There has never been an investment that promises a return on your money. Let’s face it, investing isn’t gambling, but there is a chance that even the best-planned investments can go wrong and you might end up with a very little amount of money back from your investment. You can increase the chance that an investment will provide you with something positive in return if you focus on these following pitfalls, and find your way around them so that you don’t suffer the consequences.
Not Looking After Your Finances
When it comes to investing money, there’s a certain line you have to draw between giving money out and expecting a return. For example, if you help a business get started by paying a million dollars out of your own investment pocket, where do you draw the line for return? Most people will conduct interviews and speak about the business on a regular basis, but for all the money you spent, what assets do you actually own and do you know if your money is going to the right people?
When you invest money into a company and expect a return, you want to see that return eventually and not keep it in your accounts receivable. If you aren’t chasing down people for the money they owe you, then you’re going to continue being taken for a fool with false promises and missing money. It’s a good idea to hire an accountant or use an online tool to manage your money, but you should also make regular contact with anyone you have invested money into and chase them down.
Planning Too Far Ahead
Everyone has a vision when it comes to investing, but almost everyone looks too far ahead. You need to be thinking about things such as a retirement, but there is a time and place for that and it most likely isn’t now. You also might be thinking about future investments because you’re confident that the businesses you invested in will succeed. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case and anything can happen. You might lose all of your money, you might not get as much as you expected, and there are lucky situations where you might get more money than you hoped for.
Investing is a dynamic landscape that constantly changes based on trends, successes and failures. If you aren’t prepared to switch your plans on the fly, then you’re going to be burned out from having your plans constantly undershooting or overshooting expectations. Try to remain calm in the face of change and work towards having a fluid investment plan that you can adjust according to your successes and failures. Think a couple of moves ahead, but don’t plan so far ahead that you’re already seeing yourself in retirement.
Summary
These two main points can be broken up into finer details, but in general, they are the two biggest pitfalls you need to consider. If you aren’t looking after every single penny of your investment then you’re not going to be in control of your investments, and if you plan too far ahead you might just miss out on opportunities that are in front of you.
