Life

I Invest, So That I Live Like a Man…Not a Donkey, Dog or Monkey

In my collection of short stories that I have found on the Internet or in books and magazines, here is one that I believe carries a deep meaning, and a harsh truth, for our lives.

Here it goes.

God created the donkey and said to him:
“You will be a donkey. You will work un-tiringly
From sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on your back
You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence
And you will live 50 years.”
The donkey answered:
“I will be a donkey, but to live 50 years is much. Give me only 20 years.”
God granted his wish.

Life & Money Lessons from Kantilal

“Wadala Station?” I asked as a taxi approached me while I was returning home from a trip to the Siddhivinayak Temple here in Mumbai today.

“Come, sit,” the driver said, as I thanked my stars because a few drivers had turned my request down.

“I was going towards Chembur, and Wadala is midway, so would take you there.”

“Oops, but why does your meter start at 20 rupees? Isn’t this high than normal fare?”

“Sir, this is a cool-cab (Mumbai’s AC taxis), so the rate is higher. But don’t worry, since you don’t need the AC, I will charge a normal taxi’s fare only.”

“Thanks! By the way, Chembur is very close to my home. Why don’t you take me there?”

Life, Liberty, Happiness…and Investing

Image Source: Flickr

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence.

In fact, it is considered by some as part of one of the most well-crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language.

These three aspects are listed among the inseparable rights of man.

Despite this, as I suppose, it would perplex a visitor from Mars whether we human beings really want what we say we want – life, liberty, and happiness.

This is especially true if the Martian were to drop somewhere on our stock markets, and examines the behavior of investors, speculators, analysts, and fund managers.

He would no doubt question the intelligence of the planet’s inhabitants, and would wonder…

“Do these guys really want life, liberty, and happiness…the rights they have been wanting for ages? They seem to be hell-bent on destroying themselves through their foolish actions! Is this the way the entire humanity works? If yes, I must thank my stars for being a Martian and not a human!”

The Analyst Who Sold His Ferrari

Imagine a stock market analyst appearing on CNBC advising traders to “stay long on L&T”, “short M&M”, and “buy IRB on dips”.

Given enough of dirt we may have thrown at such analysts in the past, I am sure what kind of a person you may be imagining. Someone dressed in a crisp, formal shirt and tie, and sharing his expertise on accumulating stocks.

Maybe someone like this…

Now, imagine seeing the same person clad in a loose khadi kurta, sporting a French beard, wearing a hearty smile, and advising you to give all your stocks away.

I am sure you may not be able to imagine that, given that there’s a negligible probability of a stock market analyst appearing in this second avatar.

My Friend Sameer

This isn’t going to be a long post, for I am sad.

I am sad to share with you the news of untimely death of a young Safal Niveshak tribesman, Sameer.

I had never met Sameer but we had interacted a lot through email over the past few months…and had thus become ’email friends’.

The last time he wrote to me was on 25th August, the day he subscribed to my Mastermind course and was very excited to walk together with me on a one-year journey of learning.

Very sadly, his friend – another tribesman – broke the news to me that Sameer passed away on the 27th.

[Read more…] about My Friend Sameer

I’m Making This Investment. Are You?

“Man surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” ~ Dalai Lama

In my previous post, I wrote about the need to avoid the “it-will-never-happen-to-me” mentality when it comes to health and investing.

Before I get to writing again on money and stock markets, here’s one more thought (more important than money and stock markets) I wanted to share with you.

I’m sure you must have never heard of Dr. Lester Breslow, like I didn’t till last week while attending to my ailing father and reading up stuff on keeping good health.

One Year Course in Value Investing
Join The Safal Niveshak Mastermind, my special one-year course in Value Investing to reinvent how you invest and take control of your financial life. Click here to know more and subscribe. Subscriptions for the first batch close on 25th August 2013!

[Read more…]

It Will Never Happen to Me!

Sitting in a Kolkata hospital lobby while getting my father treated for a heart ailment, I see this wall hanging that says – “It will never happen to me!”

The pictures below this headline show how a person hurts his heart through stuff like…

Alcohol consumption
Cigarette smoking
Poor eating habits
Sedentary lifestyle
Stress

…yet continues to think that a heart ailment will never happen to him.

It will happen to everyone around him, but not to him!

Such thinking is widely prevalent when it comes to deadly diseases, death, or even investing doom.

We all consider everyone else as vulnerable but ourselves as invincible. And this is the reason we continue to play with fire, whether it comes to our life, habits and investing.

Charlie Munger says…

A lot of success in life and business comes from knowing what you want to avoid : early death, a bad marriage, etc.

Ironically, most of us while knowing what we must avoid for a healthy heart, long life, better relationships, and comfortable financial life, are mostly travelling on the path assuming others are going to die there, but we will survive.

This is sad, and dangerous! Why?

Because…

It happens, and often!
My father is as healthy a person as anyone can be – no alcohol consumption, no smoking, and he certainly does not have a sedentary lifestyle.

But he has still suffered a serious heart ailment, for which he is being treated now.

He was not “supposed” to have such a disease, but he still has it.

The situation seems under control as of now (keeping fingers crossed!), but his heart has surely taken a serious hit!

Anyways, over the past three days, I have seen several cases of people with heart problems who would have believed at some points in their lives that “it will never happen to me.”

Sadly, many people I see suffering here are in their 40s and 50s. Even sadly, most would have surely fallen to these ailments on account of the poor habits like the ones mentioned above.

But people don’t understand the base rates of living a dangerous lifestyle and then falling into a deadly health issue. It’s high, and increasing!

I am not in a situation to write further at this point of time but, dear tribesman, stuff happens!

Especially in life and also in investing, “It will never happen to me!” is a widely held but dangerous notion.

Surely take risks in life, but only ones that will not cause you a permanent loss.

I am not old enough to dole out advice on healthy living, but I know it surely helps.

I have reiterated it several times in the past, and would do it again today. Remember what Charlie Munger says…

All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there.

You know where you are going to die – in life and investing – so please avoid going there.

Please!

How to Be Happy and Get Rich

I have been re-reading Poor Charlie’s Almanack over the past few days in preparation of my upcoming Mastermind course.

This is my fifth reading of this wonderful book, and it seems I am going through it for the very first time.

Unlike what many people think, this book is not a ready reckoner on how to become a successful investor. In fact, it’s much more than that.

It’s a book on how to live a happy, sensible and rich life and in the process become a better thinker and investor.

As you read through the book, some of Munger’s ideas will inspire you, and some will make you uncomfortable. But all will challenge you to think outside the box.

The third chapter of Poor Charlie’s Almanack captures “Mungerisms”, where Munger dispels hundreds of ideas on subjects ranging from life, investing, academia, financial engineering, accounting, money management business, and managements.

Can Money Buy Happiness? Yes!

This post has been written by Janardhanan Vembunarayanan (Jana), the lucky tribesman 🙂 who recently attended Warren Buffett’s 2013 shareholder meeting in Omaha.

Dan Ariely recommended the book, “Happy Money-The Science of Smarter Spending“. I went to the public library and got the book. It is a very good read and here are my notes.

What This Book Talks About…

Most of us seek professional advice on how to earn, save and invest our money. When it comes to spending money, we follow our intuitions. Research shows clearly that our intuitions are wrong most of the times. This book explains how to get more happiness when spending our money. It uses 5 principles…

Buy experiences
Make it a treat
Buy time
Pay now, consume later
Invest in others

1. Buy Experiences

In 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household earned about $62,000 before taxes and spent a total of around $48,000. Housing costs along came to $16,500, which accounts for 27% of the cost. This clearly shows that we spend a lot of money in housing either in the form of rent or mortgage. Does buying a big beautiful house increase our happiness?

There is almost no evidence that buying a home or a newer, nicer home increases happiness.

Between 1991 and 2007, researchers tracked thousands of people in Germany who moved to a new house because there was something about their old house they didn’t like. Immediately after settling in to their new abodes, these movers reported being much more satisfied with their new homes than they’d been with their old ones. Humans are adaptable creatures, however, and research show that people often get used to whatever they’ve got. So we might expect that this initial spike in housing satisfaction would wear off, leaving people no happier with their home than they were before moving.

But that’s not what happened.

Satisfaction with the new home only were off a little bit, and in the subsequent five years, movers remained significantly more satisfied with their new home than they’d been with their old one.

Sounds promising, but there’s just one problem…

While movers satisfaction with their houses increased substantially, their satisfaction with their lives – their overall happiness – didn’t improve at all.

Long after the crash of 2008, almost 90 percent of Americans continued to describe home ownership as a central component of their dream.

In a carefully controlled study of more than six hundred women in Ohio, homeowners weren’t any happier than renters, though they were 12 pounds heavier.

Virgin Galactic, is a company which makes it possible for people to pre-book a ticket for a six minute spaceflight.

But wait it will cost $250,000 per person. Does this make any sense? Excerpt from the book…

As a child, Marcia Fiamengo, thirty-year-old nuclear engineer, dreamed of being an astronaut. When she and her husband John (also a nuclear engineer), first heard about Virgin Galactic, they talked about buying two tickets – when they were old and retired, since the six-figure fee was out of their price range as young professionals. Then in 2010, Marcia’s life change in an unexpected and devastating way. John became sick and passed away when Marcia received the money from John’s life insurance policy, she couldn’t imagine doing anything with it, and put it away while she grieved.

And then one day…

What better way to use this money than to honor their dream and buy a ticket to space? As Marcia put it, John’s death reminded her that “life is short and fragile” These amazing experiences shouldn’t be put off until a better time. You may never get the chance to experience them.

This story reminded me of the movie “Up”…

The point the authors are trying to make is…

Purchases which buy experience makes people more happier than the materialistic ones.

The happiness I got from visiting Berkshire Annual Meeting is much greater than the Laptop that I purchased. You see the difference.

I am standing in front of Buffett’s house 🙂

2. Make It a Treat

I used to drink ‘Cafe Mocha’ from Starbucks everyday. When I started drinking it used to be a treat. After sometime I did not have the same enjoyment. So why I am drinking it? It is because of the Habit. Should I spend $3.25 everyday for it, even though I do not really enjoy? Why am I not enjoying?

Because we lack mercury’s amnesia, the enjoyment of chocolate coffee typically declines over a period of time

So, what is the solution?

Switch to regular coffee at home or work. This helps to save some money. Once in a while treat myself with Starbucks Coffee and it becomes a treat for me. The point authors are making is…

Limiting our access to the things we like best may help to “re-virginze” us, renewing our capacity for pleasure. It also helps us to save money.

3. Buying Time

Today lots of professionals are making a decent amount of money. But the only problem is, most of them do not have time to do what they want to do.

At Intel an employee receives 350 emails every week. It takes 20 hours to manage them. Around 30% of the emails are unnecessary. What did Intel do?

Intel recently experimented with “email-free Tuesdays” encouraging a group of employees to spend four hours unplugged from email and phones, giving them an uninterrupted period to, you know, think.

This feeling of time affluence has important implications for happiness once these employees leave work for the day.

Google Engineers spend 20% of their time on pet projects, that are outside their day to day work. Some of the innovative products like Google Sky and Gmail came out of this.

When people at google talk about what they like, it’s one of the things they like about. It is culturally important. Knowing that it exists causes people to fee more free.

4. Pay Now, Consume Later

In today’s world most use credit cards, It follows the policy of “Consume now and pay later” The problem with this is, we overspend. American household had an average of more than $6000 in credit card debt in 2010. By doing the opposite – by paying upfront and delaying consumption we get the following.

Less spending
More happiness

Delaying consumption allows spenders to reap the pleasures of anticipation. This reminds me of my childhood days. Deepavali is a festival of lights and it is very famous in India. I anticipate its arrival one month before. The excitement I receive in the anticipation is same as the enjoyment I have during the festival.

Tripadvisor.com business runs on this pleasure of anticipation.

Barbara Messing, Chief Marketing Office at Tripadvisor.com, says: I think of tripadvisor as being in the happiness business. We are really upstream in the planning process and I believe that people derive as much pleasure from that phase as from the trip itself.

5. Invest in Others

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett asked American billionaires to pledge the majority of their wealth to charity. Buffett decided to donate 99% of his wealth to charity. He claims his happiness increased when he gave.

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers request what they need on the website. The requests can range from pencils to microscopes. Anyone can donate any amount to the project that most inspires them.

In all research has shown that spending money on others provides a bigger happiness boost than spending money on yourself.

Makes sense, isn’t it?

3 Words to Change Your Short Life

Life is short!

That’s what was the unanimous answer of respondents (aged 70 to 100 and above) in a survey, when asked – “What are the most important lessons you have learned over your life?”

“Life is short,” a retired engineer told the researcher. “It passes in a nanosecond.” A 99-year-old woman said, “I don’t know what happened, but the next thing you know you are 100.”

Well, this research study was forwarded to me last night by a tribesman, Sudhir, and it led me to write this post, one not really on investing but on the more essential things in life – lessons on how to live life.