20 Dumb Investing Moves and How to Avoid Them

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I’ve been investing for 40 years, including 10 as a Wall Street financial adviser. If there’s a mistake an investor can possibly make, rest assured I’ve made it.

As with most things in life, the fewer mistakes you make, the better. But unlike with other common tasks, mistakes in investing can have life-changing implications.

For example, consider one of the prime mistakes investors make: underinvestment in stocks, or not investing in risk assets at all.

If you invest $500 a month for 40 years and earn 5% — a return you’d be lucky to get at the bank — you’d end up with roughly $750,000.

If you invest $500 a month for 40 years and earn 10% — the historical return from stocks over the last hundred years — you’d end up with nearly $3 million.

I’d consider a couple of million bucks life-changing. Wouldn’t you?

Risk management is one common investor screw-up, but there are plenty more, and we’re going to cover as many as possible in this week’s “Money!” podcast. As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Ready to be a better investor? Then sit back, relax and listen to this week’s “Money!” podcast:

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Show notes

Want more information? Check out these resources:

• 13 Dumb Investing Moves — and How to Avoid Them
• 7 Top Costly Mistakes Investors Made Last Year
• 5 Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Investment Returns
• Investopedia: Avoid These 8 Common Investing Mistakes
• CFA Institute: Tips for Avoiding the Top 20 Common Investment Mistakes
• FirstMetric: 50 Investment Mistakes You Must Avoid
• Money Talks News’ savings account search tool
• Subscribe to the Money Talks News newsletter
• Take our course The Only Retirement Guide You’ll Ever Need
• Take our course Money Made Simple

About me

I founded Money Talks News in 1991. I’m a CPA, and I have also earned licenses in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate.