I spent last week at a timeshare in South Florida with my Mother. Here are some of the things I noticed that can apply to investing:

If it’s too good to be true….
There was an older Gentleman sitting next to me at the pool discussing the new timeshare he just bought. He seemed a bit confused about what he bought but knew it sounded good during the presentation. I told him to go back to the salesman, ask him to re-explain everything to him as if he was a 5 year old and if he did not feel comfortable, get his money back. Anything can sound wonderful during the sales presentation, step back, review, and then make your move.

Diversification is good….
I spent one day at the beach and did some people watching. What I noticed was a number of people sitting under umbrellas reading. That is all they did. They did not talk to anyone, didn’t move, and never smiled. This was a warm, sunny day. I noticed others that ran into the water, played football, flew kites, talked, laughed, and generally had a good time. Those that diversified their activities, much like diversifying your investments, were much better off.

Protect yourself….
Those who regularly re-applied sunscreen did not get burned. Protecting yourself from the unseen hazards in life with items like life insurance and health insurance will prevent you from getting burned.

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