I remember when I embarked on my journey into property investment. I was plagued by worries, doubts and questions. What if I couldn’t find a tenant? What if my tenants trashed the house or didn’t pay? What if my insurance and maintenance costs outstripped the income and I ran at a loss? The list of nagging doubts went on. It all came down to a fear of loss
Here is an unpalatable truth. Every investor has to put their money down knowing that there is a chance, however small, they will never see it again. This knowledge cripples most people. I spent the first half of my life terrified of losing what I already had. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the house or car I had worked so hard to acquire.
I recall one conversation with a wealthy friend about stock market investment many years ago. I was dabbling and wanted some tips on investment. He laughed and told me the only tip he had was this. ‘If ever you get a cold call from a foreign-sounding person asking if you are interested in investing and offering to have a broker phone you back, hang up and walk away.’
He then related a story in which this had happened to him. When he expressed interest, he had later received a follow-up call from a professional sounding broker. The man had told him about a stock that was about to skyrocket. He had to get in immediately or he would miss the boat.
My friend is not stupid. He is a savvy investor and said he would think about it and the broker was welcome to contact him again in a month or two. During that time, he watched the stock and saw it rocket up, just as the broker had predicted. He also kept an eye on a few other stocks that interested him.
When the broker called back a month later, my friend asked him about the other stocks he had been watching. The man was able to talk credibly on those stocks and so, suitably impressed, this friend invested a small amount in the new stock the broker was touting. In due course, he received a fancy-looking share certificate and he watched with glee as the stock continued to rise.
More phone calls followed and each time, he invested more money. When he was about $30,000 in, he happened to rent a DVD called Boiler Room. His blood turned cold as the story of the Boiler Room scam unfolded and he began to realise that he might have been duped.
He called the broker’s number the following day and got an answering machine. Nobody ever returned the call. A chill ran through him as he realised the foreign address details he had were probably bogus. A call to the police told him the rest. He had been conned out of his money by foreign nationals. The police had no jurisdiction there. They could maybe contact the USA or the Philippines where the calls originated but he shouldn’t hold out much hope. His money was gone and could not be recovered.
This friend was actually able to laugh at his own expense as he told me this story. Instead of wallowing in his loss, he went out and invested more wisely going forward. Back in the 1990’s $30,000 was a staggering amount to lose.
I remember mulling over this conversation as I drove home that evening. If I lost $30,000, I would cry myself to sleep for the rest of my life. This thought ran through my head over and over. I now realise that it was this very mindset that kept me where I was in life and my friend where he was.
He was prepared to lose what he had and so took some risks and he invested. Sure, he lost on occasion but more often than not, he gained from his successful investments. I was not prepared to lose what I had and therefore never took any risks. Consequently, I never learned about investing and also never allowed my investments to grow.
Overcoming Fear of Loss
Years on, I have now changed my mindset. Now, I have my own stories to tell. Battle-scars, so to speak, with losses from bad investment decisions that match my friend’s $30,000. However, I have increased my income and have a growing portfolio that not only increases with inflation but also produces a positive cash-flow every month.
Most importantly, I have learned from my mistakes and am able to make better investment decisions as a result of those losses.
On reflection, I now realise it was the love of money – or fear of loss – that prevented me from achieving my goals. Too terrified to lose the little I had, I never took the risks to reach for what I really wanted in life. There is a saying among investors. Every time you invest, you either win or you learn.
Learning costs money. It is a painful and expensive experience. Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, I’m always ready to learn – but I don’t always enjoy being taught.
As long as we love money so much that we cannot bear to lose any and learn by making mistakes, we will never achieve financial freedom. That fear of loss will forever hold us back.
Conversely, when we shed the love of money, we reduce its importance in our lives, and we are more likely to take risks. Yes, we may lose some but we will learn from those losses and, in the end, we will acquire the skills we need to make sound investments and ultimately achieve financial freedom.
I can honestly say that confronting my fear of loss has changed my life. I have lost more money in the last three years than in the rest of my life put together – and yet, I am in a better financial position than I have ever been before.