We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

Re:We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant ... by brightball on Saturday February 20, 2021 @06:15PM (#26208987)

This is honestly one of the reasons I stopped investing in my twenties. I cashed out everything and put it all towards paying down debt because I was absolutely obsessed with the stock market...but after doing the math the guaranteed returns on debt payment were a better focus than the up and down nature of the stock market.

I invest now but I have to be conscious of obsession mitigation techniques otherwise I will constantly be watching fluctuations and wondering if I need to sell, buy something else, etc. Instead I buy big boring companies that pay a dividend...and never sell. Just watch for whatever looks like the best deal at the time when I have new money to invest.

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Re:We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant ... by PragmaticPulp on Saturday February 20, 2021 @07:42PM (#26209656)

I think it's more important than ever to clarify the difference between long-term investing and short-term speculation with young people.

Many young people are entering the market with an expectation that cryptocurrency prices only go up and that they can outperform Wall Street by getting hot tips (DD) from meme-infused posts on Reddit.

When it doesn't work out, they swear off "investing" when they never actually did anything beyond speculation and daytrading.

I hope apps like Robinhood find a good way to encourage portfolio balance, dollar cost averaging, and risk management over time.

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Re:We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant ... by Tarsul on Saturday February 20, 2021 @08:04PM (#26209802)

I had/have the same problem. I now invest in companies that are big in sustainability. Saying to myself that even if the earnings fall flat, at least I can look in the mirror and live with it.

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