Inspired by You: Stories About Investing

Investing ideas and inspiration come from all around us, and hearing from others can be truly motivating. We asked self-directed investors to share their #InvestingTruths and here's what they had to say.

Starting: “I felt quite intimidated to start with. I didn't do a thing without emailing my friend. Now I do feel a little bit more educated, but there's always more learning you can do. I like being more hands-on with my future." – Barb¹, 68

Emotions: “I don't feel panic anymore because when you have been through ups and downs enough times, you realize that, in hindsight, you did not have to freak out. So I don't become emotionally involved in what might seem to be bad decisions in the short run. I'm a lot more relaxed now." – Linda¹, 66

Best Lessons: “I guess a key lesson is invest early. Pay yourself, save some money and invest early in the market. Don't panic when the market goes down; think long term. And enjoy life!" – Carl¹, 59

Confidence: “In general, I'm not a superconfident investor, but I do like the feeling of being in control of my own money. And I like to make my own decisions. Not every decision is the right one over the years, and not everything is a winner, but overall I'm happy with how I'm doing." – Carrie², 34

Lessons from Mom

MyAn¹, 31 years old

"My mom is a self-directed investor and I was intrigued by how she invests, so I decided to try it out on my own. My mom and I still talk a lot about investing. She lives in Vietnam, though, so we can't talk about specifics because we invest in different markets. But my mom has lots of tips and guidelines that she follows, and now I follow them, too. Tips like when it's best to hold on to a stock or when it's time to sell. An example is cut your losses. When the stock goes down a certain amount from your initial investment, sell and move on. Or think about how much you want to earn on a stock, and once you hit that, sell. Don't keep waiting. That's one of her strategies. One important principle I learned from my mom is to do my research and not be too emotional. Research really helps me stay level-headed and clear ."

Investing in a Better Future

Milene², 41 years old

"I wanted to be able to put my money into companies and investments I believe in while reaping the rewards of having my money work for me in the long run. Investing in companies that are socially responsible is important to me because I want to ensure that wherever I put my assets, they are making a difference for the next generation and specifically, of course, my children. My approach has always been a slow and steady long-term strategy. I once read a wonderful metaphor that was written by Paul Samuelson, a Nobel Prize–winning economist. It said that investing should be like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take your $800 and go to Vegas. It really resonated with me."

I'm Not a Finance Guy, But…

Brandon², 33 years old

"I'm not really a finance guy. I was actually a humanities major in university. My wife and I are investing together. We like being able to make decisions on our own and take a little bit more control of our investments. I guess the two of us are kind of control freaks. How do we invest? We sit down at the end of each year and we have a discussion. We start with our goals and work a little bit backwards – you know, we'd like to have a house in X amount of years, this is what we can put aside for retirement…but maybe we just really want to travel right now. I figure out what we need to save and see where we're wasting some money, and then it's just really figuring out what we need to do to get from A to B. I'm a bit of a news junkie, so I follow a lot of news about the companies that I invest in. I like to get to know them before I invest. A lot of the time, I already have prior knowledge of a company or I use their products."

*Some identifying details have been changed for privacy.