Amid Losses, 12 Financial Truths Persist
Get a grip.
Spend a few days following the markets, researching investments and watching business television, and you are likely to find yourself overwhelmed by the uncertainty of it all. Will stocks rise or fall? Which mutual funds will shine? What's next for interest rates?
But take a step back and you will discover that there is, in fact, a surprising amount of certainty. True, you will never know which way stocks are headed in the days and weeks ahead. But when it comes to managing money, there are some undeniable truths -- including the dozen listed below.
? 1. It's hard to cut back.
As your salary has climbed, your standard of living likely also has risen. You probably eat out more and purchase pricier cars, and you might have traded up to a bigger home.
Within reason, there's nothing wrong with this. Constantly deferring gratification isn't a great strategy for getting the most out of life. Still, there is a price to be paid for this ever-rising standard of living. As your lifestyle grows more costly, it becomes more difficult to retire, because you need a bigger nest egg to sustain your standard of living. Sure, to make retirement affordable, you could slash your expenses. But once you get used to a certain standard of living, it's extraordinarily difficult to cut back.
? 2. You'll never be satisfied.
Instead of cutting back, most people constantly strive to raise their standard of living. They are forever aiming for the better car, the bigger house or the larger paycheck, only to become quickly dissatisfied once they get what they want.
Academics refer to this as "hedonic adaptation" or the "hedonic treadmill." As the thrill fades from our latest promotion or purchase, we start hankering after something else -- and so the cycle goes on.
? 3. Borrowings have to be repaid. This might seem obvious. Yet I wonder what people think as they rack up huge credit-card balances, take out auto loans and borrow against their homes' value. How exactly do they plan to repay all this money? Or do they intend to bequeath these debts to heirs?
? 4. Fancy cars and expensive clothes aren't a sign of wealth.
Rather, they are a sign that somebody once had money or chose to borrow it. The money has since been spent, and the folks are poorer for it.
? 5. Your family could prove to be your greatest liability.
You are no doubt well aware of the expense of raising children and putting them through college. Often, however, family costs don't end there. If your adult children or your retired parents get into financial trouble, you'll probably end up bailing them out.
The lesson: Teach your children to save diligently and invest intelligently before they leave home, and don't be coy about talking to your parents about their finances.
? 6. Investors face three enemies.
And their names are inflation, taxes and investment costs. Indeed, once you factor in these three financial hits, you may find your portfolio isn't making any money.
Let's say you buy a mutual fund that owns bonds yielding 5%. If the fund charges 1% in annual expenses, your yield will be 4%. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, Uncle Sam will take a quarter of that yield, leaving you with 3%. What if inflation comes in at 3%? Put it this way: At least the tax man and your fund manager made money.
? 7. Adding risky investments can lower risk.
You can figure out your portfolio's performance by simply looking at the results for each investment you own. A portfolio's risk level, by contrast, isn't a straightforward reflection of the investments held.
Consider gold stocks. Yes, they can be wildly erratic performers. But because gold stocks often gain when other investments are suffering, adding them to an investment mix can actually lower the portfolio's overall risk level.
8. Diversification is a mixed bag.
By diversifying broadly, you reduce risk and ensure you will always have a little money in the market's hottest sectors.
But inevitably, if you hold a diversified portfolio, some of your investments will badly lag behind the market averages each year. Find that disturbing? The investments that struggle this year may salvage your portfolio's performance in the years that follow.
? 9. Not all risk is rewarded.
Both stock funds and individual stocks can post nasty short-term losses. But that's where the similarity ends. If your well-diversified stock funds take a tumble, you can be almost certain that they will eventually bounce back and deliver respectable returns over the long run. But if your individual stocks take a dive, you can't be confident of ever recouping the loss, no matter how long you wait.
? 10. Most investors fail to beat the market.
You don't need statistics to prove this. Simple logic will do.
Before costs, investors collectively earn the market's performance. After costs, investors collectively lag behind the market. In fact, investors -- as a group -- will lag behind the market by the extent of their investment costs. That doesn't mean you won't earn market-beating results. To do so, however, not only do you have to outwit your fellow investors, but also you need to overcome the drag from your own investment costs. That's no easy feat -- and very few folks manage it over the long haul.
? 11. Change is costly.
When you sell one investment and buy another, there is no guarantee you will boost your returns. But the change will almost always cost you. To be sure, if you buy and sell no-load mutual funds inside a retirement account, the trade will be cost- and tax-free. But with most other transactions, there's likely to be a fee or tax involved, and possibly both, so think long and hard before you make that next trade.
? 12. Your best investment strategy is saving.
Even if you're brilliant at picking stocks and funds, you won't pile up a whole lot of dollars unless you have a decent amount invested in the market. The bottom line: If you want to be a successful investor, you first need to be a committed saver.
理财箴言12条
如果你花上几天的时间跟踪一下市场，研究研究投资，再看看财经电视频道，你也许就会发现自己的身边充满了各种不确定性。股市是涨还是跌？哪只共同基金会成为闪亮之星？利率下一步将走向何处？
然而，当你退后一步时，你又会惊奇地发现，实际上能够确定的东西也有很多。当然，你永远也无法准确知道未来数日、数周的股市走势。但是当谈到理财时，有许多真理是你无法辩驳的。其中就包括以下12条。
1. 由简入奢易，由奢入简难
随著工资不断提高，你的生活水准可能也会水涨船高，外出吃饭的次数增加了，换了更好的车，甚至还会买更大的房子。
这些都是情有可原的。总是压制自己的欲望也不利于充分享受生活。不过，生活水准的不断提高也是要付出代价的。由于你的生活方式变得越来越费钱，要想退休就会变得没那么容易，因为你需要赚更多的钱来维持高水准的生活方式。当然，为了能够退休，你也可以削减各类开销。不过，一旦你习惯了某种生活标准，要想再降低下来就十分困难了。
2. 欲壑难填
在削减开支和努力提高现有生活水准之间，多数人会选择后者。他们永远都想要更好的车、更大的房子、更高的薪水。而一旦得偿所愿，他们很快就又变得不满足。
学术界将之称为“享乐适应”(hedonic adaptation)或是“快乐水车”。当升职或是新房新车带给我们的兴奋逐渐消退时，我们又会开始去追求别的东西，如此周而复始。
3. 欠债还钱
欠债还钱是天经地义的事情。不过我依然很想知道那些大量透支信用卡、欠下大笔车贷、房贷的人是怎么想的。他们究竟打算如何偿还这些欠款？或者说他们是否就打算把债务留给后代，来个父债子偿呢？
4. 靓车、高档时装并非财富的象征。相反，这些东西表明一个人曾经很有钱，或者说选择了借钱消费。花了这些钱后，这些人变得更穷了。
5. 你的家人也许是你最大的财务负担。
毫无疑问，你很清楚养育孩子、供他们念书要花多少钱。但家庭开支往往不止于此。如果你的成年孩子或者你退休的父母财务上出现了问题，你可能还要向他们伸出援手。
因此，在孩子离开家独自开始生活前，你要教会孩子多存钱、理智地进行投资。同时也不要害怕和父母讨论他们财务问题。
6. 投资者的三大敌人。
他们是：通货膨胀、税和投资成本。实际上，如果将这三个因素都考虑进来，你会发现自己的投资组合根本就不赚钱。
比如，你购买了一个投资债券的共同基金，收益率为5%，如果基金的年费是1%，你的收益率就会降到4%；如果你适用的所得税率为25%，美国政府还要从这些收益中提走1/4，这样收益率就降到了3%；要是通货膨胀率恰好又是3%呢？可以这么说，至少税务机关和你的基金经理是赚钱的。
7. 增加高风险的投资能够降低总体风险水平。
只要研究一下投资组合中每项投资的回报情况，你就会知道整个投资组合的总体回报。但是，投资组合的总体风险水平却不能这样简单地累加。
想想黄金类股。是的，它们的走势十分不稳定。但是由于黄金类股在其他投资遭遇重挫时往往会逆市上扬，因此，把该类股加入投资组合中能够降低投资组合的总体风险。
8. 多元化大杂烩。
进行广泛的分散投资，不仅能降低投资风险，还能保证你总能持有一些市场上最热门的投资。
然而，如果你进行了分散投资，投资组合中不可避免地会有一些投资的表现达不到市场的平均水平。可别因此讨厌它们，今年表现不好的投资很有可能会在下一年成为你的大救星。
9. 并非所有的高风险都有高回报。
不论是股票基金还是个股，短期内都会出现大幅地下跌。但它们两者的相似之处也就仅限于此。如果你有一只投资极为分散的股票基金，如果它出现了下跌，你几乎可以肯定它总有一天会反弹回来，并在长期内给你带来可观的回报。但如果你持有的一只个股大幅下挫，无论你等多长时间，都不敢肯定它哪天会出现反弹。
10. 多数投资者都无法跑赢大盘。
这一点不需要统计数据来证明。简单的逻辑分析就能让人一目了然。
在计入成本之前，投资者总体的回报率与大盘一致；在计入成本之后，投资者总体的回报率就要逊于大盘了。实际上，投资者作为一个整体，它们的投资回报率落后于大盘的部分就是他们的投资成本。这并不意味著你就没有机会跑赢大盘。但是，要想做到这一点，你不但要智力超群，而且还要成功克服投资成本的影响。这并不是一件容易的事情，很少有人能在长期内持续跑赢大盘。
11. 改变是要付出代价的。
当你卖出一种投资，而买进另一种投资时，你的回报率不一定就会因此提高。但是，改变却一定会带来成本。当然，如果你在一个退休帐户中买进和卖出免佣金的共同基金，那就另当别论了。而其他多数交易可能都会涉及佣金或是税金，甚至有可能两者都涉及。因此，在你下一次进行交易前，一定要仔细、认真地考虑考虑。
12. 最好的投资策略就是存钱。
即便你是挑选股票、基金的高手，如果你不在市场上投入大量的资金，也不会有机会赚大钱。因此，如果你想成为成功的投资者，首先就要成为一个勤勤恳恳的储蓄者。
