Why We Cannot Afford Not to Invest

For most of my career, I believed I understood investing better than the average person. I am an accountant, after all. I work with numbers every day. I know how businesses operate, how cashflow works, and how value is created. So when I bought my first shares back in 2018, I assumed I know what I was doing.

I invested $25,000 in only two companies, A2 Milk and Bellamy (before it was acquired). Within twelve months I watched nearly 90 percent of my investment disappear. I held on, hoping for a recovery. The following year, the value began to climb, and by the third year it was close to $90,000. My confidence returned quickly. I felt in control again.

So I did what many people do when their confidence grows faster than their skills. I sold everything and reinvested the money into new stocks, believing I know what I am doing. Then the COVID downturn arrived. Markets fell. Fear took over. I sold again. What remained was less than $10,000. So I lost $15,000 of my original investment (ignoring inflation).

Not long after that the market recovered and went higher than before. I had exited at the worst time. It was a painful lesson. Like many who lose money in the stock market, I told myself investing was not for me.

But after some reflection, I realised something important: We cannot afford not to invest.

Why we cannot afford not to invest

Every year, the cost of groceries, petrol, rent, insurance and everyday living continues to rise. Salaries are not increasing at the same pace. Even if we feel like we are earning well, our money slowly loses value in the background. Unless you hold assets that grow over time (no, the family home does not count because you do not earn from it), your wealth is either standing still or going backwards.

Investing is not about becoming rich quickly. It is about staying ahead of inflation and giving your future self options.

That was the moment I decided investing was not optional for me anymore.

What I learned: investing is mostly about controlling emotions

When I look back at how I behaved, I do not feel embarrassed. I behaved like a normal human being. Almost everyone acts the same way when they first invest. When markets fall, fear takes over. When markets rise, greed quietly enters. Fear makes you sell at the wrong time. Greed makes you take risks you normally would never consider, like borrowing against your home or using margin loans to invest.

If I had simply controlled these two emotions, fear and greed, my early experience would have been completely different.

And the second lesson: consistency matters more than timing

For me, an investment strategy is not complicated. It is simply choosing an investment that makes sense, investing a regular amount and staying consistent regardless of the market noise.

Most people struggle not because they lack knowledge, but because they try too many things at once. They jump between strategies, follow trends on social media, listen to self-proclaimed investment gurus, and constantly change direction. This makes consistency impossible.

Good investing is not about being clever. It is about doing the right things again and again, through good markets and bad.

So here is what I changed

In early 2024, I decided to try again but this time with a very different mindset.

I looked into index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). After some research, I chose Vanguard as my platform and selected a few ETFs that aligned with my long-term view.

Then I made one rule for myself: I would invest the same amount every month through direct debit, and I would not check the performance constantly. I wanted to become a truly passive investor.

Twelve months later, I was surprised by how different the experience felt. First, I saved more than I expected because the direct debit acted like an automatic savings habit. Second, the return on my investments was around 24%, far above inflation and far better than the experience I had when I relied on emotion. The results were almost secondary. What mattered more was that I finally felt calm about investing. I had a plan, and I was sticking to it.

Final takeaway

Investing is not about predicting markets or picking “winning” shares.

It requires two things:
Control your emotions
and
Stay consistent

That is it.

Once I understood this, everything became clearer. And once you understand it, investing would become far less intimidating and far more effective.

If you are just starting your wealth journey, or if you had a bad experience as I did, know this:

You do not need to get it perfect.
You just need to start and keep going.