The Investment Nightmare

There are three basic ways to invest money!

1. Give control to a broker who will comfortably scrape off any profits made through "charges" before eventually clearinghouse to Panama after having studied extradition treaties.

2. Leave it in some secure bond or bank savings account that promises above inflation returns - should everything pan out and if another 'credit crisis' does not come peddling over the hill then a 5% return might possibly be seen! Read the small print though first!

3. DIY!

Today I would like to concentrate on the Do-It-Yourself buying of shares in companies through an online trading account. This method is becoming extremely popular as the cost per transaction to buy shares has become economical for the small guy but ....... this method is not for the timid or for those who might suffer should the mythical bubble burst at the wrong time!

Five months ago I started this lark after slowly realizing that my 'worth' has steadily dropped when invested in multinational investment vehicles and that the likelihood of it ever getting better was well, non-existent! And so I opened up a trading account with a reputable dealer and well, to be honest it has not worked out very well either!

Today, after five months I have suffered seriously from frayed nerves, from irritable hair-pulling syndrome, from inane computer bashing and the all typical mix of talking to oneself, to becoming a hermit and to seeing things that are not actually there (profits included). Not that my money has been lost or for that matter considerably reduced in value but every single move that the market makes is a potential failure to my future and so I cannot help but watch it like a hawk. The media are the worst nerve-frayers with their hyped-up articles. If I never read a paper, invested my money and did something else, all would be fine but ........I read papers and watch the news like any other sensible investor!

Wall Street looks set to lose a further 50 points in early deals, according to US futures, as investors continue to fret about inflation and the economy.
Yahoo Finance, Monday December 17, 02:24 PM

In the wider market, leading shares took a pounding as investors reacted with disappointment to moves by the world’s central banks to inject liquidity into the money markets.
Financial Times, December 13 2007 09:05

Wall Street wilted yesterday as investors awaiting next week's Federal Reserve meeting remained uneasy that fallout from the slumping housing market could bring more bank losses and pull the economy into recession.
China View 2007-12-06 08:40:13

By reading the above I am clearly capable of pounding, fretting, disappointment and unease and that I should expect to slump and wilt and by-the-by I get the hint that I have invested into an economy that is about to hit a massive recession! The chance of getting my money back is therefore not going to happen! Why did I read the news today?

Note to all potential and current investors; take these words lightly! They mean little and probably nothing to the actual world out there, investors are not fretting they are 'investing wisely'. They are not scared or frightened, they are simply being cautious which is what investors should do! The media uses shock tactics to gain readers! Constant hints of a recession, new words that spring out like stagflation and credit-crunch are but reader-seekers and headline grabbers! The real situation out there is that the world goes on as before and apart from anything else a fallen market is the good time to pick up a bargain!

It is simply a shame that I invested all my hard-earned cash when the market was good!