The relief of not knowing...
A few weeks ago, the prices of gold and commodities were rising. The created a sense of anticipation for me, and a keenness to get on board the price move by buying gold and commodities before they had moved much further up. Indeed, I did buy some gold before my system had generated a 'buy' signal (oops).
(Red Acer at Westonbirt. Photo by Mark Kent on Flickr)
So what happened? Well the price of gold and commodities started to fall down again! This week, because of a strong upward move in the value of GBP sterling, the prices of gold and commodities moved further down, making it better for me to have been in cash (GBP) rather than gold or commodities.
The lesson that I'm taking from this is to remind myself not to anticipate price moves. It's better to follow prices, than to anticipate them. It also removes the emotional pressure to make the correct decision. In fact, it's quite a relief to make the decision to not know what is going to happen in the future.
Furthermore, by following the prices of all of the asset classes, the stress of deciding where to be invested is removed. I simply invest in the asset classes that are going up in price, and exit the ones that are going down in price. I use a nice simple, binary, in/out decision, once per week, at the weekend.
The rest of the week I get on with my life! It's great to enjoy the 'fall' or autumn as we call it in the UK. The photo in this post is of a Red Acer at Westonbirt arboretum. I feel that my financial decision-making should help me to live a better life, it should not be what my life is all about. I often find this difficult to remember...
If you would like to see a video with my thoughts about the different asset classes as of Friday 1st Dec, then click here.
Keen to know more? Then consider becoming a member of my site!
(Red Acer at Westonbirt. Photo by Mark Kent on Flickr)
So what happened? Well the price of gold and commodities started to fall down again! This week, because of a strong upward move in the value of GBP sterling, the prices of gold and commodities moved further down, making it better for me to have been in cash (GBP) rather than gold or commodities.
The lesson that I'm taking from this is to remind myself not to anticipate price moves. It's better to follow prices, than to anticipate them. It also removes the emotional pressure to make the correct decision. In fact, it's quite a relief to make the decision to not know what is going to happen in the future.
Furthermore, by following the prices of all of the asset classes, the stress of deciding where to be invested is removed. I simply invest in the asset classes that are going up in price, and exit the ones that are going down in price. I use a nice simple, binary, in/out decision, once per week, at the weekend.
The rest of the week I get on with my life! It's great to enjoy the 'fall' or autumn as we call it in the UK. The photo in this post is of a Red Acer at Westonbirt arboretum. I feel that my financial decision-making should help me to live a better life, it should not be what my life is all about. I often find this difficult to remember...
If you would like to see a video with my thoughts about the different asset classes as of Friday 1st Dec, then click here.
Keen to know more? Then consider becoming a member of my site!
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