I started investing my money in the stock market when I was still in high school and didn’t even have my own account setup yet. At one point I was pretty serious about trading stocks. Then around 2008 I finally made the decision to not invest in the stock market any longer. I sold almost all of my shares, took in some profits, incurred a few losses, and pretty much washed my hands off the stock market for the time being. I haven’t gone back to the stock market since then. I kept shares in one company because they still pay a decent dividend and it’s only a few hundred dollars that I have invested with them.
Why did I leave the stock market? I’m going to share why I stopped investing in the stock market.
I didn’t want to sit by the news all of the time.
Investing in the stock market isn’t as passive as it may seem from the outside looking in. You need to watch the news and stay on top of things so that you know what’s going on in the industries that you’ve invested your money in and the market as a whole. I just didn’t feel like following the news that closely any longer. I also didn’t want to stress over any bit of negative news that would come out (and believe me, lots of negative news comes out). I now don’t have to worry myself over the various economic problems that happen all over the world.
When you invest in the stock market you don’t see what you own.
When you buy shares you don’t get anything. You own a piece of a company. You never really get to see what you own. For some investors this just isn’t enough. I like to own tangible items. This is why I ended up putting my money towards a condo. I just wasn’t too crazy about owning something that I could never physical see.
I wanted to take different risks with my hard earned money.
I wanted to change the kinds of risks that I was taking with my money. The stock market isn’t the only option nor is it the best option for your money. There are many other and better investment options in your 20s. I didn’t want to tie up my savings in stocks and I decided to make some major changes. This will be covered in greater detail on another day.
Now that you know why I chose to leave the stock market, you can see where I decided to put my money. You’re going to have to check in tomorrow for that post.
What it comes down to is that investing in the stock market isn’t for everyone. At the moment I’m pretty much out of the stock market, but who knows what the future holds?
I like index funds because you own a small piece of many stocks. I see the news of gains and drops but it doesn’t make me feel like you with individual stocks. I also add a little bit every week so it averages out. Stocks sound like they are too volatile for you. But then again people thought real estate was a great investment and you see what happened recently.