I started to laugh out loud when I read that. Then remembered the posts on the AOL thread of people who lost family money that they cannot afford. And it will make a real bread and butter (and perhaps home and shelter) difference in their lives. I get really upset when I think of the insane method of buying the momentum stocks and what it has done to people who think they are "investing". There is a person at work who nurtured a little account into a high 5-figure amount. Then he got into the internet stocks lately, since they just could not be ignored. And with full margin. Well, for a month now, every day he has to sell a little to meet his margin. He's already lost more than half, and it just doesn't stop. I think there are many, many others.
You must always laugh...
Why ?
1. Because if you take life too serious, then there is no fun, the gravy becomes more expensive than the meatballs. (particularly in a stressful activity such as trading stocks).
2. Such tragic stories, while I would not laugh at the specific examples, remind me to never expose myself to such eventuality. The comic side of such an event keeps me alert never to do so, regardless of how seductive it may sound.
3. Laughter is therapy, without it I believe people fall into melancholy and suffer other attacks from the demons of the mind, most of them, self created, and most probably, fictitious. (my opinion only... and no, I am not a relative of Dr. Sigmund).
Besides, for someone to risk it all in such a foolish way in this grand casino, is almost "asking for it", particularly when using margin, after all, their intent is to profit greatly is it not?
Yet another reason to understand the direct relationship between, risk and reward, and the judicious use of the proper ratio applied to one's own circumstances.
Margin is like a Formula One engine, it will give you tremendous power capable of achieving incredible speeds and very quickly too...
However, such engine needs the chassis, the suspension, the tires, the wings, and most importantly, the driver to control it, and really make full use of its capabilities.
Imagine putting a Formula One engine in a Volkswagen Beetle, driven by Donald Duck... that is most probably, a good description of the typical "investor" using margin ... (I won't say "AMAZON investor", so I won't be flamed by the local radicals here).
Indeed greed and fear are very strong emotions, unless we learn to control them, we are fools and we deserve what's coming to us. |
