Warning Signs That Your Investing Is Becoming Something Dangerous

By Andrew Block


Investing and using your money to make more money is something that all of us try to do in one form or another. The desire to put our money to work for us and to gain more money in the process beats digging a hole and burying it in the back yard any day of the week. Investing can become an addition and one that destroys savings, families and lives every year. Is your investing becoming something bigger than life and threatening to take over your life?

All of us love when an investment comes together. We have all experienced that rush of positive emotions when we find an investment, buy in, see our money grown and then reap the rewards. You research your investment, nervously watch it grow day by day and then get out at the perfect time. You have made money literally out of thin air and you feel like a king. You feel invincible and powerful. With grace and confidence you have earned money wisely through investing it.

It is when we allow the emotion to dictate who we are and what we do that investing becomes a true addiction. We confuse the outcome of the investment with who we are as a human being. We feel like we are winners if everything plays out as we had predicted and our investment is successful. We are a winner because our choice was correct and it turned a profit. When an investment doesn't turn a profit and we find ourselves on the losing side of an investment it might be tempting to feel like we are a failure. Our investment was a failure so we are a loser. The emotions compound upon each other and soon we find ourselves in a situation wondering how we got there.

If you find yourself checking hourly on your stock or the prices of gold or any other investment that you currently have money invested in then you might have a problem. You might try to rationalize this by saying that you're keeping an eye on your investments but you probably already have sell orders and stops in place to take care of the need to keep an eye on your position every minute of the day. Obsessing about a stock or investment shows that you're emotionally involved and a good investor removes all emotion from the investment decision.

Do you find yourself constantly looking for an edge or tips for hot stocks? This kind of behavior is similar to what goes on at a race track, wouldn't you agree? While searching for an good investment and being an educated investor is wise, looking for underground news or tips on what is going to happen in your chosen market are signs that something is wrong. That feverish feeling overcomes you and you simply must find a winner. You are willing to do anything. You subscribe to clubs and mailing lists to find that sure thing and you chase that rush.

While stepping outside the box and stretching ourselves a little bit can be a good move when it comes to educating ourselves about investing, buying into an investment that you have no interest in can be a bad move. Taking some investment advice from a friend or following through on a tip from someone on an investment vehicle that you know nothing about is about as close to blind faith as it gets. If you've never invested in stock and you know nothing about stock investing then stay out of stocks until you understand the process. Likewise, if you have no idea who investing in foreign exchange currencies works, put off investing any money in this investment until you are able to educate yourself. Jumping into an investment without research and confidence in yourself is a sign that you have a problem.

Lastly, if you find yourself using money that is earmarked to pay bills or that is put aside for savings or your child's education then there is a real problem. Stealing money from savings accounts or other investments because you lost some money on your last investment or because you feel a need to make money is a sign that there is a problem. Lying or not telling a spouse or partner about your investments and thinking that you can return the money as soon as you cash out is your investment addiction talking and no common sense.

If any of these points strike home for you then you are encouraged to take a closer look at what you are doing with your investment activity. While it is a pleasant experience to make money through investing, it should never be something that is addictive or that you chase after. There are plenty of opportunities out there in investment vehicles that you are interested in. Learning about investing can be fun but chasing after money is always a bad move in investing.




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