Of course, I didn’t do any of the thing’s described in Edelman’s book. I didn’t save money and invest it - I spent it. I partied and indulged in miscellaneous hobbies and distractions. I didn’t learn any valuable skills or professions, nor did I save the money I earned working various jobs. I did, as it happens, make a trade though. During the 2008 financial crisis, I recognized that the stock market was at historic lows - and that if one wanted to buy a 20 year long investment, one may as well buy it then.

My now brother-in-law was then my good friend and roommate and we both got Scottrade accounts and put what money we had in them and bought random stocks. You actually had to take a check to a local office in those days - there was no Robinhood then. He bought Citibank and I bought a scattering of random stocks that I picked for no particularly good reason other than that it was whatever company I was reading about at the time.

Edelman gave a warning about investing in real estate, saying that real estate is a business - not an investment. He said not to invest in property equity unless you want to make it your career. He distinguished between speculators and developers when it came to investing in property, and essentially said it was unwise to buy property as an investment if they did not intend to develop it - which is a job, not an investment. There was also the fact that the return on real estate is historically much lower than the stock market’s, (this book was a 1996 edition)

Edelman was very clear on one point in particular: an investor should not try to time the market. I remember this very distinctly from Edelman’s book because it had such a profound effect on my thinking. He claimed that under no circumstances should one ever try to time the market. That was a loser’s game, the book said.

What I had learned in Edelman’s book was that over any 20 year time span throughout history, a diversified stock market portfolio would have earned a very good annual return. I believe the book stated 8% annually. And it was an absurdly old trend too - going back to something like the 1600s. One should save as much per month as they can as early as they can to take advantage of compounding returns.

Edelman cautioned against investing in one's own home. The reason was basically that one’s house is their home, not an investment. One’s home is not an investment property because you can’t liquidate it as soon as prices are high and the return is good because it’s your home - and you want to live there. Also, to take full advantage of a price cycle, you might get stuck in a house you don’t want to live in.

•°o.O»-( ̄`v ́ ̄)-»мα вєѕт нσмвяє уєт !!! αℓσт ωιѕнєѕ ƒяσм вαвα gєє ƒяσм вєяℓιη !!! єνєη єνєяутнιηg ωнαтѕ gσσ∂ ƒσя уα, ι нσρє уσυ´ℓℓ кєєρ υρ уσυя ℓινєѕтуℓє αη∂ ∂σηт ¢нαηgє тσ мυ¢н ( σηℓу ¢υz уσυя gяσωιηg σℓ∂єя ) ;=) +++ ι ωιѕн уα αℓσт ℓυ¢к ιηgαмєz & яєαℓ ℓιƒє !! нєα∂z υρ ._|.<(+_+)>.|_.«-( ̄`v ́ ̄)-«

Sparking one/PassItt1

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⣿⣿⢸⣿⢠⣶⣬⣭⣝⣛⣷⡀⣿⣿⣧⣝⠸⣿⡏⣴⣿⣿⣶⡈⢿⣸⣿⡿⣿⡇
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⣿⣿⣷⠁⣼⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿⡆⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⣿⣬⣙⣛⣋⣴⣿⢸⢏⣾⣿⡇
⣿⢿⣿⣧⢸⣄⠿⣿⣿⠿⢡⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⡿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⢈⢸⣿⣿⣯
⡹⡠⡙⢿⣦⠻⣷⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⡿⢟⣭⣷⣾⣿⣿⠘⣿⣿⣿⣧⣾⢸⣿⣿⣿
⣷⣄⡇⢶⣍⠳⠙⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣏⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⣧⣵⠋⢸⣿⣿⡿
⣿⣿⣷⢸⣿⣆⢷⣦⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣸⣿⣿⠟⠁⠀⢸⣿⣿⡇
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