On... Air Fares and Trading

My wife was shopping for air tickets recently and she told me what she was going through and she asked me, "Should I take the risk?"

Little did I know, shopping for air tickets and investing/trading has a lot of similarities. In fact, I told her she sounded like a stock investor. "Should I take the risk?" is something that I ask myself daily.

A little background on what actually happened. She was planning for a holiday next year and was thinking of visiting Taiwan. Apparently, she was scrolling though the different dates and came upon an unbelievable deal. It was only during a certain travel period, so she started following the price and sales. Since the travel period is still sometime away, it is a risk to buy now in case she can't get time off.

Here I want to discuss two similarities/lessons with trading and things that I have to go through everyday as a trader.

First similarity/lesson - Prices change and you need to keep your eye on the ball. Just like the air fare, stock prices move. You really need to keep an eye on the ball if you want a good deal. On top of that, if you're not quick, the air tickets will be snapped up even before you manage to click BUY. Same thing as in trading, if you're not following closely, you may miss opportunities. I really hate the feeling when something is going on and it's near my BUY zone and then it's dinner time.

Second similarity/lesson - Things are cheap for a reason. My wife thought she stumbled upon a good deal that was not widely known. She later found out that the travelling period actually coincides with the typhoon season in Taiwan. That was the reason that it was cheap. Things are usually cheap for a reason and you have to be careful not to catch a falling knife. Don't invest in something just because the prices have fallen.

Whether buying air fares, stocks or crypto, it all boils down to the question that we ask ourselves - "Do I take the risk?"