Lessons I learnt as a Newbie

It's been 6 months into my investing journey and I've come to learn 4 lessons which I wish I knew back then. But even now, I still have to remind myself of these instead of buying caught up with the fear of missing out.

Lesson 1: Don't just buy.

I remember the excitement when I saw all the "popular" stocks like Goog, Tesla and Apple. Coupled with popular sentiment that "Stonks only go up", it was easy to get caught up with all the hype. In fact, even during a downturn now, there is still hype about which stocks will withstand the downtrend. As a famous trader said: "You must know what you are buying and why you are buying it."

Lesson 2: Have an investing plan

I remember just thinking about the stocks going up and not what happens if I lose. Looking back now, during this down turn, I am lucky to have my savings to fall back on.

It's very important to have an allocation of how much you want to save, spend on daily expenses and then decide how much you want to invest.

There is also a need to follow a disciplined plan of spending if you want to dollar cost average, never spending more or less. The other need is for savings which are actually tiding me through right now.

Lesson 3: Understanding Macro Conditions

This may be a paradox but knowing what's happening around the world is important. However, between having a disciplined plan to buy and watching out for the macro conditions, well, this is anyone's guess. By understanding no one can time the market, you may need to tweak when you can buy. Balancing lesson 2 and 3 is important, but not as important as staying vested.

Lesson 4: Deciding how long to hold

There's a time to buy and a time to sell. But one should always plan for a timeline. Unlike traders who play it by the ear, investors must plan to hold as long as possible, according to their plan of course.

Conclusion

My general lessons are not impacted much by external factors (such as war or inflation). Even for point 3, it is just an understanding, but I think having an investment plan over the long run is the most important. My current trades are in $DBS GROUP HOLDINGS LTD(D05.SI)$$Alphabet(GOOGL)$and a little bit of $Grab Holdings(GRAB)$.

These are the lessons I wished I learnt when I first started. And I'm still learning to apply them now.


@MillionaireTiger@CaptainTiger@TigerStars

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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  • Yonhuat
    ·2022-06-20
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    So sorry you got caught by DBS peak. near term outlook might see a down trend. revaluate what ypu hold, cut some losses and channel them to other that will grow faster
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    • Jo TanReplying toYonhuat
      thanks for this. it helps
      2022-06-21
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    • Shishir
      k
      2022-06-21
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    • KLHuatReplying toYonhuat
      Thanks for the advise
      2022-06-20
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  • JQC
    ·2022-06-21
    Thank you for your sharing. Investment is a journey. Full of ups and downs. We will be wiser with resiliency as we grow along the way. [Victory]
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    • Jo Tan
      thanks for your comment and for reading
      2022-06-21
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  • ThunderPat
    ·2022-06-20
    [Like]May you have a successful journey in investing
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    • Jo Tan
      thank you for your well wishes
      2022-06-20
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  • SandDust
    ·2022-06-20
    I think you miss that that investing about business valuation
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    • Jo Tan
      thanks for that pointer.
      2022-06-20
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  • DonnaMay
    ·2022-06-22
    You can also add: Don't let market sentiment get in the way.
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    • Jo Tan
      thanks for that point
      2022-06-22
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  • Maria_yy
    ·2022-06-22
    Understanding the macro economy is very helpful for our investment.
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    • Jo Tan
      agree
      2022-06-22
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  • BurnellStella
    ·2022-06-22
    You've got banks and you've got technology. Diversify.
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    • Jo Tan
      haha good point
      2022-06-22
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  • gme1xxx
    ·2022-06-20
    nice. good learning for everyone
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    • gme1xxxReplying toJo Tan
      but I've a question though. you said 6th mth and you're at about 6-7k loss. did you go in too big too fast?
      2022-06-20
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    • Jo Tan
      thanks bro
      2022-06-20
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  • 47ebd6a1
    ·2022-06-20
    I share your thought. [Like]
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    • Shishir
      k
      2022-06-21
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  • Tornerva
    ·2022-06-20
    Thanks for sharing!!
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    • ldmmc
      6
      2022-06-20
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  • 发财 Bobby
    ·2022-06-20
    lose money = school fee
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    • Shishir
      kk
      2022-06-21
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  • hd87
    ·2022-06-20
    Thanks for sharing. Hope someone can help me like this comment :)
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  • HL Chua
    ·2022-06-20
    不要dip
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  • Maky
    ·2022-06-21
    Good sharing. We learn as we progress on our investment journey
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  • Maria_yy
    ·2022-06-21
    Nice post, it's worth sharing with my friends.
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  • AdrianTan
    ·2022-06-21
    Investing is a journey. Congratulations on taking your first step. More lessons to be learnt along the way!
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  • ensemble
    ·2022-06-20
    Good share
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  • MOASS
    ·2022-06-20
    Can't stop won't stop
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  • tgll
    ·2022-06-20
    Great lesson learnt
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  • LEngLEng
    ·2022-06-20
    👍🏼 thanks for sharing
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