Having discipline when investing is one of the greatest attributes that successful investors have. What I found is that most people don’t have it. They can’t stick to a plan to invest a certain amount of money each month for their retirement or they can’t sell a stock if it’s past the point which they set (either on the upside or downside).
Here are three things that can make you a more disciplined investor.
First, don’t think a stock can go to the moon or that a stock that loses value will come back. Have certain parameters set for stocks you are speculating with and don’t violate those rules.
Second, if you’re contributing to your IRA each month, make sure you are doing this in an account that automatically invests the contributions. We all get busy and you don’t want to have to remember to place a trade to get the contribution invested each month.
Third, don’t look back. If you make a bad decision or if you sell a stock for a nice profit, don’t second guess yourself. Realize tomorrow is another day and we can strive to be better than we were yesterday.