“Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent” John Maynard Keynes
These are what I think are the worst investing mistakes you can make in life, not that I am in the best position to be writing this since I still have a huge credit card debt but this is what I have learnt from all my years of living so far and the mistakes that I have made
1. NOT SAVING AT LEAST 10% OF YOUR INCOME to be invested for the long term. This money that you save should be used for investing and growing income. You cannot later decide to take that money and buy a new sofa or go on a holiday, NO! If you want to save for large expenses, you should do that separately. The minimum 10% you can keep in cash first then later you can put in some investment be it stocks, real estate, business etc. I do believe that you should try as much as possible to save much more than 10% – and I will be trying to do 50% eventually
2. LOSING MONEY. Tricky one, how do you NOT lose money when investments are uncertain? Well you need to be careful and research investments thoroughly before investing. It also means that you need to know when to cut your losses, its better to lose little, then to throw more money in and lose it all.
3. NOT DIVERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENTS. This means not putting all your eggs in one basket, and I would also start with “safe” investments. For example, I would try to have my first investments in cash, lets say money market instruments or a fixed deposit account – one in my home currency (KES) and another in a foreign currency like the US dollar. Then I can start investing in the bonds or in the stock market – I would also try to diversify in terms of markets, so if you can I would advise to invest in a stock market outside your home country. So try and diversity your investments with investments in cash, stock market, bonds, real estate, business and markets outside your home country.
Financial Independance in Africa 