investment plan?
Consider how often you, a family member or a friend has had an accident yet continue to live the same lifestyle. That is a simple yet dramatic statement about overcoming fear, about going forward with life.
The benefits of safe investing are all around us: huge home, expensive cars, designer shoes.
So what does it take to be a successful safe investor?
A few things come to mind:
- Have a plan to save a few bucks every week.
- Be willing to commit to taking care of yourself, your child, your spouse – financially with 20 minutes a week devoted to the future.
- Learn and implement personal investment management software.
It really doesn’t need to be complicated. It doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on the stock market.
It does mean you need:
- A few hours to learn
- 20 minutes a week
- A desire to have a better or a more secure financial future
The learning part may be the most difficult. Yes, this requires a few hours’ time – time spent to provide for your future or for a child’s future. But more importantly it requires the attitude and willingness to ask for help, to ask for advice.
Getting the most out of a stock analysis software program by following these simple concepts will produce results, safe, secure results. A good program will not only tell you what to buy or when to buy but also when to sell. Knowing when to sell is extremely important because that is how you bank profits and prevent any major losses. Too often we let our human emotions keeps us from selling because we either like that stock we bought or we just don’t want to admit to ourselves that what we bought isn’t going anywhere or may in fact be sliding down, taking our hard earned cash with it.
But key to knowing when to sell is having the ability to set the investment software to reflect your own goals and objectives, and most importantly, your willingness to assume risk – in other words are you a conservative, moderate or aggressive investors or somewhere in-between.
Once you understand yourself you can confidentially move forward. The time excuse will fade away as you realize the initial time spent and the average 20 minutes a week will produce a bigger paycheck than any regular job for the amount of time spent. Yes, think about it. How much does your job, your career pay for 20 minutes of work and how much can you earn by investing in 20 minutes?
The answer may even shock you. Now you have even more incentive to develop a safe investing routine that fits your lifestyle and your future goals.