Introvert Talks - The Most Overused Phrase

"Introvert Talks" is meant to be a new initiative or theme, where I myself as an introvert, just talk about reflections and thoughts about my life, or maybe share more personal stuff. :)

This is my weekly post under this "Introvert Talks" theme and let's see where it takes me and us.

Not Financial Advice. Or NFA.

I seldom talk about financial stuff on Hive because firstly, I don't think I am qualified to talk about these stuff, and secondly, I am also afraid that there might be people who just read and blindly follow, and potentially end up losing money.

But these days, it's so easy to discuss about financial stuff, be it stocks or cryptos, on many platforms. Be it on Hive, or on X/Twitter or even Reddit. People post their thoughts, their in depth analysis, or just update the latest news. And personally, I enjoy reading all of them because it's always interesting to hear what people think and gauge the sentiment. Of course, the magical phrase that people use as a disclaimer is always NFA, i.e. Not Financial Advice. This phrase somehow just absolves the person from any responsibility if any one were to act on the information they wrote.

I have seen it used so often, and the real question is, do people really think that way? I will be the first one to admit that I have invested in a stock or a crypto just because someone wrote a post about it, and given the person's following, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and put in a small amount of money. After all, these people are more knowledgeable than me, right?

Did I see them saying this is not financial advice? Of course.

But does it make me hesitate or think twice? Not really.

Of course, the consolation is that I am not throwing my entire portfolio just because some guru or expert claim that something is good. Like what people always say, one should only put in the amount of money that you can afford to lose.

Markets have been volatile the past week. Especially if you are following Stock T. If you know, you know, right?

And it's during these volatile periods, there are so many people sharing their views, and I think it's so easy to be misled if one is not being careful. There are people saying it's time to buy because markets have bottomed, there are people saying it's only the start of recession, and there are people who are in between. Likewise, in the crypto space, there are people who still believe in the alt season, and people who believe that the cycle is over. To be honest, I have no idea and I don't know who is right and who is wrong. I guess if one makes many predictions or post 10 stock or crypto ideas a week, some will be correct (and on the flip side, some will be wrong).

What I have learnt this week is really know your own risk appetite. Some people are very comfortable with big fluctuations in their portfolio, but some people are not used to it. So no matter how reputable some account or personality on the social media is, it doesn't mean we can just follow any person blindly because our risk appetite is different, and everyone's financial situation is different.

And of course, take responsibility for your actions. Your money, your choice. It's something that I tell myself and it's never someone else's fault for recommending or suggesting an investment idea. The moment we take ownership of our decisions and be accountable to ourselves, I think that's when we become better investors.

Alright, that's all from me. Just some reflections over this volatile period. No tips or recommendations. And no financial advice too. Hehe!

Stay safe and find your own conviction!