Time, Money, and Passion  11/18/2003

Now that I have given you a sample in my Scam Series of what to avoid, let’s look at how to plan your investments.   
I believe that the first issues to be addressed for any woman are time, money and passion. You must ask yourself how much time you have to devote to investing, how much free money you have, and how much passion you have for the markets.

 Everyone is different. First, ask yourself how much time you have to devote to your investing activities. When I was working long hours, I had little time for trading stocks, options or anything else for that matter.  When I was home with small children, investing was far from my mind as well.  Now that I am retired and have more time to devote to investing, I can spend hours a day at my computer looking at streaming quotes platform, trading stocks and options.  Do you need a simple plan that will allow you to attend to other things or a complicated plan that may make you more money but take more time?  The match of time required to your responsibilities has to be just right.

Next, money is always helpful if you wish to invest. Of course, without extra money, you are fully out of the game.  But how you allocate your funds is very important.  Before you even consider buying stocks, ETFs, mutual funds or options, be sure that your credit cards are paid off and your are not in debt.

Why have money seeping into one part of your financial jug but gushing out of the other side?  It doesn’t make sense. You must first pay off your high interest credit cards (which many women have) before you even think about investing.  Also, put away some free cash in a savings account or money market fund for emergencies so that you never run up those credit cards again.

Passion.  Without passion for investing, you will not succeed.  Ask yourself how much passion you have for numbers, finance, and the markets. Do you actually like to watch financial shows on TV?  Do you love to read books on investing and the economy?  If not, remember the old adage of KISS.  Keep it simple stupid.  I’m not saying that someone without a passion for investing is stupid, but it is stupid to force yourself into a complicated plan if you have no real passion for investing.

Think about these things before you invest.  It is very important that you match your time, money and passion to your investment plan. Don’t ever feel that just because Jane next door is a wiz at market timing, you have to be one too.  If this is not where your interests lie, keep it simple and be smart.  The shoe must fit the foot.

I believe that most women who visit the Tactical Investor website or subscribe to one of our services do have some passion for the markets so next week we will discuss the first and most important aspect of investing, keeping your earnings.  Tax deferred or tax-free investing should be your first priority.  If you are out in the workplace, take a look at your company’s 401K plan. Make sure you understand it fully.  It will help when we decide next week where to put your money.


Happy Trading and Investing


Tactical Tracey.

P.S.  Any questions are welcome at tacticaltracey@tacticalinvestor.com

 

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