I’ve been getting out of my comfort zone more lately.
As someone on the introvert end of the scale, it’s sometimes difficult for me to get out there and meet people. Additionally, I’m somewhat risk-averse when it comes to my money.
However, I’m learning about the importance of taking risks with my life and with my money these days. I’m not talking about big, stupid risks, but smaller, calculated risks. If you want to move forward and thrive, sometimes a risk or two is necessary.
Taking Risks in My Life
First, I moved cross country for a fresh start but let’s be honest here. Moving back to my hometown doesn’t really count as a big life risk. My parents are here (and they’ve been very supportive). What I did do, though, was join the local Chamber of Commerce and start networking.
In the past, my idea of networking was to follow my business partner around at conferences and let him meet people. Now that I’m in the local networking scene, I’m walking up to people, introducing myself, and sharing things about who I am and what I do. This is something that makes me uncomfortable, but I’ve already seen positive developments from my willingness to risk myself socially this way.
I also realize that at some point I might have to take some relationship risks if I decide I want to find a new adult companion. Right now, though, the risk I’m taking is one related to loneliness. I’ve got my son, which is great, but it’s not the same thing as having adult companionship. At this point, I’d rather risk loneliness than rush into something new. It’s a weird juxtaposition, with competing emotional risks, and something I’m learning to navigate.
Risks with My Money and My Business
This year has also been one that resulted to some degree in risks with my money and my business. I joined an investing challenge and went outside my comfort zone to try some different asset classes.
For many people, risks with money can be difficult because the chance of loss is always there even when you’re a boring indexer like I am. However, the reality is that risking your money a little bit is important. You won’t build wealth with a traditional savings account and clipping coupons.
It’s important, though, to be careful about the risks you take with your money. The investing challenge I joined is relatively small and it’s money that I can afford to lose. When you take risks with your money, you need to make sure it’s capital you won’t need for some time. You also need to make absolutely certain that you won’t be devastated financially if you lose all of it.
Finally, I’m stepping outside my comfort zone and taking some risks with my business. I’m shifting to devote more time to posts on my own properties (which means risking income from freelance sources), but I want to be able to create a viable income stream with my web properties for increased diversity. Also, I’m hoping to get more involved with podcast projects. This means not only more time and effort on my part but it may even mean an outlay of money to make it happen.
In the long term, I hope these risks bear fruit. These small risks could, over time, add up to something really worthwhile. As for now, I’m taking the plunge because these are risks worth taking.
Editor's Note: I've begun tracking my assets through Personal Capital. I'm only using the free service so far and I no longer have to log into all the different accounts just to pull the numbers. And with a single screen showing all my assets, it's much easier to figure out when I need to rebalance or where I stand on the path to financial independence.
They developed this pretty nifty 401K Fee Analyzer that will show you whether you are paying too much in fees, as well as an Investment Checkup tool to help determine whether your asset allocation fits your risk profile. The platform literally takes a few minutes to sign up and it's free to use by following this link here. For those trying to build wealth, Personal Capital is worth a look.
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Thank you for sharing and congrats on challenging yourself out of your comfort zone — keep it up! After reading your post, a recent quote by Jack Butcher resonated with me:
“You get rich by taking lots of risk with small amounts of money (assuming you can afford to lose it), but you stay rich by taking small amounts of risk with large sums of money.”
There’s nothing wrong with boring, especially in this volatile market. It’s the same advice recommended by Warren Buffet.
Cheers,
Harvey
Good for you for pushing yourself past your comfort zone! If most of your investments are in safe, boring index funds (mine too), what’s the harm in gambling a tiny bit? You’ll be ecstatic if you beat the odds. And if you don’t, you probably won’t even miss the money.