What I Realized After 10 Years of Investing: Something More Important Than 'Not Wanting to Lose Money'

For the me of the past, money was something I ‘did not want to lose’.

Save as much as possible.
Choose the cheapest things possible.
And then, save it.

Of course, my approach to saving hasn’t changed even now.

But after continuing to invest for 10 years, my way of thinking about money has changed little by little.

Now, I have started to think about

‘how I can use money to enrich my family’s life’.

In the past, ‘what others were recommending’ was my standard for judgment

When I started investing, I didn’t have my own criteria for judgment like I do now.

People around me are recommending it.
It’s a hot topic.
It seems good somehow.

There were times I would look at stocks for reasons like that.

But after 10 years of investing and experiencing failures, what I think about before buying has changed.

What I look at in particular is:

・What is the state of the company?
・Do I think the current stock price is undervalued?
・Can I hold it for the long term with confidence?

These things.

When looking at a company’s performance, I make sure to check not just the most recent results, but also things like revenue and profit growth over the past three years or more.

Just because I researched it and it looks good doesn’t mean I buy it immediately.

While watching the stock price movements, I sometimes wait for a timing where I can think,

‘I want to buy at this price’.
However, you can’t invest just by staring at it forever.

In the end, I believe you also need the courage to make a decision yourself to some extent.

I used to check the stock price once an hour

When I started investing, I was obsessed with the stock price.

Checking it about once an hour.
Even when I was working, I would check it every time I went to the restroom.

If it went up, I was happy.
If it went down, I was sad.

My own mood was swayed by price movements of just a few percent.

Looking back now, I think I was quite controlled by the stock price.

Currently, I check it about once a day.

Honestly, I think,

‘Wouldn’t once a week be fine?’
Even so, I’m curious, so I still end up looking at it every day (laughs).

Even after 10 years of investing, things that bother you still bother you.

However, what’s different from the past is that when the stock price drops, I have started to look at the ‘company itself’.

It was very sad when the price dropped right after I bought it

I still hate this even now.

When the stock price drops right after I buy it, I think,

‘I should have waited a little longer…’
The me of the past would just leave such stocks to rot.

Holding onto them just on the expectation that ‘it will go up someday’.

My way of thinking has changed a little now.
Instead of just looking at the stock price, I check whether the company’s performance and growth are continuing.

Is it a company that is growing in the long run?

Is the reason I bought it still the same?

Look at the business, not the stock price.
Little by little, I have become able to think that way.

From money as ‘something I don’t want to lose’ to ‘something to use’

And what has changed even more than my investing is how I use money.

Recently, I stayed at a slightly expensive hotel with my family.

The me of the past might have thought,

‘Wouldn’t a cheaper place be fine?’
But when we actually stayed there, the service was very good.

What made me happiest was that even after the trip was over, my children would often talk about it.

Seeing that, I think, ‘I’m glad I spent money here’.

Cheap or expensive.

Instead of judging only by that, I think about,

‘Will this money increase my family’s satisfaction?’

For me, the value of money is no longer just about increasing my account balance.

Updating both investing and information gathering

Recently, I have also been studying AI.

Financial results, news, corporate information.
There is a lot of information I want to know when investing.

But if I were to look for it all by myself, I would never have enough time.

That is precisely why I want to use AI effectively to streamline information gathering.

And then, based on the information gathered, I make the final decision myself.

Not just investing itself, but ‘how to gather information’ is something I think will become important from now on.

What I want to tell my 10-years-younger self

If I could tell my pre-investing self just one thing, I would want to say,

‘Money increases the satisfaction of life’.
It’s not just about saving.

It’s not just about increasing it.
Of course, it doesn’t mean you should spend money on everything.
I still save where I can save.

I also create money to invest.
On top of that, I spend it properly on things that make my family happy.

The purpose of my asset formation is not just to increase numbers.

It is to increase my family’s options through money.

And to increase the experiences where we can say,

‘I’m glad we did that back then’.

Having continued to invest for 10 years, I have gradually started to think that way.
Asset formation is not something you do just to increase money.

How do you use the money you’ve increased in your life?

Perhaps it is only after thinking that far that there is meaning in increasing money.