The $25.00 Investor

Taking off with page boosting The other day Facebook made me an offer I couldn't refuse:  $30.00 to spend on boosting a page.  Never having done it before I decided to give it a try. First a picked a page at random, mostly because I like the picture.  This page: https://www.facebook.com/25dollarinvestor/posts/177424652964141 Next, they have you choose an audience.  I picked people interested in various investing terms.  Then, go. The result were impressive.  A blog that has very few followers ( < 10 ) got over 500 views in a week.  The page and the post both got a couple of likes -- thanks to those who did. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared only made $.38, yup 38 cents from Google AdSense.  It was a good experiment, didn't cost me anything and shows that a small investment can reach people. I will be doing it again, but first Google sent me a similar coupon which I will try on my book, Ferocious Flirting .

Sound data and trusting yourself Just yesterday I wrote a post called Don't Panic  which talks about the need to prepare with an exit strategy to avoid the pitfalls of making panic decisions. Today, I ran across on article:  Warren Buffett: If you invest this way, 'you can't miss' .  Like a lot of finance articles, there are a lot of words but not a lot of concrete advice.  To summarize the things that stood out to me: you've got the right facts, and you reason by yourself opinions and emotions aren't likely to help you be able to play out your hand under all circumstances giving in to your fear is not a sound strategy These bullet points are some good advice to follow.  Plan before investing and know before hand when you want to get out, regardless of what the market does.  The more you understand about the investment, the better decisions you are going to make.

Have an exit strategy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  says this about why the fictional The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sells so well: It is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, the  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  itself has outsold the  Encyclopedia Galactica  because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words 'DON'T PANIC' in large, friendly letters on the cover. If I ever write a book on investing, I think I will include "DON'T PANIC" in large friendly letters on the cover as well.  If you learn nothing else about investing,  learn to not panic.  The world is full of fear, uncertainty and doubt -- especially the investing world.  The other day the DOW lost 400 points because of a possible financial crisis in Italy.  How do you learn to relax in such an ever changing world? Some of my most costly lessons have come from fear and panic.  Sometimes a stock is ris...