The Law of Patience
Get rich slowly. 8-10% per year is excellent.
Every generation has its get-rich-quick scheme. Tulips in 1637. Railways in 1845. Dot-coms in 1999. Real estate in 2007. Crypto in 2021. The story is always the same: early adopters get rich, the crowd piles in, the bubble pops, wealth transfers from the impatient to the patient. The S&P 500 has returned ~10%/year for a century. That's the real money.
Deep Dive
Let's do the math on 'boring' investing. $500/month into index funds at 10% annual returns. After 10 years: $102,000. After 20 years: $380,000. After 30 years: $1,130,000. After 40 years: $3,160,000. No trading. No timing. No stress. Just consistent contributions and time. Now compare to the alternative: chasing hot stocks and crypto. Studies show the average retail trader loses money. Not 'makes less' - actually loses. They buy high on hype, sell low in panic, pay fees on every transaction, and underperform a simple index fund by 4-6% annually. Over 30 years, that underperformance costs millions. The boring path wins. Always. Every time. Without exception over any 30-year period in market history.
Do This Today
Delete trading apps from your phone. Set your investments to monthly auto-buy. Check your portfolio once per quarter, not daily. Unfollow financial influencers promising quick gains.
Avoid This
Looking for the next Bitcoin, Amazon, or Tesla. By the time you hear about it, the opportunity is gone. You are the exit liquidity for early investors.
"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient."
Remember
- The Rule: Get rich slowly. 8-10% per year is excellent.
- The Action: Delete trading apps from your phone. Set your investments to monthly auto-buy. Check your portfolio once per quarter, not daily. Unfollow financial influencers promising quick gains.