re: Am I a pussy for not investing in individual stocks?

This is America, you don’t need a reason to be a pussy.

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Am I a pussy

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Yes….I don’t remember the context of the question, but yes

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They haven’t moved at all. I’m asking you how often you expect people to accomplish these major life accomplishments, what most people would term “getting ahead”, without the use of these common forms of leverage. I know the Money Talk is full of outliers, but I don’t believe even they have won at such a clip as 80% never needing or using these tools.

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I did not go to college and the only money I have ever borrowed was for a mortgage and cars. Hell I didn't really start saving until 32 but I should have enough money to retire early at this point. Just 2 W-2 employees with a good 401k match can go a long way. I’d be way ahead of where I am now if I would have started at 20 when I started with the company I’m still with 23 years later.

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Am I a pussy



Yes….I don’t remember the context of the question, but yes

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They haven’t moved at all. I’m asking you how often you expect people to accomplish these major life accomplishments, what most people would term “getting ahead”

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Don't be a goofball.

In a thread about individual stock investment, you inserted "it’s literally impossible to get ahead without investing with leverage whether that’s stocks, bonds ... or some other off-the-wall asset."

That is 'literally' false. It is certainly false regarding "investing in individual stocks."

TBF, you did also include real estate in your post. RE absolutely can be profitable as a leveraged asset, and often is. But that really has nothing to do with the OP.

You then implied business loans, or student loans are leveraged investments. They aren't. They are expenses. You can argue nuances in that regard. But factually for example, far from "getting ahead," student loans often are an impediment to more productive investment. Business loans are +/- ITR depending on reliable enterprise growth characteristics.

Let's put this in terms of the OP though. In terms of the OP, "getting ahead" is not about leverage. It's silly to even go there. Getting ahead is about understanding one's capacity, and setting goals within that capacity. Then in pursuit, it's about maintaining discipline required to attain the goals.

If the OP lacks the time, resources, or discipline to reasonably expect he could match or outperform ETFs by investing in individual stocks, then he should stick with ETFs. It has nothing to do with being "a pussy." It has to do with simple, rational, self-understanding.

That’s a fine approach IMO. I have a block of play money in individual stocks and although close I’m not beating the S&P.

The epiphany for me was realizing that the traditional allocation to bond funds was questionable at best. They’re almost 100% correlated to the stock market so the concept of them providing ballast doesn’t work unless you buy individual bonds and hold to duration.

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My introduction to individual stocks was GameStop at 350/share and then Recaf when it was supposed to blast off (it didn’t).

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Doesn't sound like you did any research. Sounds like you just followed a hype train. Research takes time and is a differentiator.
High conviction followed by heavy research is a must for the individual investor.