The Best Way to Handle a Stock Market Panic

It's normal to feel lousy about your stocks these days.The share prices fall… You log into your online account… The numbers are all red and much lower than they were several months ago… And you just feel bad. It's normal.

But be careful you don't let your emotions lure you into making a mistake. That's easy to do…

There are a lot of voices screaming loudly in your direction. Almost all of them are trying to scare you so you'll become dependent on them for information and guidance.

I've made my living in the publishing business since 1997. You can count on most people in the industry to sell what they think is popular. And good investment ideas are never, ever popular. Think of how unpopular gold was in 1999 or how unpopular stocks were in 2009.

Still, many investors let the media and the market tell them what to do. When the market rises, they believe it's telling them to buy. When it falls, they believe it's telling them to sell. There's a much larger and even less informed group that simply feels good when stock prices rise, so it keeps buying… and vice versa.

This is the worst type of herding behavior. It is a terrible way to approach investing.

Value investors don't let the market tell them what to do. They take advantage of the market's offers to buy and sell at various prices. So the delight we take in a falling market is a primary distinction between value investors and others.

Remember… value investing isn't about making great macro calls. It's not about calling the next crisis, or predicting interest rate trends or GDP numbers. It's impossible to accurately predict those things. If you believe you know someone who is able to call the market's ups and downs, just wait a little longer… They'll soon be wrong.

Value investing is about doing research, taking your time, picking great companies, buying them at cheap prices, and holding them for as long as the business continues to perform well. The moment you think it's about predicting the future – and that you've got a crystal ball – you've already lost.

So my advice right now is to tune out the hysterics. Don't panic. And, most of all, don't abandon the discipline of buying great businesses when they get cheap.

When you're feeling lousy about your stocks, this is the kind of information you need to remember.

As long as you plan on keeping your money in the market for 10 years or more… and as long as you buy great stocks for great prices… a falling market shouldn't cause you anxiety.

Teach Your Kids The Power of Compound Interest in a Week

Teaching kids the miracle of compound interest is potentially one of the most valuable lessons you can give them in life. While the saying “old habits die hard” has a negative tinge to it, why not use it on something beneficial so that your kids bring this habit all the way to adulthood?

THE BEAUTY OF COMPOUND INTEREST FOR KIDS

In its simplest form, compound interest is about turning money into more money. But for many kids, it can be difficult to grasp something so abstract.
For the purposes of this article, we’re assuming your child is able to control their spending, and understands percentages.
According to typical school standards, most children between the ages of 9 to 12 have already learned to apply percentages in class.
A more practical guide is if your child knows how to split a chocolate bar into equal halves, then chances are they’ll know how to split it equally into ten parts i.e. ten percent.
So here’s a simple activity to illustrate what compound interest is, and how it works.

Public Speaking skill

Medical Insurance: The simple guide for Malaysians

There are two types of medical insurance coverage.
The first one covers 36 critical illnesses. The second type covers hospitalization and surgical benefits, which is commonly known as medical card or health card.
In this video, I explained the differences and how you can plan to get covered with medical insurance.

How not to worry about medical expenses, and minimize your hospital bills

Have you ever experienced being admitted to a hospital because of your illness and your eyes bulge when you see the expensive medical bills that you have to pay for and you don’t have enough money to pay it? There is a saying that when we are young, we work too hard and trade our time and health for money. Then when we are old, we trade our money to hopefully gain back some health.
This is so true because there are so many old folks who save hard and put the money in the bank but the interest earned is barely enough to cover the medical cost inflation.

Nowadays, many people had realized the high cost of being hospitalized. When medical fees keep escalating, more people are aware and seek for medical insurance coverage. So the first step towards cutting medical expenses is to get insured, while you are still qualified to apply for total coverage.