shares of Microsoft and buying an elegant six-bedroom house on the 18th
green for cash.” How do you respond?
1. Rage.
2. Congratulations, I am so happy for you and Joe.
3. Maybe I’ll do the same with my Coca-Cola shares.
4. I’ll never talk to her again.
5. I’m divorcing my husband. He spends all our money on losing
investments, computer gadgets, and junk, and then takes out
second mortgages.
6. Our real estate is doing well. It’s good to see you are getting
smart and putting some money into real estate, even if it is
only an overpriced house.
7. How could two idiots like Martha and Joe have bought
Microsoft when my husband with an MBA puts everything in
some plodding 401(k) mutual funds?
8. Most of the above.
9. All of the above, though several are just fantasies.
Compare this with your emotional maturity regarding marriage. You
have been married happily for five years. Your friend Martha says to you,
“I think I have finally found the right guy. Joe and I are engaged.” You
respond:
1. I’m so happy for you. You deserve to have finally found the
right guy.
2. I’m so happy for me. I’m glad that issue has been settled in
my life for a long time.
3. Both.
Most people have less reaction to Martha’s engagement than to Martha’s
financial windfall. Investing triggers many emotions. Relationships often
trigger fewer emotions. Most people have spent time working on their romantic
and spousal relationships. Few people have worked on their investment
relationships. This would not matter, except that, as you approach
retirement, your relationship to your investments becomes a major relationship
in your life.
Read More : Are you and the stock market miserable together?
