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Comment by zeroq | Hacker News Reader

This.

It's easy to make a good call, but it's really hard to stick with it.

The main financial advice I'm giving to all relatives is to write down their decisions before buying anything. Or, if you're looking for a long term investment - asking someone close to change the password on your account without letting you know.

The major problem with investing is that most people will commit to 2-5y strategy, and panic on the first dip.

If you did your due diligence and you believe that this particular asset will grow within 5 years - when it starts dipping after few months, and nothing major has changed in your predictions - you should buy more instead of selling.

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> If you did your due diligence and you believe that this particular asset will grow within 5 years...

This assumes that most people know how to do "due diligence" and that their "predictions" are accurate. Most people don't actually have the knowledge and skill to evaluate the investment vehicles (stocks, bonds, etc.) available to them so their predictions are inherently limited and flawed.

> ... when it starts dipping after few months, and nothing major has changed in your predictions - you should buy more instead of selling.

One of the biggest mistakes average people make is selecting investments with risk profiles and durations that are mismatched to their needs and objectives. This is why, for most people, it's much better to use a properly-selected model portfolio than to try to pick individual stocks.

I've learned this applies to a lot of life. Being a good manager, tech lead, consultant, etc, advisor, parent, friend, etc, is sometimes just half being a good therapist and helping them regulate.

I've watched a lot of "not officially financial advice" finance videos on YouTube (the solid people, not grifters), and while the financial theory side is interesting, when they talk about pragmatic investing and patterns of client behavior they have dealt with professionally, a large part of it is emotion management. Convincing clients to stick with a solid plan even when this month is abnormally bad, or avoid going all-in on the latest hotness, etc.

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