Ups and downs are a natural part of investing and we know they’re a big part of life, too.
If you are dealing with financial, physical or mental health issues at the moment, it’s important not to ignore them. Asking for help sooner rather than later is the first step in making sure things don’t get any worse.
No matter what the situation is, we’re here to help and can point you towards other services that could be useful too.
If you could use some support, message our team through your in-app chat or email us. You can find a range of helpful companies and organisations further down the page.
Our mission is to get everyone investing but it goes beyond that. We want everyone to invest well and only when it's right for them. That means forming healthy investing behaviours conducive to helping us all work towards our financial goals.
And while we always aim to approach investing sensibly, when we’re under stress some bad behaviours can creep in despite our best efforts.
Making decisions under pressure can be especially difficult when money is involved, so we need to be careful about what we do when we’re vulnerable to our emotions or other outside influences.
If you find yourself trying to invest your way out of debt or taking excessive risk in the hope of quick gains to make up for losses, stop.
That thought process is more akin to rash gambling than good investing and doesn’t reflect the measured approach to risk management that good investors aim to achieve.
Good investing begins once you have built up a cash reserve and addressed any unsecured debt first. If you have interest-bearing debt, investing is likely something best left until you have paid it off.
That’s one of our principles for good investing, you can read our full list of tips to being a good investor here.
If you are developing signs of addiction or addictive behaviour around investing, pause what you’re doing and take a break from trading. Investing shouldn’t be a high-octane adrenaline ride, in fact it should be the opposite.
Once you’ve set up a portfolio of diversified assets, often the best guidance is to do nothing. That can be easier said than done but it’s one of the most important behaviours to get right.
The mindset you bring to investing is an incredibly important element in forming a healthy relationship with managing your money.
If you are feeling stressed or worried about investing, reflecting on your behaviour could help. Are you focusing on the short-term too much? Are you jumping in and out of assets without doing your research?
It could be that simply slowing down and looking to the long term would help. But it might also be the case that you need a more pointed review of your approach to investing.
Controlled risk management is what all good investors aim for. If you find that risk is making you anxious or making you want to trade excessively, it could really help to take a break and ask yourself whether investing is for you.
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