Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Investing for Survival

 Investing for Survival

            12 things I learned from Morgan Housel: Part 8

8. “Most financial problems are caused by debt.” 
“Most people’s biggest expense is interest, which comes from living beyond your means, and buying things you think will impress others, which comes from insecurity. Avoid these two, and you’ll grow richer than most of your peers.”
Debt causes many problems, the worst of which is that the magic of compounding is working against you instead of for you. Leverage can also create situations where underperformance takes you completely out of the investing process.  Since “staying invested” is a key to financial success anything that takes you out of the process is a very bad thing. As Charlie Munger has said: “I’ve seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage – leverage being borrowed money.” James Montier adds: “Leverage can’t ever turn a bad investment good, but it can turn a good investment bad.  When you are leveraged you can run into volatility that impairs your ability to stay in an investment which can result in “a permanent loss of capital.”


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