COLUMN: Ask the Money Lady – Habits of investors

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/04/2025 (355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Money Lady,

I am panicking about my investment portfolio. It has lost so much in the last couple of weeks. I now wish I wasn’t invested in the stock market. What should I do? Helen M.

Hello Helen, this downturn will pass so please do not cash out. Try to limit your withdrawals and consider buying more of your good dividend stock picks that are now “on sale” due to the current economic market.

For many of us, creating meaningful wealth means we have to get out of our comfort zone and invest in something that will appreciate over time. Whether this is through the stock market, home ownership and improvement, or even additional education to increase your career opportunities; it must be done, to give you the future you believe you deserve. Your biggest risks will not be the things you cannot control, such as the stock market, the economy or pandemics – it will be how you react to them. Unfortunately, when investing in anything, those things that are the most comfortable are usually the least profitable. Investment bias and preconceived notions about risk and volatility shape our future more than the investment itself.

Let’s look at a case study done by Thomas Corley: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. This study took over 200 self-made millionaires with a minimum income of $160K and $3M in assets compared to 200 people with an income of less than $35K and $5K in assets. Over a 5-year study, it was found that those with money had very different views and personal habits to those of the respondents with far less. Of course, this is to be expected, but what was interesting was that it wasn’t any product, investment, win-fall opportunity or even education that created their wealth, it was their positive mindset. Those that became wealthy had the following common traits.

1. Made goal setting part of their everyday routine and were always forward-thinking.

2. Read for improvement a minimum of 30 minutes per day.

3. Formed relationships with like-minded people.

4. Not afraid to try new opportunities.

5. Preferred to invest in proven simple strategies to create meaningful wealth over time.

6. Showed the conviction and perseverance to consistently work their business plan for success.

7. Demonstrated a patient attitude toward what they believed to be true.

Those that had much less had the following common traits.

1. Did not invest to grow their wealth or improve their lifestyle.

2. Did not take personal responsibility for their current situation and their life circumstance.

3. Spent too much time with other people who wasted their time.

4. Rarely created personal goals and found it hard to execute them.

5. Were more impressed with complicated plans to succeed but rarely had the inclination to follow them.

6. Showed a “herd mentality” when trying something new, where if many people are doing something, they must be right, so they wanted to follow this method.

7. Was impatient toward most things that were important for self-improvement.

Stock markets will always rise and fall, but it is those investors that stay the course, remaining true to their convictions and investment strategies that make money today. Don’t get sucked in by what you see on TV, investing in the flavour of the day or selling because you can’t handle a market swing. If you believe that your investment plan (or even your life plan) is correct, then have the conviction to invest in it over time through thick and thin. Listening to fearmongers or negative people never helps you achieve greatness.

Christine Ibbotson is a Canadian author, finance writer and syndicated money coach on BNN Bloomberg. She is also part of the everyday lineup on CTV Your Morning in every province. If you have a money question you want answered free – send it to: info@askthemoneylady.ca.