Murphy's Law & A Rethink On Investment

Photo by Ravi Roshan on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here.

This is going to be a short post, just expressing some of my random thoughts.

Photo by Iñaki del Olmo on Unsplash

1. Murphy's law in my reality: It can always get worse

In my post "Monthly Net-Worth Update - Jan 2020", I wrote:

• From next week, I will be on a new job, one with likely lower net income, less stability, more stress, heavier workload, less free time and much more traveling. Hopefully, it will also provide more learning opportunities and in time, opportunities to advance in career and income.

I was thinking starting the new job was not ideal. I expressed similar feelings in a few other posts during that period too.

I was thinking that was bad enough. And I never thought for a minute that I would not even be able to start the job.

It can always get worse, and probably it will! (Touch wood)

Thinking about my life, I have had quite a few such cases and they all concentrate in the past 2 years or so. 

It could be due to my memory bias. 

But, I think it is time for me to adjust my expectations with life and be more cautious with both of my feet on the ground!

Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash

2. A rethink on investment

In my post "Basics 03: My investment journey and outcome", I wrote:

• Secondly, my wife is abssessed now with some A-share active investment course. She has paid quite a bit tuition and is really eager to try. I don't know how to stop her. Guess I will just let her try it out.

I was pretty unsupportive at that time.

I was already putting time and efforts into investing. Why did she need to do it again?

And based on my understanding, she was not the very logical type of person and was vulnerable to sales pitches etc

But she insisted.

I never really showed interest in how she did, as I always believed she was just "trying it out" and she probably would just give it up after the initial "interest" faded. 

I also never thought she would do well.

Then she gave me an update yesterday and I was shocked!

She had made more profits within a much shorter period of time with a much smaller capital!

So her "8 months" has beaten my "2.5 years" and she did it with a much smaller capital.

I always believed in the buy-and-forget long-term approach. Well, the return so far has not been great.

Maybe it is because the time span is not long enough yet. 

On the other hand, am I being lazy and less open-minded?

My wife learned from the courses and acted. She tried so many things related to investing, while I read a few books in the beginning, fixed my strategy and have been lazy since then.

And I refuse to spend a penny on courses as I do not believe the learnings is valuable enough to not waste my time and money.

It is pretty evident in many aspects of life. 

My wife is more active and willing to try out new things, while I am more likely to be passive and refuse to accept new ideas.

Maybe I should get more active and open-minded!

[This is not to say the long-term approach is wrong.]

Till the next time!