I'm Not Investing Because..

(The 5 Most Common Reasons I've Seen Over the Years)

Let's talk about Anna and Mia. Both 30, both with normal jobs, both financially in a stable situation. Anna starts putting away one hundred euros a month into a simple World Index fund. One hundred euros. The price of a nice dinner out, gone quietly into a fund instead. Mia keeps meaning to start.. once the renovation is finished, once work calms down, once she's "looked into it properly."

Ten years pass. Life happens to both of them, the way it does. Anna never felt those one hundred euros a month. She barely remembers setting it up. Mia still means to start, she's just been meaning to for a decade now.

That's the whole difference between them. It’s not more money. It’s not more knowledge. It’s not luck. Just time, quietly doing its work in the background.

Most of us arrive at 45 or 50 with a savings account, some vague pension paperwork we've never opened, and a small sense of dread every time the word "investing" comes up at dinner.

When I sit down with a client and ask, honestly, why they've never really invested I hear the same five answers. Regardless of background or bank balances, the same five sentences come up over and over again. So let's have a look at them, and what to actually do about each one.

1. "I don't know enough.."

This one usually starts the same way. I know I should have done something by now, but I haven't. It might feel a little embarrassing to admit you don't know how to get started. You feel like you should know more than you do, and the thought of sitting across from a financial advisor and saying "I don't actually know what a share is.. or whether I have any money to invest in the first place" makes you want to reschedule the conversation. Forever.

My take on this is that most people don't ‘know enough’. Including the people who look like they do. Financial confidence isn't about knowing every term, or owning a Bloomberg terminal at home (one of those big screens with the flashing colors and numbers that make you feel slightly under-qualified just by looking at it). What you actually need is to understand your own picture well enough to ask the right questions. That's it. That's where it begins.

2. "It's not the right time.."

There is never a right time. There's a new job, a renovation, a market that's "too high" or a market that's "too low." Time in the market has quietly made far more people wealthy than timing the market ever has. The real question isn't when – it's why haven't I started.

Take today for example. Somewhere out there, a headline is warning that markets have entered "dangerous territory" (they've been entering dangerous territory since roughly the invention of money, and they'll keep doing it long after we're gone.. it's basically the media industry's bread and butter). If your investment horizon is 10 years or more, and you have a plan in place, your only real job is to keep investing, nice and steady, and let the drama stay in the headlines.

3. "I'm scared.."

Of losing money. Of making the wrong decision. Of looking foolish in front of an advisor. Fear is a completely reasonable response to something that feels irreversible. But not deciding is also a decision, and it's usually the kind that keeps quietly gnawing at you at 3 am. Fear tends to shrink the moment you can actually see your situation laid out on paper, instead of carrying a fuzzy, worst-case version of it around in your head.

4. "I don't know where to start.."

This one is simple to fix, and almost nobody fixes it, because it feels like it needs a big first step. It doesn't. It needs a small one. An asset map for example. One page. Everything you own and everything you owe, in one place, so you can finally see what you're actually working with.

5. "I'm not really interested.. my partner handles it."

Fair enough, I get it. When I was in my 20s, the only thing I ever liked about the Financial Times was the color of the paper. (Then I discovered John Authors and everything changed) So if you're lucky enough to have someone you trust handling things, that might genuinely be the right set-up for you.

Or.. it might not be. Underneath "I'm not interested" there's sometimes a bad experience at a bank years ago, a discomfort talking about money at all, or a quiet worry about what you'd find if you looked too closely. Handing it over can be a real choice. In any case, it’s worth asking yourself what would happen if my partner is no longer around.

* * * * * *

When we find ourselves in the late stages of our careers we sometimes get the feeling that time is against us. But when it comes to our money, I believe we can still make time work for us, if we just decide to start.

So now I am going to ask you. Did any of this sound a little too familiar? The next step doesn't have to be a big commitment. It can just be one conversation, one page, one honest look at where you actually stand. And sometimes, before any fund or any plan, the best first investment you can make is simply not carrying this alone anymore.

Those of you who know me, know I've sat on both sides of this table.. the one who felt lost and intimidated, and the one who finally asked the right questions. I'd love to help you get to the right side faster than I did.

Until next time,

Eva

P.S. Anna is 40 now. Her index fund is worth almost EUR 20k. If she just keeps going.. she'll retire at 65 with roughly 200k from those ‘dinner’ investments. That's it. The work of time.

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