Recently, an Australian reader of mine in his sixties read my post about financial freedom being as simple as being able to create passive income to cover your expenses, not some big arbitrary number.
To not embarrass anybody, I will just call him Bob for the rest of this post.
Bob was relieved because he said that no one had ever made him think that way before. He realised that because his living expenses were actually quite low, with the capital he saved up through 40 years of hard work, he could potentially create a self-funded retirement upon immediate retirement in a couple of years.
This got him excited, but also led him to anxiety because he then asked himself whether he was too old to learn how to invest and trade and finally look after his own money.
So he asked me a very common question: “Is it too late for someone my age to start investing and trading?”
Without hesitation, I answered him: “absolutely not!”
In this post, I’m going to address why I get asked this question as well as the reality of your situation if this is the stage you’re at.
The Pain Of Regret
For most mature people, it’s not so much that they’re too old to learn about investing, but rather that they feel like it’s too late to build a meaningful portfolio. That fear of regret is what keeps them from trying.
But here’s the thing: it’s never too late to start investing and trading! You can still create a portfolio that will grow over time.
Of course, you won’t have the same time that a younger person might have to watch it grow, but if you take the time to learn and focus on the best strategies for your situation, you can still take advantage of compounding returns.
Even if you only have 10-15 years left in your working life, that can still be long enough to make a difference – especially if you focus on the right strategies.
And if you’re already retired and in your 80s to 90s, there’s nothing stopping you from taking a more conservative investing approach that provides you with passive cashflow through dividend payments.
➜ Related Post: Dividend Investing: How To Generate Passive Income From Stocks
Not All People Who Start Young Succeed
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that only those who start early will succeed, but this isn’t always the case. I’ve seen plenty of young investors make poor decisions, get greedy and lose all their hard-earned money in the span of a few years.
In fact, some of the most successful investors and traders started late in life. They never gave up on their dreams, they educated themselves and they took the time to learn how to use the tools at their disposal.
No matter your age, if you’re willing to put in the work and make smart decisions, you can still be successful as an investor and trader.
So don’t let your age hold you back from starting investing and trading. You have the ability to change your future, no matter where you are in life!
As An Older Investor, You Actually Have Advantages
It may not feel like it, but as an older investor/trader, you have a few advantages.
You Have More Life Experience
You have more life experience, which can help you to make better decisions and stick to your plan even when the market gets turbulent. What this means is that you’re more level-headed and likely to stay the course and not panic when things aren’t going your way.
You Have Better Acess To Capital To Invest (Usually)
Generally speaking, those who are older have the benefit of having access to more capital to invest. What this means is that you can start investing with a larger sum, which could help to jumpstart your returns.
You Value Preserving Your Capital More
Older investors tend to value preserving their capital more than younger investors, which actually can be an advantage. This means that you’re less likely to take excessive risks and get yourself into trouble, which can be a huge benefit.
Things To Watch Out For As An Older Investor
Of course, there are some drawbacks to being an older investor or trader.
Less Room For Error
As an older investor, there is less room for error and less time to recover from mistakes. It’s important that you take extra care when making decisions and be conservative in your approach. As such, it’s a good idea to focus on long-term strategies that won’t put you in harm’s way.
Letting Your Past Experiences Cloud Your Judgement
It’s easy to let our past experiences cloud our judgement when it comes to investing and trading. Even if you made mistakes in the past, and you may be cynical about investing, don’t let that stop you from giving it a try – especially with a different, more conservative strategy.
Fixating On Previous Systems That Haven’t Worked
I have had older investors learn investing and trading strategies from other educators in the past that didn’t work, and try to mix them with what I teach – this often comes as a result of the ‘sunk cost fallacy’, where they’ve already invested so much time into it that they feel compelled to keep trying even if it’s not working.
My suggestions is always to start fresh with an ’empty cup’ and adopt the new strategy that resonates with you and your goals.
➜ Related Post: 9 Common Investing and Trading Mind Traps (Ignore Them At Your Own Risk!)
The Bottom Line
No matter your age, you can succeed with investing and trading.
It’s important to remember that you have the life experience and access to capital that could make you a successful investor/trader. However, it’s also important to be aware of the pitfalls and take extra care when making decisions. With the right strategies, you can still have a profitable portfolio no matter your age!
If this makes sense to you, and you’d like to see some real-life case studies of some everyday, ‘normal’ older investors that have succeeded with stock investing, check out this page here.
Best of luck!
Terry
P.S. If you’re excited about getting started while minimising your mistakes during your stock investing/trading journey, here are 3 resources you might useful.
- The first is my comprehensive blog post: Going From Absolute Novice To Confident Investor (The Complete Stock Investing Guide). It goes through all the steps you need to take in order to become a confident investor and reach your financial goals.
- The second is our FREE 10 Stock Criteria Checklist, which helps you identify what I consider to be the financially strongest 1% of stocks in the market at any time in less than 5 minutes. Click here to learn more.
- The third is our FREE 90-Minute Online Masterclass, where I’ll show you how I personally anticipate market crashes in advance and prepare for them. Click here to learn more if you’re interested.
