frugalchief

Thanks longinvestor! I've only got a 3-yr track record (since I started tracking my net worth & investments). It is difficult "going against the crowd" in todays world but I know it will pay off long-term. It's extremely difficult to do, but part of the value investor mentality is that I don't pay attention to "keeping up with the Joneses." Speaking of...I'm sure this has been spoken about before, but it really hit home (again) and reconfirmed my conviction of a part of what value investing is about and how I use its principles in life. I was re-reading Snowball about WB last week...WB quoted on page 33: "If the world couldn't see your results, would you rather be thought of as the world's greatest investor but in reality have the world's worst record? Or be thought of as the world's worst investor when you were actually the best?" It's about living with the intention of having an Inner Scorecard, not an Outer Scorecard. "If all the emphasis is on what the world's going to think about you, forgetting about how you really behave, you'll wind up with an Outer Scorecard." WB continued, "He [Howard Buffett] just didn't care what other people thought. My dad taught me how life should be lived." So we should thank Howard Buffett (and Graham) for imparting such wisdom on us??!! 8)

Learning about value investing has changed my thought habits. It's only been about 5 years since I discovered the truth of investing (value investing). I used to get emotional about stock prices and day trade...which was a disaster...but finally the scales fell from my eyes, and I enjoy it when prices drop now. Being young, I'm in it for the next 50+ years, so I'm in me net saving mode. I've utilized many of the principles in my business life and personal - patience being one of primary ones. In a world full of "me, me me...now, now now" it allows me to bide time and sit back and watch a good decision slowly transform into something great....while other panic. The process can be slow, but sitting and waiting for the fat pitch is fun and exciting. I realize I won't become wealthy overnight, but it will be a fun journey that takes some time. My business life is in the real estate market. I see way too many emotions regarding the purchase of an investment - all the wrong ways to think of investing. It's really fun to watch the markets reactions, while sitting back and waiting for the slow, fat pitch. Cheers!