Go on any news site and it’s difficult to get a direction in which way the market is headed.  Some say the bull still has some room others say duck for cover!  This being said, it is true that we are due for a bear market.  But here’s the catch!  Nobody knows when or how bad.  We all have an opinion but no one has a crystal ball.  This is what getting rich simply in a complex world is all about.

Investing simply

The purpose of this blog is what its name implies.  Getting rich simply or if you prefer Getting rich simply in a complex world.  If you want to get rich, then the author believes you need only 4 ingredients for your recipe.

1. Have a long term vision
2. Stay calm in times like these
3. Invest by installments (ie. An established amount per month)
4. Know your timeline.

What to avoid

If you are looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, you are in the wrong place.  If you are looking where the market is going to be in 3 months, you are in the wrong place.  The fact of the matter is investing takes time, patience and, of course, money. 

We live in a world we have very little of the ingredients.

Investors are more worried about what the stock market is going to do tomorrow rather than where it is going to be in 10 or 20 years (long term vision).

We are constantly being bombarded by news 24/7 and it is mostly bad.  I don’t mean to go “Paully  Positive” on this.  When emotions walk in, usually logic takes the back door.

Imagine investing an established amount of money every month in the market, perhaps an ETF. In the financial world, it’s called cost averaging.  Wow! A simple concept where your dollar buys more when the market corrects and buys less when the markets goes up. 

Last but not the least, your timeline.  If you’re a 35 year old person, you have about 30 years left before retirement.  Time is on your side!

People invest more time in planning their vacation than planning how to get rich.

The proof as they say is in the pudding. An SPY ETF on Jan 2, 2000 was 139.56, at the time of writing, it is trading at 268.11.  Without commissions, that is an annual return of 6.9% including dividends.   Getting rich simply in a complex world!

If you are in your 30’s or 40’s today, this,I would suggest, is a better strategy than trying to guess where the market is going.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, we live in a financial world where the flavor of the month seems to rule rather than common sense. Look at Bitcoin or pot stocks to prove my point.

We have access to a mind-boggling amount of information thanks to the internet. As great as the internet is the downside is that it creates a lot of “noise”.  Meaning it is difficult to keep your head when everyone else is losing theirs.  We all know that running out of a burning building is more detrimental to ourselves but in the heat of the moment instincts cut in.

The old saying “There is nothing more uncommon than common sense” applies more often than not in the financial world.

Please feel  free to leave any comments.