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I've come to the conclusion, it's best not to talk investing with most people. Either they don't understand or they HATE dividend stocks for some reason, they tell you those type of stocks are for old retired people. And if you tell them your returns they'll tell you you'll never duplicate those returns yada yada yada.
To be honest, as an investor I'm happy with singles and doubles...sure I'll take a triple or a home run but if I look for that single or double I'm not disappointed.
Lately, when someone brings up investing...I tell them to read and understand compounding and continuous compounding, learn about those two terms and go from there as an investor.
That's my goal and top priority as an investor "Continuous Compounding"
After that, it's taxes and trading fees
crimsonghost747
Unregistered
I enjoy doing it but only with people who really understand it. If you try to talk investing with people not so familiar with the subject then you really do need to stick to the very basics and that's it, otherwise it's not going anywhere.
I'm going to put my cynical hat on for a minute.
Most people, in my opinion, don't truly understand what is and is not investing. It has been my experience that a lot of people think stocks, annuities, bitcoin, and their primary residence are all "investments." When you run across someone that understands the difference between those four things, you'll find that they often view stocks like a casino. That is, they're trying to pick the big winner. These are the types that "know a guy" that tripled his money in six months with a tech stock.
Just have realistic expectations if you decide to bring it up.
Over the years I have told our kids that they should be saving for their retirement and suggested the invest in DG stocks. I did not push them and it was only after we were retired did they begin to ask questions. When they heard how much Income our stocks were generating they got more interested. Our daughter and husband, and even grand daughter, are now investing in DG stocks. Our son is just starting.
I don't like to advise others unless they ask, then I'll only discuss investing in general terms, but do suggest some of the benefits of DG investing over general stock selection. Our vehicle license plate is "DIV GTH" and I've had many people ask what it means. One person honked, waved and gave us the Thumbs Up till I realized he was referring to our plate.
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(06-09-2018, 08:29 AM)rayray Wrote: I've come to the conclusion, it's best not to talk investing with most people. Either they don't understand or they HATE dividend stocks for some reason, they tell you those type of stocks are for old retired people. And if you tell them your returns they'll tell you you'll never duplicate those returns yada yada yada.
Yeah, I've never understood why people get defensive / animated when we talk about my approach to investing. And it's only when THEY asked or initiated the conversation. I learned a long time ago to keep my trap shut about money and investing most of the time. People are REALLY weird about money.
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I try to talk about investing/DGI with family and friends. I don't go into detail mostly, just trying to mention it once in a while so that they will try to look up DGI or compounding. I think it's pretty important financial knowledge and everybody should realize when buying something, whether it's passive or active.
I have talked openly about my finances + investing with a few friends + family members, still waiting when it will backfire and I guess I will keep it to myself afterward. Luckily nothing like that happened yet, but knowing people and reading responses like this, it's just a matter of time.
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I played the long game with my wife and we're on the same page. I just tried to emphasize the passive income that comes in each month and increases each year. She's all for that. But I agree it's generally best to not talk about it with most people. It reminds me of a Warren Buffett quote about inoculation - either it takes and they get it right away or it doesn't take and they'll never get it.
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Now that it's Christmas and most forum members are with family, this discussion seems especially poignant. Do not bring up investing, unless asked, and even then, keep it to a minimum unless you hear genuine interest.
From personal experience, my Dad hates it when I talk investing, my Mom wants me to pay off my mortgage, and aside from my brother my siblings want their privacy on the subject. My friends generally warn that we are overdue for a correction and largely keep their cash in the bank.
A few years back I gave a talk on budgeting to my synagogue, and apparently gave several people "heart attacks" because they aren't saving any money on a monthly basis. You never know who is living paycheck to paycheck. Whether you have a $50,000 portfolio, a $250,000 portfolio, or higher, we are way, way ahead of most people.
I only talk investing with someone if they bring it up. Usually in the conversation I end up recommending index investing. Not many people want to spend the time that I - and I suspect many others here - want to take investigating individual stocks. Typically we get there pretty quick when I ask if they want to spend 10 hours a week, minimum, working on it.
In the case of my nephews, I bring it up when I give them money for their Roths. And for them I put together about a 10-page word doc talking about DGI. But in return for $6k they get to listen to me for a while.
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I have one couple I talk investing with, Mike and Bonny. We have been friends for 15 years or so.
They are about a decade younger than I am, and are on the cusp of retiring. By that I mean a couple of years.
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Most everyone that knows me is aware that I am passionate about investing. I converse with a few of them regularly. In the early days I was in an investing club. That went well for a few months until they figured out it wasn't a lotto ticket and some work was involved. One of the more rewarding things I ever did was bully a dozen of my military subordinates into spending a few hours with me one on one learning the very basics of what they could do with their 401K plan. Our HR dept was horrible so they needed help. I assessed their risk tolerance and told them how they might allocate among the index funds. I thoroughly explained the short term risk of stocks. Most of them increased the contributions and ten years later they are appreciative. Now and then they see me and tell me they are still on course. Several of them passed away and their families wives were better taken care of.
Beyond that this requires a little work to educate yourself to any level of true understanding, and many are just not interested. They'd rather spend time watching Netflix or arguing about politics.
And I agree with Ken. If you started investing 10 years ago and only bought under performing stocks you are way ahead of most others.
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Good old thread.
Funny, I don't think that most of my closest friends and family even know about this forum. They know that I'm into "stocks and investing" but that's about it. I can't believe how cavalierly we (as a society) are content to just churn out wave after wave of financially illiterate people.
On the other hand, it is (purposely) overly complex and jargon-filled. Money has always fascinated me, and I really can lose track of time reading about investing and updating my spreadsheets and digging through SEC filings. But if all that doesn't interest you, you're at a big disadvantage.
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