People lost a substantial amount of money because they don't know how investment works, some chooses much safer investment like time deposit and money markets. These investment post little to no risks at all. People now are to conservative on their on way, i'm not blaming them especially now the oil prices and other stocks are falling.
then there are people who take the roller coaster ride with a blind hope that they will reap rewards at the end of the tunnel. Some, are the one who took the liberty of educating themselves on what type of investment they should take, which make them smarter to those who took the ride without knowing the trip. This is the reality as we know it.
I've been reading some books and prepared in my own opinion the 5 Rules of Investing.
#1 Learn the basic before investing
Yes, this is the first and the most important aspect of investing which is to educate yourself first on what you are investing. Learn the basic, whether you want to invest in real state, stock market or bonds. Understand the concept of such industries, interview some people who knows about it, read books and research. This can minimize risk and maximize potential rewards.
#2 Be Prepared!!!(the worse part)
There is a saying never count the chicken until the eggs are hatched. Never conclude that your investment will make money. Never ever assume that after learning all stuff and researching both the risk and rewards that you will get what you've expected. Be prepared to lose some money, nothing is promised that you will gain on what you invested. This can go either way, gain, lose or it will stay flat. No one wants to lose and everybody wants to gain, that is why calculate your investment wisely and lose what you can afford.
#3 Goal Oriented
My friend who decided to invest on PAMM (Percentage allocation management module) Forex which his colleague suggested , the rate of return per month is 10% of his investment for a lifetime with a initial investment of $20,000. Sounds good right? Well, 6 months later he found out that he joined MLM (Multi-level marketing), as you know MLM is a strategy that some direct sales companies use to encourage their existing distributors to recruit new distributors by paying the existing distributors a percentage of their recruits' sales; the recruits are known as a distributor's "downline." i'll cut the story short he lost $10,000 on this scheme, this is why never follow what the pack that tells you to take part on this.. If ever you're tempted to follow the pack, just take a break and analyze what your doing and ask yourself if it is linked in to your goal..If it does then you may but with caution and if not, then, it may best for you to turn down the offer.
#4 Flexibility
The only constant in this world is change. Your investment situation will be different from 4 or 8 years from now. Never set your mind or goal on one direction, instead be on the situation or thinking that the future will change. It is necessary to make change on your investment goals. Once you change your goal, take time learn new things and new opportunities on top of your current investment.
#5 Learn From your Mistakes
Failure is a great teacher,and , if you are open to it , every mistake has a lesson to offer. Learn from bad decisions you make and strive yourself to be a better investor. Understand how to dealt with your past mistakes, you will improved your position in making decision .
People see investment as a path to get rich quick, well it does, kinda, but through hard work ,dedication and endless learning is the way to your ultimate goal which is getting rich. Keep in mind also the market place is a very volatile area which can lift your investment or it will dump it to the garbage and shred it to pieces, but always remember do not lose your perspective and goal, be at your A-game always, motivate yourself and play hard.
This is my first post .. Thank you guys for reading this..