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Investing decisions.
9 decisions documented in this category.
Why daily checking hurts your portfolio
I check my portfolio every morning. On a bad day, I move money around. On a good day, I add more.
The act of checking is what makes me act. Market data suggests that missing the wrong handful of days has cost investors more than they imagined.
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Why starting 10 years earlier triples returns
I started saving at 35 instead of 25. The 10 missing years would have made a significant difference, based on what history shows.
The math was always available. The action waited for a moment that kept moving.
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Why matching your employer match is not enough
My employer matches retirement contributions up to 5 percent. I contribute exactly 5 percent.
The match is good. The cap is in my head. The other 95 percent of my potential contribution is unused.
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The crypto FOMO that cost thousands
A friend told me he doubled his money in three months. I bought the same coin. Three weeks later it was down 40 percent.
I did not buy because I understood the asset. I bought because someone I knew was making money and I did not want to be left out.
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Why pausing investments during dips backfires
I had a monthly investment of $500 going automatically. The market dropped 20 percent. I paused it.
The months I paused were the months I should have kept buying. By the time I restarted, the price was higher than when I stopped.
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Why most stock pickers lose to the index
I picked five stocks I believed in. An index fund would have outperformed my portfolio over the same period.
Academic research has consistently documented that most individual stock pickers underperform a basic index fund over long periods. The reasons are well studied.
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How $25,000 disappears in 6 months without a plan
A $25,000 inheritance landed in my account. Six months later, I do not know where most of it went.
I did not have a plan before the money arrived. I was deciding what to do with it transaction by transaction. The transactions added up to nothing.
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How 1 percent in fees cuts your super in half
I have been in the default fund of my retirement account for 12 years. I never looked at how it was set up.
The fee on my default fund is one of several factors I never compared. Most people never compare any of them.
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The cost of missing the 10 best days
The market dropped 15 percent. I pulled my money out to wait for the bottom. It went up 22 percent before I got back in.
Trying to time the market cost me a 22 percent gain. The 'safer' decision was the more expensive one.
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