Most inexperienced investors make the mistake of expecting too much too soon.
Investment spruikers and online trading schemes foster the illusion that wealth can be built overnight. Sometimes it can but often the path to success is much slower. Although small, regular savings may seem to grow slowly at first, as the years go by, they grow faster and faster.
In general, a steady, solid program of investment may not seem as exciting as a flashy money-making scheme. However, if you want to be certain of achieving financial independence, you need to have the discipline to stay with your investment program even when it works slowly.
First time property investors often spend years paying down debt whilst dealing with tenants and maintenance issues before they are able to leverage their first property into their second or third.
Initial dividend cheques from beginning share investments are usually in cents rather than dollars whilst investors patiently build enough of a capital base so that dividend cheques replace their income from work.
Adding monies to your super fund when first starting work may mean giving up 1 night out per month at age 20 but may allow you to retire years earlier than your friends who don’t.
There will be times when your well-thought-out program is hardly doing anything at all while your friends seem to be making a lot of money through hot tips.
The temptation to abandon your program may become irresistible.
This is where the worst enemies of smart investing – greed and impatience – rear their ugly heads. If you really want to become financially free you need to remain disciplined and say no to greed and impatience. If your friends and neighbor’s appear to be getting rich faster, let them.
We know of no investor who became financially independent and stayed financially independent by being undisciplined. Greed and impatience may motivate you to act, but very soon it will propel you to act in a way that is not in your long-term best interests. If a deal sounds too good to be true – it probably is!
Anyone can be greedy and impatient; but it takes a smart person to be disciplined. Such a person is almost certain to end up financially independent, even if the investment plan is not flashy.