A Healthy & Wealthy Merry Christmas: Grateful Investing

A Healthy & Wealthy Merry Christmas: Grateful Investing

In today’s special Christmas investing video, I talk about habits that help people become and stay wealthy, such as practicing gratitude, humility, and generosity. I include some of my investing reflections based on what I have learned from some of the disciples of Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. Paradoxically, we may learn that by being selflessly giving to others, we may actually be on the road to increasing our own wealth.

I think of Charlie Munger as a Secret Santa whose knowledge and wisdom is the gift that keeps on giving! Habits of reading and constant lifelong learning that these best friends have are surely contributors to their wealth and success. Moreover, from the timeless classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, there are two key interests of people: 1) health and 2) human relationship skills. If you have both of these things you can accomplish quite a bit!

The idea of “Maro” from a legendary Japanese investor Wahei Takeda enlightens us on several concepts, and one of its meanings is “Thankfulness,” which I’ve learned most about from Danielle Town and Phil Town. I heard he expressed his thanks for pretty much everything in his life, being thankful thousands of times a day. He gained enormous success and wisdom to become known as Japan’s version of Warren Buffett.

I’m grateful to have experienced the investing mistakes I’ve made because it’s made me grow into a better investor. Among my investing reflections, I discuss two types of errors that Munger and Buffett have also reflected on and this concept of antifragility made popular by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

I express my errors of omission across stock charts of some companies (“TCAAD” I’ll call them) that I failed to get invested in at a certain time when I may have been especially interested, because of several different reasons. And how much I missed out on these opportunities, but how I’m trying to learn from these mistakes so that I’m better prepared to act next time. It’s not to say I would definitely invest in any of these companies “next time,” even at a price that makes sense, but they are salient examples I’m reflecting about in this video.

The FOMO is seriously real though on some of these antifragile companies. And yet, even at the new market all time highs 2 years ago, I was scared to jump into the markets and am even more scared now at the incredibly high market valuations. What helps ground me is I try to remember Buffett saying: “Be fearful when others are greedy.”

Antifragility is about things that thrive even better with uncertainty and after adverse event get only better. Phil Town likens the idea to think about the little luxuries that people value during hard times like now with the coronavirus pandemic. For me, that’s definitely Costco and their delightful, carefully selected good quality products and services at low cost that many can’t resist. This is why I let myself splurge by spending $20 on this Baby Yoda plushie from SQUISHMALLOWS as you’ll see why in this video. Hands down Costco is an antifragile company I’d love to buy when it’s “on sale” at a “margin of safety” price someday.

On our quest for the kind of worldly wisdom that Charlie Munger has, I wish you safe, healthy, and happy holidays so we can all thrive personally and financially! Let’s connect on Instagram @ michellemarki!