Several years ago I was taken in by a Ponzi scheme introduced to me by a friend. For years I was told how good it was and “boy, was I missing out”! But it was just too good to be true I would say… Finally after about 4 years I succumbed and met Mr. Ponzi himself. After years of saying no- I succumbed to the biggest liar of them all- greed. Mr. Ponzi was very convincing, but Mr. Selfishness was even more so. Paul’s translation is probably skewed a bit in 1st Timothy when he states that the “love of money is the root of all evil”. There are many sins that have nothing to do with money- but every one of them has everything to do with selfishness. Even though this investment opportunity “walked like a duck” I did eat the forbidden fruit. Within a couple of months the dirty laundry was exposed and I was one of the lucky ones to get in right at the end of that wonderful opportunity!
I bring this up because the stock market today might look like a great opportunity to make some dough- but please be careful. We are kicking the can down the road like never before; make believe low interest rates created by make believe money being printed by a government that is increasingly hard to trust in. One failed passing of our budget and it could come down all around us very quickly.
A good rule of thumb in investing is to follow logic and not passion. Look at the market. Is our economy really that healthy? What’s the market being driven by? Is it another bubble waiting to exhale? Anybody that tells you they have it figured out…beware. It maybe a good time to re-evaluate your portfolio and move the wallet to the front pocket where it feels a little safer. Look for opportunities where your principal is guaranteed and not at risk. Wealth preservation might be a wiser idea than wealth gain= risk.
theworldaccordingtojohnnie 