Index investing is boring

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investing1012
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Index investing is boring

Post by investing1012 »

Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
zoneinfo
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by zoneinfo »

Consistently making money with little effort is boring. Keep at it.
ThrustVectoring
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by ThrustVectoring »

"It's boring" is why I like index investing.
Current portfolio: 60% VTI / 40% VXUS
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travelogue
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by travelogue »

I opened a free account with Robinhood and use the app to play active investor with a small (<$1k) amount of cash. No fees makes it easy to buy and sell without the overhead of brokerage commissions. I then let my retirement account sit and index and distract my brain with my “play” account. It’s been educational and fun. I look at percentage gains to keep score.
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flamesabers
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by flamesabers »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pmAnyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
I don't find index investing to be boring but then I don't consider investing to be a potential source of excitement.
iamlucky13
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by iamlucky13 »

Index investing is not supposed to be exciting, and excitement is a questionable investment goal. There is a saying commonly claimed to be an ancient Chinese curse that goes, "May you live in interesting times." I think that's good food for thought here.

That said, I do toy a very limited amount with choosing a few stocks of my own. It's play money, as people say, as in if I were to lose all of it, it would not have a serious effect on my financial goals.

Also, I do find the aspect of index investing where I log in to my account from time to time and think, "wow, look how much the value went up while I did nothing," exciting in it's own way.
Ron Scott
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Ron Scott »

flamesabers wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:15 pm I don't find index investing to be boring but then I don't consider investing to be a potential source of excitement.
...say he with 1362 posts on an investing forum...

:sharebeer
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chevca
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by chevca »

Boring... then you're doing it correctly. :happy
jebmke
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by jebmke »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
Just think how much time you now have for more productive or enjoyable pursuits.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
renue74
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by renue74 »

In addition to index investing, I have some rental houses, seller financed notes, and some personal promissory notes.

Every month I have to chase down the people who owe me money, while I look at my Vanguard account and don't do that much work.

You could take all your money and invest in other things.
Teague
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Teague »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
It will become far more exciting during the next big crash. Maybe not the kind of excitement you wanted, though.
Last edited by Teague on Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GibsonL6s
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by GibsonL6s »

Honestly I also struggle with this. I decided about a year ago as my net worth increased to take a more active role in my portfolio and did a ton of reading and went to a few seminars Schwab put on. I did some stock picking, fund picking including a study of closed end funds as well as finding this site through research of passive methods. It is hard to give up the illusion of "control" and the idea that you can do it better, but ultimately I realized it was distracting me from my job and other fun pursuits I could be spending the time on.

I am probably going to assign 5% of my portfolio to things I pick as I enjoy the research and though that goes into the picking and I do find that also causes me to be better informed about the economy in general.
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parsi1
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by parsi1 »

I wouldn't call it boring, but it is no stress investing.
lws
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by lws »

One usually invests to make money not to get excitement.
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ruralavalon
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by ruralavalon »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
Boring???

Or stress free???
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
ERISA Stone
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by ERISA Stone »

Yes, and I'm very appreciative of it.
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flamesabers
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by flamesabers »

Ron Scott wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:21 pm
flamesabers wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:15 pm I don't find index investing to be boring but then I don't consider investing to be a potential source of excitement.
...say he with 1362 posts on an investing forum...

:sharebeer
The members on this forum are certainly interesting people. :P

What I meant with my earlier statement was that a buy and hold strategy with index funds is of itself a rather bland subject for me. However, threads about asset allocation, domestic vs. international investing, paying off debt vs. investing, etc. are topics I do find interesting though.
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goingup
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by goingup »

chevca wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:23 pm Boring... then you're doing it correctly. :happy
lol. My saying about index investing is, "if it's exciting, you're doing it wrong".
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mickeyd
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by mickeyd »

Boring? I call it rewarding.
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delamer
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by delamer »

The goal of investing should be to provide financial security for you and your family, and to meet your other financial goals.

Why are you looking to it for excitement?
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David Scubadiver
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by David Scubadiver »

There is nothing wrong with wanting investing to be interesting just as there is nothing wrong with wanting one's career to be interesting. One can say the goal of a career is to provide for one's family and needs just one can say that the goal of investing should be to do the same. In either case, one can aspire to taking an interest in what they are doing and be turned off by the boredom associated with a boring but lucrative career or by a boring but lucrative portfolio.
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monkey_business
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by monkey_business »

Running on a treadmill is far more boring than running away from a lion. Alas, the former has some advantages over the latter.
Barefoot
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Barefoot »

To quote a friend of mine, boring is good.
nkotbbh
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by nkotbbh »

Yeah it is boring but its just getting the right funds i guess.... and let the compound interest grow nothing wrong with that nor can't complain. If anything just try to ask question and educate yourself here on the forum as is what I am doing aside from reading books. If you are looking for a rush I hear day trading will give you a rush for your money.
jbuzolich
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by jbuzolich »

I find a lot of excitement in checking my account every few months and seeing how much has changed without me really doing anything or even watching frequently. I know we're in a strong market and it won't always be this way but I'm shocked how much it has grown each time I look. I get excited.
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badbreath
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by badbreath »

investing1012

Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
Yes it is but make it a game. Figure out how you can put more into the funds then you do now. Open a taxable and fund it more then your deductible.

Then don't look at your account but once a year and wonder if you saved to much.
“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.” Groucho Marx
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GerryL
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by GerryL »

Yes. That's a feature, not a bug.
Finridge
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Finridge »

When it comes to making money, boring is good. If you want excitement, find an exciting hobby. If you do index investing right, you should have enough money to go skydiving on the weekends.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Sandtrap »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
Buy more rental properties on the side, or an apartment building, or a high rise commercial medical building. Add some "drama" to boring index investing. :shock:
(kidding) :D
Yes. Index investing is more meditative than watching paint dry, or grass grow. . . .
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Phineas J. Whoopee
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Phineas J. Whoopee »

For excitement, simply take more risk. It also will reduce the chance of you outliving your financial resources.

I don't mean take more investing risk. I mean things like B.A.S.E. jumping, K2 climbing, and tornado chasing. That sort of stuff. It will help with both issues.

PJW
Last edited by Phineas J. Whoopee on Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Longtermgrowth
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Longtermgrowth »

I have a feeling the next recession will bring some excitement, -50+%, whoo! Time to sell some bonds and buy more stocks dirt cheap :wink: If you want to see more exaggerated ups and downs regularly, try a small cap value index :)
Finridge
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Finridge »

Do what I do and go all equity. 100% stocks, baby! Live dangerously!
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mlebuf
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by mlebuf »

If you want excitement, take your money to Las Vegas. They will provide all the excitement you wish and you'll likely come back with less of it. Investing and emotions don't mix. Effective investing should be as exciting as watching paint dry. Dare to be dull. :D
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stemikger
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by stemikger »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
Yes it is very boring. Once you set your asset allocation all you do is add to it.

I suggest you learn how to trade. That's where the excitement is. Use lots of leverage. Make sure it is in the riskiest assets because that is the only way you will make money. Find the next Apple or Amazon before it is the next big thing and put it all in that one stock and wait until it makes you a multi millionaire. Market timing is also a good idea. That's my plan and it's a lot more exciting then index funds. What the heck was John Bogle thinking?

P.S. If you own a home, borrow the most you can from it and put it all in that one stock. Oh and Vegas is a great idea, bet the farm on 7 red or black. Either way you can't go wrong. :twisted: :beer
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
NicB
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by NicB »

iamlucky13 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:17 pm That said, I do toy a very limited amount with choosing a few stocks of my own. It's play money, as people say, as in if I were to lose all of it, it would not have a serious effect on my financial goals.

Also, I do find the aspect of index investing where I log in to my account from time to time and think, "wow, look how much the value went up while I did nothing," exciting in it's own way.
This, and this. Sometimes I'll have a "hunch" or place a small longish-term bet with individual stocks. Sometimes I've been right, sometimes no-so-much. :) :oops: :)
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by RadAudit »

Paul Samuelson
Investing should be dull. It shouldn't be exciting. Investing should be more like watching paint dry or grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas.
I think I read that quote first in one of Mr. Bogle's earlier books.
FI is the best revenge. LBYM. Invest the rest. Stay the course. Die anyway. - PS: The cavalry isn't coming, kids. You are on your own.
mancich
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by mancich »

Whether it is boring or not isn't relevant. It works. Find excitement in other areas of life :beer
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Call_Me_Op »

investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
You should get your excitement through other means - not by risking your life savings.
Best regards, -Op | | "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Einstein
deltaneutral83
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by deltaneutral83 »

September 2008-March 2009 wasn't boring.
ROIGuy
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by ROIGuy »

Call_Me_Op wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:59 am
investing1012 wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:00 pm Anyone else find that the index investing boring. I find no excitement in it.
You should get your excitement through other means - not by risking your life savings.
+1
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A440
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by A440 »

If it hasn't been quoted already, "Life should be exciting, your investments should be boring".
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Toons
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by Toons »

Yes,,it is like watching paint dry.
The exciting part is the compounding aspect of it ,
as one continually invests and reinvests in the growth of the economy :happy
Gold in them Golden Years :happy
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vested1
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by vested1 »

Index investing is so boring it makes me sleep better at night. I wake up refreshed and engage in more exciting pursuits because index investing allows me to ignore the noise.
bloom2708
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by bloom2708 »

The opposite of boring in investing is not "exciting".

Higher fees, frequent trading, market timing, stock picking, guessing, hunches, feelings, fund overlap, buying high, selling low, panicking during selloffs, lagging the market returns, poor tax diversification.

None of those things are "exciting" to me.

What is an ETF for? Frequent trading! Trade those things. In, out, up, down.

Say you own the Total US Stock index. What many do to make it more "exciting", is they add new stuff. Oh, I'll add the SP& 500 index. Got a hot tip on Facebook stock, I'll add that. Healthcare stocks are buzzy, I'll buy that. OOOh. High dividend fund, I'll add that. Diversify by adding a Target fund, those are "hot". On and on.

Soon you have an "exciting" bag of overlap. Everything you bought was in the Total US Stock market index fund. Exciting is buying more of the few things you need. Get pleasure in buying more instead of buying "something else".

I'll stick with boring. :wink:
inbox788
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by inbox788 »

Barefoot wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:45 pm To quote a friend of mine, boring is good.
Not Gordon Gekko.

I need a bulk (core) of my investments to be boring. Otherwise, my heart couldn't handle all the rest of the excitement. My spec fund is having a really bad day today (down 6%), but when it represents less than 5% of my positions, and the rest of the market is up a little, it's reassuring that my net position is virtually a wash.
LookingtogetFIRE'd
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by LookingtogetFIRE'd »

I got a cold call from Merrill Lynch last night (which is funny, because I'm currently transitioning away from Merrill Lynch -- I guess they don't do any cross referencing before picking up the phone). The kid (who sounded about 25) tried to give me his pitch about why he had "superior knowledge" about investing and could help me.

I really wanted to play with him and ask him his opinion on a three fund investment strategy, but he sounded so unconvinced by his own pitch that I thought that might be cruel to put him on the spot. So I just said I'm all set thanks bye.

Gotta find a little fun somewhere though...
NotWhoYouThink
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by NotWhoYouThink »

Index investing wasn't all that boring in 2007-9. It was terrifying. Because it was investing, not because it was index.
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SmileyFace
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by SmileyFace »

There are plenty of ways to find excitement in life - investing my hard-earned money isn't (and shouldn't be) one of them thankfully.
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bigROI
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by bigROI »

There is a point where you can be active ( in some regard to timing) if you contribute to a Roth IRA. Just wait till the point in the calendar year when you think equities and or securities are most distressed and buy in a little or a lot at those times. Track the investment and see how well you did....

This is mitigated excitement in the respect of you still contributing for the long term but trying to time the market.
A penny saved is much more then a penny earned when you consider the tax/SS/medicare cut.
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ruralavalon
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Re: Index investing is boring

Post by ruralavalon »

NotWhoYouThink wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:24 pm Index investing wasn't all that boring in 2007-9. It was terrifying. Because it was investing, not because it was index.
Broadly diversified index investing guarantees that I will participate in any asset bubble which comes along, and then have the excitement of suffering when the bubble pops.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
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