Wouldn’t it be great to have invested in Google when it was worth $100 and sold it at its recent $700 peak, or Hansen Natural when it was worth pennies and watch it climb all the way to $67.
There are countless stories of people who scored a big one and made themselves overnight millionaires, and not just by purchasing and selling stocks. The same stories go for business opportunities and “get rich quick” schemes. A word of advice . . . don’t get yourself caught up in the thrill because you will get burned.
Some highly experienced, and consequently highly-leveraged, investors are capable of betting with margin accounts to make fortunes and high-yield returns. These people, have years of experience, training and specialty resources. They also tend to have high-highs and low-lows — one week they are on top of the world trading options, futures and other derivatives, and the next week they are flat broke and highly in debt.
Amateur investors who get caught up in the hype of being able to score big don’t last long though. All too often amateurs see an infomercial in the middle of the night that guarantees to make them millions in the foreign exchange market. The next day they spend a fortune to learn how to fund their account and minutes later they watch their entire life savings be wiped out, while the professional and institutional investors make their profits.
You know the old adage, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” If you play this game, pouncing on the opportunity to earn unordinary high-yield profits, you may get lucky and win here and there. But you will loose more than you will win, and when you lose, you lose big. The odds are against you.
Everyone dreams of making a quick pile of money, and con-artists know that people become very vulnerable if you lead them to believe they can become rich quick. Be very wary of offers to receive immediate returns, such as 100% a week. Chances are you are getting caught up in a ponzi scheme or some other scam, which are quite prolific online these days. Although illegal in America, many of these web-based scams are hosted overseas and tough to track. Run away from offers like this. You’re better off putting your money on the roulette table where odds may not in your favor, but at least there are odds.
If you must give in to the temptation and take these risks, realize that it is a loosing bet and play with money that you intend to loose. Most money managers recommend that less than 10 percent of your funds should be invested in speculative stocks. Other types of high-yield investments should not consume more than one percent of assets.
Millionaire Money Habit: Don’t think about how much you can make, think about how much you are going to lose.
