Meaningful things readers learned in FY23

Thank you to the 100+ readers who participated in the first Free Stuff Friday survey to share with the group an important lesson they learned about trading or investing in 2023. Thank you also to Plentitude Chocolates for sponsoring the survey and introducing us to its award-winning chocolates. 

Last time we confessed our sins; this time we hopefully do something more productive. Just like with the confessional, I’m going to share some of the (anonymized) responses that I received. No names or identifying info.

In 2023, readers learned:

“Never fall in love with a stock. Always have an exit plan.”

“Meaningful investing is a whole lot of waiting. If you find yourself bored, you’re on the right track.”

“You can study everything, make analysis, but at the end of the day trading or investing is still a ‘gamble’.”

“Don’t take it personally when your analysis is right but the market deviates from our idea due to some unforeseen circumstances.”

“Pay attention to management fees! They get paid whether you make money or not.”

“When the market is bearish, just take a breather and have faith in the long-term strategy as initially planned.”

“Cut my losses if my trading plan didn’t work out.”

“The two-stage gordon growth model which is helpful for me as a long-term investor who prefers dividend-paying stocks.”

“There’s no rush.”

“For crypto, don’t email your private keys to yourself. BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN.”

“You can’t follow somebody else’s investment strategy; you have to follow your own.”

“Nobody really knows what is going to happen.”

“Transfer steady amounts to my brokerage account, even if it’s small. I won’t be tempted to spend that little amount if it’s in the brokerage account.”

“Moderate my fear and hesitation.”

“When the market whispers, listen. When it shouts, it’s already too late.”

“The buying strategy doesn’t matter as much as the selling discipline and risk management.”

“I don’t have to trade when the market sucks, I can just research more on my strategy and be ready for when it gets better.”

“The market doesn’t care about me at all. That’s not new, but it got easier to trade when I felt that inside.”

“Don’t get FOMO and experiment half-assedly with new trading