Investing for the future is a daunting task that most of us are not fully prepared for. Whether you want to minimize your risk or maximize your returns, you are bound to regret some loss or a missed opportunity along the way. Regret is inherent to the process, but once you've accepted that it's inevitable, you can begin to deal with the fallout. Here are five tips to help you move on when an investment doesn't go your way.
Know What You Want
Find the right balance for you
The surest way to magnify your regrets is to skip this step. If you jump on any investment that sounds tempting, without fitting it into your larger plans, you won't be happy with how anything turns out. So are you looking for sudden, big gains, or do you want the stability of a sure thing? Do you want a diverse portfolio, or a focused one? And how much of your money are you willing to put on the line? Once you figure out the balance you want, you can prepare yourself to let go of the missed opportunities or the losses that go along with your broader goals.
Don't Blame Yourself
There's no sense in beating yourself up
Seriously. Whether your money is going into individual businesses, mutual funds, or cryptocurrency, there are major risks involved, and no one can navigate those risks perfectly. Even if, in retrospect, some choice you made with your money was obviously wrong, you've learned something. Chances are that you didn't study investing in school, so the surest way to learn is to try, and any time you try something new, failure is on the table. So you screwed up and lost some money. If you have a broader plan, then it was money you were willing to risk. Mark off one mistake you'll never make again, and move on. Chances are it won't be your last mistake, but each one will make you a better investor.
Don't Be Reactive
If you let a mistake scare you off track, you'll just make another
The Atlantic
I once lost a large chunk of money on a risky investment in an individual company. Shortly after, I allowed myself to be talked into shifting money from another individual stock to a more secure real estate investment. There was nothing wrong with that real estate investment, but the stock I sold has since grown to over five times the original price. I let myself be scared away from a calculated risk because of one bad experience. Stick to your guns. One investment going sour does not predict that others will do the same.
Don't Chase Trends
You are not Nostradamus
You can't predict the future. The good news is tht you don't need to. If you were a day trader, you wouldn't be reading this, so don't try to jump on board with the latest exciting development, and don't jump ship at the first sign that an investment is trending down. You can't know when enthusiasm is peaking or pessimism is about to give way to a rebound. If you're willing to risk and experiment, you can move some portion of your investments around with the shifting financial winds, but don't lose track of the long-term. Siting on a smart investment is the easiest thing in the world, but it does take patience.
Pat Yourself on the Back
Give yourself some credit
Not everyone is even trying to prepare for their futures. The fact that you have regrets at all means that you're doing more than most. Give credit where it's due. You took some risks and they didn't all work out, but you're learning and improving. Years from now, when those lessons have paid off, the regrets you cling to now will look small next to the security that you're just now starting to build. Keep the big picture in mind and keep working.
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Every time payday rolls around, I’m on top of the world. Jeff Bezos-level rich - even though I’m anything but. And then somehow the very next day, rent is due.
The cycle continues. The next payday, bills for my apartment. I find myself without a surplus of savings since I just moved and newly-furnished my apartment completely.
Even more terrifying is the looming presence of the holiday season. Halloween’s officially over and before we know it, hello Thanksgiving…and then there’s Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s. It’s insane.
I’ve been feeling very British lately. Not in a Union-Jack-obsessed, “Keep Calm and Carry-On” way. I went through that phase in 2012 with everyone else… no thank you. And it’s not even a surge of patriotism catalyzed by the Queen dying — I’m firmly team Diana and team Meghan.
Now that fall is officially here, the holidays will sweep in and I’ll have to contend with the fact that I won’t be spending them with my family in the UK. I went home to London earlier this year, so there’s not much left in my travel budget for another trip across the pond. A few domestic jaunts might be in my future, but the closest I’ll get to England this winter is watching Love Island and Love, Actually.
So in that spirit, I’ve been filling my days with content from my favorite Brits. I’m listening to all the old British rock bands I grew up listening to, patiently awaiting the new Arctic Monkeys album, and rewatching anything with Michaela Coel in it. I even shipped myself an order of British Baked Beans, so you know it’s dire.
I’ve also been watching British YouTubers like Grace Beverley — my favorite. Generally, I only go on YouTube to watch Vogue Beauty Secrets and AD Open Door videos. But I’m so glad I stumbled on Grace. Her content is a mix of London lifestyle (what lured me in), relatable entrepreneurship, and mindful productivity. I’m not a hustle-and-grind-girlboss, but as a creative person in a 9-to-5, I need all the help I can get to stay plugged in. So, the video “how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmed” changed my approach to WFH.
Grace outlines her own productivity method: the to-do table. Instead of making a simple to-do list, she divides her tasks into a table that anyone can follow. As someone who’s survived with to-do lists for years, I recently implemented Grace’s method, and it’s revolutionized my workdays.
how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmedwww.youtube.com
I follow her routine to a tee. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, she divides her daily responsibilities into four categories: quick ticks, tasks, projects, and non-negotiables.
- Quick Ticks: Actions that take less than 5-minutes
- Tasks: To-do’s that take up to 30-minutes. Probably don’t take too much brain energy.
- Projects: Long-term list items. These help guide your priorities, even if you’re not crossing them off in one day.
- Non-negotiables: Pick 3 things each day that you must get done. This is how you’ll truly measure success.
With everything written down and sorted, next address your schedule. Meetings, deadlines, and time blocks — whatever works best for you. Write it down. Then make a pact with yourself to stick to them.
This way of categorization provides a roadmap for prioritizing your day — making you far more productive. Have you ever spent the entire day on small tasks and then suddenly realized you hadn’t moved the needle on any task? Or do you spend way too much time on tasks that aren’t a priority? No more. With your non-negotiables laid out, you know what to laser-focus on and what to dedicate energy towards.
Also, it pays to know your working style. I’m not a morning person. Yet, I have to be up and at ‘em super early. So, first thing in the morning, I march through my Quick Ticks to warm me up. I set a time limit, so I can knock out some easy wins which is totally inspiring. Then I move on to bigger things without lingering on emails or admin. For others, it might be more helpful to tackle the big things with all that early-in-the-day brain power earlier.
Grace has great tips on avoiding overwhelm and burnout. My favorite is taking more intentional breaks rather than scrolling through social media. I call this scrolling “productive” because I’m “coming up with pitches.” Oh, the lies we tell ourselves. It’s more productive in the long run to giving my brain a break with non-screen related stimuli.
Grace’s solution? Set a timer to read a real, an actual book. I’ve never thought of this. It’s a genius way to check off some books on my TBR and kickstart my creativity. After reading a good book, I’m completely inspired to write. So having books near my desk helps me step away from the computer during my lunch break for an actual reset. (And yes, the current books I’m reading are by British authors: Assembly by Natasha Brown, and Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalolu.)
In my pursuit of switching out my WFH set-up and getting my life together, I’ve engineered my workstation for success. With my new WFH essentials and Grace’s productivity technique, I’m revitalized for work — despite the fall blues and my melancholy about the pending holidays.
Here are the things getting me hyped for work and helping me crush my Grace Beverley-inspired to-do tables — no lists in sight:
Southwest Airlines Sale 2022
Pack your bags — Southwest Airlines is having a major sale! Fares are as low as $59 one-way if you book by October 3rd.
This end-of-summer super sale is a game-changer for your travel plans through the end of the year. Summertime travel gets all the glory. But why not take advantage of your long weekends, holidays, and PTO this fall. You’ll be surprised at how much travel you can fit in. Keep the fall/winter season exciting with domestic trips that give you all the excitement without breaking the bank. All thanks to Southwest.
Here’s the breakdown:
Where can you go?
You’ll find discounted tickets to and from most airports. Sale fares apply to cross country travel, and even Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean! Whether you’re visiting a new city or revisiting your last beach vacation, this sale has fares to make your travel dreams come true.
What do the fares cover?
Southwest Airlines has multiple fare tiers, each with various benefits. Wanna Get Away fares start at $59, while Wanna Get Away Plus fares start at $89. You can also find great deals on Anytime fares, which offer priority boarding and express lanes. Then there’s Business Select tickets for a luxe experience at an affordable price point.
Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member?
You may think these sale fares are too good to be true. Is there a catch? Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member to access them? You’re in luck — anyone can attain these fares for a limited time.
But, insider tip, you should consider signing up for Southwest Rapid Rewards. With a free sign up, you earn points and miles with each trip you take. And with this sale, each dollar you spend on these discounted tix can stretch super far until you eventually earn free travel. The only thing better than a sale is free stuff.
So pack your bags and brace yourself for those chaotic airport lines. Everyone’s hopping on this deal so get on it. Don’t miss out — grab your sale tickets by October 3rd!
I’ve been browsing the Southwest Airlines site, checking out flights and dreaming.