Investing Sins 101: How Many Sins Have You Checked Off?
There are seven deadly sins in human nature: pride, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, greed, and wrath.
Each one corresponds to a common investing mistake, have you fallen for any of them?
1. Greed
When I first started trading stocks, I never set a take-profit point. If the stock rose 1%, I expected a limit-up. If it hit a limit-up, I dreamed of consecutive limit-ups. I even chased stocks at their peak, fully knowing the risks.
“Wanting too much is where losses begin.”
2. Fear
After experiencing my first major drop, I became like a frightened bird—selling at the slightest pullback, even high-quality stocks.
“Being too scared too quickly means you’ll never earn much.”
3. Envy
Whether on stock forums or social media, I constantly saw flashy profit screenshots—some real, some fake. People getting rich off EVs or low-altitude economy plays. I went all-in on hype stocks out of FOMO.
“Other people’s gains are the quickest way to lose your own calm.”
4. Pride
Early in my trading days, I got lucky and made some quick wins. I started believing I had a natural talent for reading charts and stopped caring about fundamentals.
“You can’t change the market—you can only ride with it.”
5. Wrath
After getting stuck in a position, I got mad and doubled down, hoping to recover losses in one go.
“Emotional trading is the perfect setup for losing money.”
6. Sloth
No reviewing charts, no checking data—I traded purely on gut feeling.
“If you don’t put in the effort, you’ll end up paying tuition to the market.”
7. Impatience
I’d buy today and expect to double by tomorrow. I chased green candles and panic sold red ones, completely without a plan.
“An impatient heart can never stop the bleeding.”
What do you think?
💬 Which of the "investing sins" have you committed? Any trades you deeply regret?
💬 How did you recover from those mistakes? Got any tips for beginners?
💬 If there were an eighth investing sin, what bad habit do you think deserves a spot?
REWARDS
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I also have committed sloth where I bought tencent at a high in 2021 and it has slide down. I failed to evaluate the price and the risk to benefit. However, I managed to average down and have taken profit. As I still believe in the company, I re-entered a position.
I would advise beginners to consider cutting loss if the fundamental of the company is gone. However, if you still think that the company is worthy, then price crashes are good opportunities to average down for a bigger profit later.
If there is an 8th sin, I think it would be failure to plan. It is important to plan the other aspect of finances like having emergency funds first, allocating specific budget to investing and portfolio allocation.
One trade I regret was jumping into a hyped stock out of envy, just because others were making big gains. I didn’t understand the company at all and ended up stuck for months. That loss taught me to tune out the noise, do proper research, and trust my own judgment.
If there were an eighth sin, I’d add overtrading—constantly buying and selling without reason. It burns capital and energy fast. My tip for beginners: stay patient, track your trades, and always know your exit before you enter. Discipline beats emotion in the long run.
@Tiger_comments @TigerStars @Tiger_SG
I will be fearful if I over invest my cash.
I won't envy those stock forums or social media profit posting.They post only the winning,where are all the losses??😂😂
As for the rest, non I'm in
While the stock has dipped 50% and yet I'm still holding!
It is also with the addition of greed that it would fly back up again.
I tell myself as long as I don't sell it, it is not a loss.
Indeed it is true but I also do not gain when it stays red [Facepalm]
Perhaps an additional factor of being ignorant, believing the stock still has "hope".
@Jiefund @LWKJKK @LuckyJiajia @.nameless
Called my friend for a spare phone as I have to break my passcode for iphone11.He refused to pick up my call when I used my office phone to call him.So next is my brother who gave me a faulty keypad iPhone; next are my nephews.In the end, my bro gave me another phone but it is his particulars.i tried to reset the phone but need faceID. [Spurting][Anger][Facepalm]. So I tried to break my passcode for iPhone. Finally at 3.30am I broke the code n I have iphone11 for usage.But I m too lazy / tired to setup my WhatsApp/telegram/tiger accounts.My phone was so peaceful till my iphone14 was repaired.A cost of SGD429- courtesy of company.Anyway, I will be getting a new phone end of the year
恢复过程并不容易。第一步是承认自己错了，而不是硬拗说“长期看会回来”；第二步是设定“停损纪律”，即使心理痛，也要割肉清仓，因为只有空出手，才有新机会。然后我开始重新学习财报、商业逻辑，不再追热度，而是找自己看得懂、有信心拿得住的公司。
给初学者的建议是：**不要羡慕别人短期的盈利，投资不是比谁涨得快，而是比谁活得久。**而且一定要养成“写下投资逻辑”的习惯，事后对照复盘，才能进步。
至于“第八宗罪”？我觉得是自我欺骗。明知基本面有问题，却一再催眠自己“只是暂时”，这个坏习惯比亏钱更可怕，因为它让你无法面对现实，永远被困在幻想里。认清它，才能从韭菜变投资者。
Investing sins… obviously I have them. To err is to be a human [Tongue]. Greed, pride, envy, fear are constant companions of a lifetime investment journey. I don’t reject them, nor do I fear them. I just learn to accept they are part of me. For greed, I have charts as guide, but no upside target. Mere for downside loss cutting. For pride, I share in 🐯 and move on. For envy, I try to see if there’s anything I could have learnt from others (especially those sharing in 🐯). As for fear, it is always there… I just sleep 😴 🛌 on it.
Nothing for beginners, we are learning every day, newbies or old 🐦 , market is fair. Unkind to anyone who didn’t pay attention! @LMSunshine
在我交易的早期，我很幸運，很快就贏了一些。我開始相信自己有閱讀圖表的天賦，不再關心基本面。
“你無法改變市場——你只能順其自然。”
剛開始炒股的時候，從來沒有設置過止盈點。如果股票上漲1%，我預計會漲停。如果漲停了，我就會夢見連續漲停。我甚至在股票最高峯時追逐過股票，完全知道其中的風險。
“想要太多就是損失的開始。”
2. yes recovery but still learning, be humble.. Now I choose DCA VOO 😁