In these low interest rate and relatively high inflation times, you often find people (who think they know) expressing shock and surprise when they discover their “friends” or acquaintances still keep the bulk of their money in plain vanilla fixed deposits and savings accounts.
Like talking heads on business networks like CNBC, they will rattle off unsolicited one minute sound bites like:
- Invest in dividend stocks; you can earn more than 6-7% easy!
- Put your money in passive index funds – look, no brains needed!
- Buy gold, it’s a great inflation hedge. Even central banks are buying them!
- Get into the property market now! You can get both rental income and capital gains!And so on…
(Whatever happened to Options trading? Went the way like the bubble-gum tea craze a few years ago? Wait, bubble-gum tea has come back in another form… Now Forex is so “in” right? The wolves have gone, and the foxes are in their place…)
And these self-styled man-in-the-street “guru” will walk off without a care in the world. Just making conversation mah!
Guess what? You don’t really care do you?
You can’t even convince your spouse, your parents, your children, your siblings to do what you do (invest so wisely!), so you release your pent up pseudo-knowledge to your unsuspecting acquaintances and casual friends? You won’t risk damaging the relationship of your best friends, would you?
Of course you meant well! Who doesn’t?
But will you compensate the losses of your “friends” who followed your recommendations? I didn’t think so!
So you don’t really care, do you? Contrast the below two statements:
“It’s my fault. I am sorry.”
“It’s my fault. I am sorry. How do I make it right?”
Which one shows sincerity?
Help only those who are ready to help themselves. Or in your own backyard first.
Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!)
