The road to wealth is BORING as hell

Listen to your family and friends, but take your own advice.

Hi guys,

Hope you are well. I’m doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

The past month for me has been something of an emotional rollercoaster. I have experienced the highest of highs, very low lows, and many days that were somewhere in between. This is the story of all our lives, and in spite of it all, there are many reasons to be thankful.

Last night, I started reading I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. This is fairly unusual for two reasons. One, I try to read one personal finance book in a calendar year, and it tends to be early in January/February. Since I already read The Psychology of Money several months ago, I had no plans of returning to this genre anytime soon.

Two, I tend to prefer books with subtle titles and plenty of depth. Books that jump out with bold titles like ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich’ do not typically catch my interest. But somebody must have recommended this one since I found it close to the top of my reading list yesterday.

I’m only 18% in but I found some gems and thought to share with you anyway.

The road to wealth is boring as hell

Thanks to the media, we have over glamorized the process of building wealth. Many of us young people think the road to riches is paved with soccer superstardom, an entertainment career, or dropping out of school to build a multi-billion dollar startup. Frankly, the data says otherwise.

‘The truth is that the vast majority of people don’t need a financial adviser to help them get rich.

We need to set up accounts at solid banks, automate our day-to-day money management (including bills, savings, and, if applicable, paying off debts). We need to know about a few things to invest in and then we need to let our money grow for thirty years.

But that’s not as cool or exciting, is it?’ - Ramit Sethi

Whenever someone asks me about an ideal investment strategy (someone always = Tobz 😂), I have only one answer.

Save as much as you can every month and put it in a (Halal) diversified index fund that tracks the US stock market.

Simple as ABC. I don’t care if you’re 18 or 35 or if you live in Paris or Okokomaiko. There is only one answer to this question. You have the right to disagree, but I am the sole owner of this newsletter. 😆

Building houses to collect rent? Meh.

Investing in gold? Meh.

Buying Sukuk? Meh.

*** beginning of long side note/rant ***

This is a highly subjective point, and I am certain one or two people will enter my dm to fight. 😂

Even though The Psychology of Money has already taught me that personal financial decisions are rarely logical, and much more dependent on a person’s bias and experiences, I would argue that this is the right answer for 90% of people (whether they realize it or not).

This is one of the topics for which I believe in the concept of ‘have strong opinions, loosely held’.

It basically means having a clear hypothesis or idea based on sound data, and then holding it to be true until more data or clearer reasoning prove otherwise. The minute you have updated data, you move to a new idea or strong hypothesis which is valid until again you have updated information. And on and on it goes.

Also, none of this is financial advice edakun. I have no financial qualifications whatsoever and zero interest in what you decide to do with your money.

E ma gbe mi ni handicap.

Me rn 😂😂 (image from memebase)

*** end of long side note/rant ***

But you know the problem with this approach of passively investing in a stock market index fund every month for 30 years?

It’s boring as hell!

All your friends will have more interesting things to say.

Friend A might have a portfolio of 40% Apple stock, 30% Tesla stock, and 30% Netflix. His/her portfolio just sounds sexy and will definitely get admiration from others.

Friend B might invest aggressively in crypto and have an investment portfolio that goes to the moonnnnn. 🚀🚀🚀

Etc etc etc.

Most of us lack either the patience or self-assurance to stick to the long, boring game. And that is why companies like Tradera will continue to flourish.

Listen to your family and friends, but take your own advice.

‘Your friends and family will have lots of “tips” once you begin your financial journey. Listen politely, then stick to the program.’ - Ramit Sethi

If you are fortunate enough to have numerous Aunties, Uncles, mentors, and family friends that care about you, then you will very regularly receive contrasting pieces of advice from people who are ‘more knowledgeable’.

I personally love having people I can rant to and bounce ideas off, knowing fully well that I would leave the conversation much more informed than I entered it. And this cuts across all areas of life.

Whether you mention to these amazing x super supportive people that you are thinking of getting married, planning to relocate, thinking of grad school, or researching investment opportunities, they will have lots and lots of very specific advice about what you must do.

But there are two categories of people who receive this advice - people who are well-informed x clear about what they want, and people who are not. And I suspect all of us switch between both categories depending on what we are learning about.

If - a very big if! - you have done your research and are clear in your mind about what you want, then listen to them, smile politely, and agree as much as you can in their presence. Afterward, ignore everything you just heard and stick to your plan.

Otherwise, you will find yourself permanently going around in circles because multiple influential stakeholders are pushing your life in different directions.

Listen to your family and friends, but take your own advice.

If I am your family or friend, ignore me too.

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If you found this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends. Have them read it and subscribe. I like to share personal stories and life lessons I am learning. They will be super random, but common themes will include business, personal development, human relationships, and Islam.

Gracias, and see you around.

Hameed

** Jara content:

At a point when I was in serious need of reassurance, this verse came to me from the most unlikely of sources.

الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

Those to whom people [i.e., hypocrites] said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.” - 3:173

Have a great week. ✨