Stop Comparing Your Chapter 1 To Someone Else's Chapter 10
In the age of social media, instant gratification and unrealistic expectations, one of the worst things we do as an investor is compare. Whilst having information at our finger tips is great for research purposes, it can also be a huge inhibitor in our journey. Facebook, Instagram, articles, podcasts, interviews are all great tools for discovering strategies, tips and advice on how an individual has achieved their goals but it is also fraught with danger. In a time where we can literally network with almost anyone in the world a hurdle we must all overcome is comparing.
They may not be telling the full story..
We all have those mates. The ones that tell you about their winnings at the casino, the feature on the pokies, the 20:1 roughie that got up at Rosehill. What they fail to mention is the $3k they dumped through the TAB machine on a Tuesday night followed by the long walk home with their tail between their legs. Investing is much the same. Share investors gloat about their enormous gains whilst failing to mention the lithium stock burning a hole in their portfolio. Property investors brag about the townhouse that has increased by 50% whilst ignoring that it's hugely negatively geared and eating at their cashflow. Or they may choose to brush over the off-the-plan 1 bedder with enormous strata fees that's now in negative equity. When looking who to mimic or follow I'd suggest listen to someone who tells you their full story. Warts and all. Good investors were once just investors who made mistakes and learnt from them. Excellent investors choose to pass on their failings so that others can minimise theirs.
It's the "value" not the "number" that counts
A big gripe of mine in property investing specifically is the focus on quantity rather that quality. Every property investor has been asked the question "How many places do you have?". Honestly, it's largely irrelevant. What really matters is the value. I've met those who puff their chest out when they say they own 10 properties and others who are almost embarrassed when they say 2. What happens when the 10 properties are located in isolated locations or were all purchased for say $200k? What happens when the 2 properties are in blue-chip suburbs valued at $1M each? Total value of both portfolios is $2M. Who is holding more equity? Who's growth prospects are better? Who's cashflows are better? Who wore it better! Who Who Who really cares!
Their life is NOT yours!
This is a big one for me. As someone who was married with 2 kids relatively early in life I often find myself in the trap of comparing with those around me. Some days I will sit back and wish we were further along financially. I look at friends travelling whilst holding a decent size portfolio or who are going hard investing all their surplus cash - then I have to pull myself up. There is no point comparing when their life is at a completely different checkpoint to mine. We had years being on a single income, paying off debts and investing where we could. They may have started with a different base, had a solid double income and not other commitments? Maybe they've chosen to not have kids at all? Maybe they just want to focus on their careers first? Maybe they'd give it all up to have what I have? No one honestly knows your situation better than yourself. There are so many variables. Incomes, goals, ambitions, debt position, age, financial education. The list goes on. Comparing your life to others is useless and irrelevant.
The decisions we make are solely ours. No one else's. We are all at a certain point in life because of these. We are all running our own race. Remember - Stay in your lane.
- The Tattooed Investor