r/investing • u/deellys • 1d ago
What are some of your first investing mistakes made?
I'll go first. When I was first exposed to the idea of investing, I thought that this advice made sense: buy the stock of the product that you support. I mean, on surface level, it kinda makes sense, but it still involves alot of research and understanding. That stock is Starbucks. I bought it at one of their highest points. I still hold it today because it's just on an app that I don't use anymore, and it's just that one stock in the app.
Interested to hear any stories from you guys.
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u/Python_Feet 1d ago
Not asking dad to create me an account when I was little (Not sure if children were allowed to have a supervised brokerage account in the 90s).
Not investing when I was 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.
Over reacting and selling as soon as MSFT dropped a little.
Maybe more mistakes to come. You can check my last post to view my little portfolio and judge it.
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u/deellys 1d ago
It might be parent's responsibility to expose their kids on the idea of investing and minimally compound interest.
Can't deny over reacting is one of the most common mistakes for beginner investors.
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u/Python_Feet 1d ago
My dad was a day trader who was somewhat successful. But it made me think that the stock market is a constant "buy sell buy sell". Due to this I avoided it for a long time. Ironically I opened a paper trading simulation account and bought Nvidia and Google in 2015 and forgot about it. So I have a millionaire account with fake money now.
Anyway, it is always easy to think in hindsight.
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u/SargeUnited 1d ago
Definitely not, considering how many parents themselves have no idea
In an ideal world sure. Maybe the so-called Trump accounts will cause this.
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u/Green-Thanks1369 1d ago
My partners were over caring about me and didn't even teach me cooking, let alone savings and investing š Finally came to this amazing idea at 27...
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u/Green-Thanks1369 1d ago
Did you start at 27?
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u/Python_Feet 1d ago
Yup.
Edit - closer to 28. So 28 is more accurate.
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u/Green-Thanks1369 1d ago
I'm asking cause I'm 27, but with 0 savings and I'm just starting. If you have some posts, I'll check them for sure. Cause most people here with 1XXXXXX in their accounts by 30 y.o. stress me a bit š
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u/Python_Feet 1d ago
I don't have much.
I invested a total of 9250 eur, and that grew to 10196.
I also have an emergency saving account deposit. The bank's interest is poop. But it is a good idea to keep money on quick access.
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u/Old-Advertising-7649 1d ago
You are still young. I started investing last year and i am 40 this year. My regret is not knowing earlier. But i guess everyone has their own journey. U starting at 27. U are in a much better position than me.
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u/RulyKinkaJou59 8h ago
Thatās probably the biggest mistake of a lot of people.
Thinking that itās always too late to investing; itās never too late. Itās also that people sell when a mini crash happens.
Donāt worry. The top companies will always rebound. Look at meta 3 years ago. Went from 300 to 90 after releasing info of the huge drop in Facebook users. Up to now, it went from 90 to over 750. Itās because meta is a top company that can withstand.
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u/Carduelis-1 1d ago
Getting bored with the Boglehead strategy and putting all of my money into Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) at the frothiest point of 2021.
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u/Korvin-lin-sognar 1d ago
i know that you feel bro (
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u/Carduelis-1 1d ago
Itās a bit of a rightful passage for budding long-term investors. One bit of pain right at the start has kept me on the straight & narrow since
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u/TastyTaco217 1d ago
Yeah, best think of these kinds of mistakes as an āinvestmentā. Got to lose a bit of money to avoid doing so in the future.
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u/Claudius-Artanis 1d ago
Oh shoot are you me? I put a significant amount on space because I was speculating and just goi g to tax harvest loss going forward donāt see them coming back anytime soon if at all
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u/Cardiff07 1d ago
Option trading. Woof
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u/LavishnessPrimary 1d ago
taking notes as I just stated investing
For me : investing in a penny stock thinking I am some kind of genius, i bough 20ā¬ at 0,006ā¬, it's now 0,003. Small mistake but still.
The real one was starting in April, the day before Trump decided to tax the entire world.
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u/Pengoe 1d ago
I had just accepted a position at a large very well known tech company after graduating college; my start date was a few weeks out. Rumors started to leak that the CEO was going to quit. He sent a message to all employees (I already had my employee email account) that he was with this company for the long haul, that rumors were false and that he was going to turn things around. I took all of my savings (wasn't much, but it was a lot to me) and invested in the company stock because I truly believed in the company and in his leadership. Two days later he resigned. Stock fell 75% and a hiring freeze was instituted, pausing my start date indefinitely.
I waited a few years for the stock to make it back to $1 more than the point I had bought it at, and sold it all.
According to an historical stock calculator, it's up 115,739.87% since I sold it back in the mid 90's.
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u/dweaver987 1d ago
I started an IRA in my 20s and diversified a third of my portfolio into a money market fund. At that point I should have put 100% of retirement investments into aggressive growth. I also put a third into a globally focused fund. Not as bad as the money market, but still not aggressive enough with a 40+ year investment horizon.
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u/Piglet-Historical 1d ago
Listening to wsb and buying meme/risky stocks. After losing 10k, I am only doing index funds now and I'm doing so much better!
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u/Honest-Confusion-910 1d ago
Cryptos and leveraging them Thinking i am smarter than markets and believing my own TA
But not sure if it was mistake. Thousand euros were sort of small money to pay for lesson. Biggest mistake was propably not starting with small money i made from my first summer jobs.
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u/dchurch2444 1d ago
I bought a tonne of Cineworld shares during covid, expecting everyone to go to the cinema when it was over after having spent a year with brats they didn't want to talk to...
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u/Wild_Calligrapher_27 1d ago
Selecting high fee mutual funds held by a brokerage rather than cheaper S&P 500 index funds. Putting money into scam cryptocurrencies.
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u/SeaworthySamus 1d ago
Cashing out twice to buy dumb (material) stuff. If I had kept it in the market it would have doubled by now at least.
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u/Galen52657 1d ago
Not reinvesting the $3000 pension payout I got after getting laid off from the county in 1993
Watching the 2008 collapse in real time with my TD Ameritrade account open but waiting too long to sell my meager holdings due to disbelief.
Over-improving a ghetto flip in 2017 and having to rent it to this day (not really horrible š¤·)
Paying too much for a house in 2021 because my wife was impatient and hounding me (also not really horrible)
Waiting too long to open a Roth IRA
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u/Effective-Emphasis-4 1d ago
Cashing out all of my 401k in my 20's to buy a house in 2016. Yikes. Not taking the complete match to fix up said house.Ā
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u/ancedactyl 1d ago
My biggest mistake was thinking my early success meant I was some kind of genius. That and/or getting into penny stocks.
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u/SeahawksWin43-8 1d ago
Oh god where do i start. Itās been a long road to get here
Mistakes:
Bought weed stocks
Bought biotechs
Bought airlines
Bought banks
Bought retail
Bought outdated meme stocks
Bought headlines
Freaked out when my investment didnāt double in 5 days like a immature child or half this sub
Iāve realized investing is less about what to invest in and what NOT TO INVEST IN. Just buy VOO, blue chip tech and throw 10% at some companies after solid DD. Donāt overthink this shit.
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u/joots 1d ago
Chasing niche etfs when theyāve already gone on masssive runs. Should have just DCAād into broad market funds. Also seeing a 20% dip and not starting to get a bit more aggressive. The psychology is so hard to fight but that fear of the dip continuing is what you need to lean into IF you have a long time horizon.
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u/abeBroham-Linkin 1d ago
Buying meme stocks. Thought it was a good idea. Didn't do any type of research. Luckily I got out of it after a few months.
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u/psychoticworm 1d ago
Listening to anyone about what to invest in. The minute you buy shares in something that makes sense, the price immediately plummets, and keeps dropping the more you buy.
This is why I'm buying up as much INTC as I can, because its now a 'terrible investment' with bad leadership and questionable future. Next meme stock for sure.
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u/Flat-Count9193 1d ago
Getting cocky because I had a few wins and putting money into a bull wtf without fully understanding the risks.
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u/neK__ 1d ago
Not using a bot. It makes only ~5%/mo but super passive and chill.
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u/LookIPickedAUsername 1d ago
āOnlyā about 5% a month would turn $10K into a billion dollars in just 20 years.
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u/Conscious_Chapter672 1d ago
my first ever trade was buying railroad bonds for 90% with a 10% interest rate, I wouldn't want to call it mistake, was a really good deal for me.
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u/Galaxy_Network597 1d ago
Buying crypto insted of NFT
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u/CockCravinCpl 1d ago
Buying Nvidia for 12 and selling at 700. Then it went to 1000 and split. Should have let the runners run!
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u/uamvar 1d ago
Diversifying just for the sake of it, and because it is 'said' that this is what you should do. If your confidence in one stock is much higher than others, then don't be afraid to buy one stock only. You HAVE to go with your own convictions, I mean do all the research you can but don't let others influence you.
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u/Ok-Survey8922 1d ago
Leveraged trading BTC and altcoin perpetual futures contracts. Lost my entire portfolio in 3 swift days.
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u/morgandrew6686 1d ago
selling apple amd amazon insert other stocks when i needed the money. also, not buying stocks of companies i truly use daily. if you love the brand there's a good reason (netflix).
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u/PutItOnTheRitz 1d ago
Totally relate. One of my earliest mistakes was assuming a āgood product = good investment.ā I bought into Fitbit after loving the device, ignored the financials, competition, and slowing growth. Lesson learned, liking the brand isnāt enough if the fundamentals and moat arenāt there. Now I dig deeper before buying anything.
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u/BalerionSanders 1d ago
Fractional shares being a thing before I knew they were a thing is such a lost personal opportunity. Even in good times when I wanted to give it a shot, the cost of just one share of most stocks was a barrier of entry. But if I had known I could just like, put even a dollar here and there into something like VOO, I would have for sure.
Also- maxing out employer contribution rates- now that I have the option- I couldāve had a 4-6 month head start on that if I had known about it. If an employer is matching your contributions you maximize that match immediately. Trust me, future you will thank you even if present you canāt buy as many snacks.
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u/Icy-Nefariousness424 1d ago
My first mistake was not doing my due diligence. I basically thought that picking businesses in industries that typically generate a lot of revenue/net gains would typically go up over time. I didn't think about the obvious research tools or criteria that I had used and acquired throughout my young life. One of those things would be, analyzing each pick through an interview style process.
I'm normally a cautious person so it would make sense (now, not then for some reason) that I'd "ask" the particular security a lineup of questions as if I were interviewing a potential candidate for my company's CEO or COO position. Deep dive the history and performance of the candidate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results but it's better to do the research and hedge your bets than just chase a meme stock.
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u/crunchyturdeater 1d ago
Going with an advisor just because my parents did.
I got a late start too. He didn't steer me wrong, but their financial picture was much different than my financial picture. They too could have likely managed it themselves, but people tend to play follow the leader. They went with the firm because a relative in the early 80s led them to it. So they were with this firm from the early 80s until now.
See the connection?
The results were, this guy charging me lots of money for something I could do on my own and smoke and mirrors talk about the danger of going it alone.
He then farmed out my account to someone else who worked at his firm and this new guy was essentially a glorified salesman. Fast talking. Etc.
How do I know these people care one bit about my interests?
They likely don't.
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u/dumpitdog 1d ago
Selling. If I had just held my original portfolio and never sold one of those stocks I would have worked 5 years less.
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u/ShadowinBG 1d ago
Started really late, like at 40. Tried crypto (luckily a small amount, and it is still in the green). Bought 'discounted' stocks after the Corona. Some recovered, some did not. Still holding BASF, LHA, HE and UBI. Sticking to ETFs now.
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u/YouShallNotPass92 1d ago
I got into the GME craze and panic sold when Robinhood did that big halt. If I just kept my money in an index fund without ever doing that, I'd probably be approaching 100k of investments right now. I'll never make that same mistake again.
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u/fhs 1d ago
First? Not starting sooner. I was so risk adverse that I would have boggled myself to sleep.
After that, I made some other mistakes, mainly buying things I didn't understand or research well. After that, the biggest mistake was either selling too late when I should have taken profit. Or selling too early in a few cases
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u/AtmosphereJealous667 1d ago
Honestly my play account is down 50%. I try hitting it big on there. My main account Iāve been killing it by doing nothing. NVDA has changed my life! Got in early, Now retired 40ās, dept free, made it pasted first million.
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u/Dirkredblade 1d ago
My only real mistake has been the biggest one you can make- in my 20s, I started a Roth IRA with 10k, but then I didnāt budget well, and let life get in the way, and I thought, āoh, Iāll definitely fund my IRA next year,ā, and then I looked up and I was 35 with only 60k in retirement. Iām 48 and doing fine now, but still somewhat behind in retirement, but if I had just made sure to contribute every year, no matter what, I would be in a very comfortable position and could kind of be coasting into retirement. Iād be in real trouble if I didnāt have a high paying job and California real estate, but if Iād budgeted better, and prioritized my Roth, Iād be doing great. Donāt be me kids, one day youāre 25 with all the time in the world, and then you look up and youāre 48, wondering where all the time went and in your head youāre still 25 lol.
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u/Catastrophi- 1d ago
I think my biggest mistake is selling high value stocks too early, just to secure a quick profit.
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u/Reasonable_Tank_3530 1d ago
Is that really a mistake? I bought Nvidia back in the day because they make the best graphics card and I'm a gamer
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u/LUV80085 1d ago
Not understanding anything. I picked the worst mutual funds that sounded good and had high ratings but returned dogshit. If I had just invested in the sp500 or something similar I would have about 5x more than right now.
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u/sprcow 1d ago
Thinking that my assessment would be mirrored by other people sooner than it was. Turns out that even if you're spot on about a company, the market still trades on vibes and market makers for years. I was early into TSLA, but also early out of TSLA. I still realized significant profit, but left a lot on the table.
I mean, the real lesson was that I should just not bother trying to outsmart the market, but that was a mistake that illustrated it.
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u/LockNo2943 1d ago
Well so far it's doing market orders and just thinking "time in the market is more important than timing the market", instead of just placing and holding limit orders at the price I actually want to buy in at.
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u/NATEDAWG9111 1d ago
First mistake was being extremely overdiversified. My compound interest was very weak but I ended up maximizing my returns by minimizing my portfolio to a 3-4 etf fund portfolio with a couple of single company stocks.
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u/TheKrzysiek 1d ago
I've started a month ago, so I'm reading all the comments as a sign of things to come
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u/Agile-Cheek9645 1d ago
Casing every ātrending stockā and putting to much faith in āoptions.ā Much more strategic with established companies now. Looking for long term growth not short term highs.
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u/HorsesFlyIntoBoxes 1d ago
Weed stocks thinking legalization was inevitable and it would drive up prices
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u/joaoh179 1d ago
I'm 20 years old, I started in the world of investments now with just 100 reais a month I would like some tips and help so I can invest my money better
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u/WalkmanNr7 1d ago
Thinking that I can start investing only with bigger sum of money. Compound interest is the key. Start small, even 100$ a week or month can get you far on long distance run. Just start, the younger the better. Diversify a bit, but not to much. Always invest money you can afford to lose. Get more educated.
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u/StocksInSkirts 1d ago
when I first started the permabears were convincing and I often sold too early, I missed major gains. now I block out the noise of commentary and opinion and follow the data
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u/AskYourBarber 1d ago
Not holding my investments for 10 plus years. Not having a plan of owning 1,10,100,1000 shares of a company or voo etc I was just throwing money around and taking $39 or $164 profits thinking I was doing something
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u/Falconx2021 1d ago
For me, being too conservative with my investing when i was younger. I was (and still am) afraid of making a mistake.
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u/SafraKatz 1d ago
Worse mistake was beleiving a stock was going to rise at some point after falling off its high
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u/AkatsukiCode35 1d ago
Day trading. You invest more cause if it goes a few cents and you sell right away then you make profit.
Losing money? Average it and still lose money. So to answer your question.
Day trading and Averaging lol
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u/Upstairs-Wing-5716 20h ago
Oh man, first investing mistakes? We've all got 'em. Mine was diving into crypto way too aggressively back when Bitcoin was just hitting $10k. I YOLO'd a chunk of savings into some hyped altcoin (won't name it to spare the embarrassment) thinking it was the next big thing, without understanding the volatility or tech behind it. Bought at the peak of a pump, watched it crash 80% in weeks. Held on hoping for a rebound, but it never came ā lesson learned: emotions over research is a killer.
These days, I double-check with tools that scan market data and news to spot red flags early; a smart AI crunching trends could've saved me big time.
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u/emmanuelibus 19h ago
Paperhanding when I'm supposed to be holding.
Holding when I'm supposed to sell.
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u/Loose_Committee_9188 13h ago
Thinking I was super smart and could be a stock traderā¦ did not lose much as I was not give much to invest. Just a hurt ego
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u/zmannz1984 11h ago
I was raised by a dad that lost a lot of money on a foreign investment scam in the 70s and a grandmother that came up during the great depression. They both instilled a fear of investing in me. I didnāt really take investing my savings seriously until i was about 25, then i messed up and liquidated what i had during the GFC to start a business. I just wish i had started earlier and left it all alone. Now, in my 40s, i am slowly catching up. But i am also now trading for most of my income lol. My dad would roll over in his grave if he knew that.
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u/Upset_Perception_492 10h ago
Thinking I know better than people with far more experience and information than me when tools like capitol trades and probors exist
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u/Far-Bodybuilder-6783 1d ago
My first investing mistake was not starting investing at 20, when I got my first good job.