WOMEN RETIRE Photo From Shutterstock

Photo From Shutterstock.com

IGNORE THOSE TELLING YOU TO WAIT TO INVEST

· · 63 Comments

By Craig Erwin, Ph.D.

Ignore those telling you to wait to invest. I was reading Barron’s, a highly regarded financial newspaper, when I saw the following quote attributed to Meryl Whitmer, General Partner at Eagle Capital Partners in New York, “People should have cash in reserve, and maybe they’ll get another opportunity to buy stocks more cheaply, as happened…last year.”

I have been tracking Meryl Whitmer’s advice for years. She’s very bright, with many years of experience on Wall Street, but I think the advice she gave (above) will do more harm than good for many people. It’s the sort of advice that might be good for a hedge fund manager, but not so helpful for regular folks.

What’s wrong with Whitmer’s advice? If most of us wait until conditions are right (e.g., the economy is in good shape, the political situation is stable, stocks are cheap), we will never invest any money. We will wait forever because conditions are never perfect. We will always find some cause for concern that will convince us that it is best to wait until the future is clearer or a thorny issue is resolved. If we wait until stocks are cheap, the news will be so disturbing that we will be too terrified to invest.

Behavioral finance/economics gets in the way of doing what we should. Just because it makes sense to do something doesn’t mean we will have the courage to do it. Researchers have found that most of us need a nudge to push us to do the things we should be doing anyway, like saving and investing. Many of us will never get started without a nudge from the government or an employer.

I have a friend who is always sitting on the sideline waiting for stocks to get cheaper so he can buy stocks and dive feet-first into the market. He has missed the opportunity to earn good returns on his investment portfolio because he is rarely invested. He has failed to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging, a powerful tool that we can all use. Click this link to learn about it. https://womenretire.com/the-best-way-for-most-of-us-to-accumulate-wealth-dollar-cost-averaging/

Instead of seeing his money grow, my friend saw it stagnate because he was too hesitant to jump into the stock market and stay in. And there are millions like him. When he compares his performance to that of others, he is almost always jealous.

The moral of this story is that you must not wait until stocks are cheaper or conditions are better to start investing. Don’t wait another day. If you wait, you risk never taking advantage of the wealth accumulation opportunities provided by the stock market, because you might wait forever. Some wait until their children grow up so they have more disposable income. Some wait until they reach their forties or fifties and retirement starts bearing down on them. But, the key to successful wealth accumulation is to start as early as possible and to save as much as possible for as long as possible.

So, get started now. Sign up for your workplace retirement savings plan or open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and start saving regularly and automatically. Invest the money in a stock index fund. It will be the smartest thing you’ve ever done.

For more information on what women can do to prepare for retirement, click on the following link. https://womenretire.com/building-wealth-is-harder-for-women-than-men/

NEVER MISS A POST

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. 3 stars
    It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this outstanding blog!
    I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding
    your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates
    and will talk about this website with my Facebook group.
    Talk soon! aid for ukraine

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I just couldn’t go away your website before suggesting that I really
    enjoyed the usual information an individual provide in your visitors?
    Is gonna be again continuously in order to investigate cross-check new posts

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled
    upon this I have found It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads.

    I am hoping to contribute & help different users like its helped me.
    Good job.

    Reply

  5. 1 star
    Hey! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone 4. I’m trying to find
    a template or plugin that might be able to fix this problem.
    If you have any recommendations, please share. Appreciate it!

    Reply

  6. 1 star
    Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this site.
    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance.
    I must say that you’ve done a amazing job with this. In addition,
    the blog loads very quick for me on Chrome. Excellent Blog!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Excellent blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast!

    What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
    I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol

    Reply

  8. 4 stars
    Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing?

    I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet
    browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.

    Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a
    honest price? Thanks, I appreciate it!

    Reply

  30. 5 stars
    Hello all, here every person is sharing these kinds of knowledge,
    so it’s good to read this website, and I used to pay a quick visit this
    blog daily.

    Reply

  39. 4 stars
    Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins
    to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m
    trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted
    keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.
    Cheers!

    Reply

  49. 4 stars
    May I simply just say what a relief to uncover an individual who actually knows what
    they’re talking about on the internet. You definitely understand how
    to bring a problem to light and make it important.
    More and more people have to read this and understand this side of your story.
    I was surprised that you’re not more popular since you surely have the gift.

    Reply

  50. 2 stars
    I need to to thank you for this excellent read!!

    I certainly loved every bit of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to check out new
    stuff you post…

    Reply

  51. 3 stars
    Heya! I understand this is kind of off-topic however I needed to ask.
    Does operating a well-established blog like yours require a
    lot of work? I am brand new to writing a blog but I do write in my
    journal daily. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able
    to share my experience and feelings online. Please let
    me know if you have any recommendations or tips
    for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

    Reply

  54. 5 stars
    Hi! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My weblog looks weird when browsing from my apple iphone.
    I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve
    this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share.

    Cheers!

    Reply

  59. 3 stars
    I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s both
    educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you’ve
    hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that not enough folks are speaking intelligently about.
    I am very happy I found this during my hunt for something regarding this.

    Reply