How To Overcome Your Fear Of Investing With A Zen Mindset

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Investing can be the key to retirement, to protecting your money against inflation and to building generational wealth. When it comes to passing money down to the next generation, Black families are in last place of all racial groups, says NPR. Learning to invest properly and build something for the next generation is one way to close that gap.

Today, with so many options and advancements in technology, investing has become far more complex than it was in the days when your grandmother kept paper bonds under her mattress. Knowing that your money could go to work for you and that your dollars could grow without you doing anything is empowering and exciting. But, knowing that sometimes your money could go down could have you biting your nails. Fear of investing is real and it keeps a lot of individuals from doing anything with their money other than letting it sit in a checking account.

If you know it’s time to make some money moves but you worry the emotional turmoil of the market highs and lows will be a lot, it’s time to take a zen approach to investing. The good news is that, if you’ve already been nurturing a zen mindset in the other areas of your life, doing so with your money should come naturally. Here’s how to start.

Find A Financial Advisor You’d Give Your Firstborn To

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If you can find a financial advisor that you fully trust to make the best decisions with your money, then that will be a big step towards zen investing. Maybe you don’t know how to assess and navigate the markets. That’s okay – you do what you do and let your financial advisor do what they do.

So how do you find a great financial advisor? You could first look to the people in your lives who’ve done well for themselves and ask them for recommendations. The longer your friend or family member has had a good-standing relationship with their advisor, the better. Remember that it takes some years (often at least three) for a financial advisor to show what they’re capable of. But there’s more to finding a trusted advisor.

How To Find A Trustworthy Financial Advisor

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Know the language around the profession. Anyone can call themselves a financial advisor if they know a little about the markets. But the gold standard is a fiduciary advisor. This is someone who is legally bound to make decisions that are always and exclusively in your best interest.

A non-fiduciary advisor might recommend products that will earn them a high commission but aren’t in your best interest. Only a fiduciary advisor is legally obligated to make all decisions based on your best interest. Fiduciaries are going to be Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). Certified financial planners (CPAs) are also often fiduciaries – but ask to confirm.

Once you have a fiduciary advisor in place, who has a proven track record with people you know, you can breathe a little easier. Someone who is informed is making decisions about your money, so your fear of investing should subside.

Know When To Set It And Forget It

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Depending on the types of investments you make, some will naturally go through many highs and lows in a multi-year period, but will generally trend up. Your financial advisor should educate you on the trends you might expect from anything your money is in. If you know these highs and lows are part of the process, don’t panic when you see the lows. Don’t let them fuel your fear of investing.

Think about your investments like your other goals: you know there will be good days and bad days. There will be days you take a step forward and days you face a setback. But overall, you are inching forward and moving in the right direction. Have faith you’ll get where you’re going and apply this to your investments.

The best way to keep your investments from impacting your emotions is to simply not check your portfolio too often. Have a schedule in which you’ll check your investments. Perhaps you can do a quarterly check-in with your advisor and review everything. Know that appointment is coming, and then put it out of mind – get on with your life and be present.

Be Proud When You Take An L

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Even with the best financial advisor, you won’t be winning all of the time. Nobody can perfectly predict the markets (and if they do, they might be doing some insider trading). You will take some Ls. And when that happens, instead of being frustrated, be proud. That L is a sign that you shot your shot and took a chance on your future.

Also know that any wins you’ve had, you got those because you took a chance on yourself. So don’t let a loss send you into hiding, pulling all your money out. If you’d done that in the first place, you would have never had the wins. In investments, like in life, understand that there will be wins and losses – they’re all part of it.