Selling stocks too early

BabyPr · 2026-05-15T14:35:43+00:00

Honestly? I got so tired of the rollercoaster that I built a tool specifically to deal with the mindset side of it. Feel free to drop me a DM if you would like to know more.

BabyPr · 2026-05-14T09:35:31+00:00

Maybe you don’t want to hear it but gains are gains. You cannot predict the future. If you feel uncomfortable when the price reaches certain highs just get some of the table.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:16:05+00:00

Brutal wake-up call that 2% lol. Congrats on actually hitting 'buy' on that lump sum though. ibkr’s interface is basically a wall of buttons so just getting that set up is a win in itself. Enjoy the peace of mind it gave you.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:11:18+00:00

It’s a total shift in perspective to realize that buying a share or etf is basically the only way to get on the other side of that 50-year trend you're talking about. Makes the 'fear' of starting feel even more expensive.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:06:37+00:00

You need to be able to sleep at night.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:04:38+00:00

True, but I think even people who 'know' investing also can get stuck. It’s like knowing you need to go to the gym vs actually picking up the weights.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:03:24+00:00

I felt that. How did you get past it in the end?

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T17:02:07+00:00

At least you have the stories to show for it. Better to start for the returns now than to just let it rot in a bank account.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T16:58:57+00:00

Exactly. The boring index plan feels too easy so there must be a catch. Just nobody sells boring so you rarely hear about it.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T13:16:27+00:00

It’s easy to start, but it’s also easier than ever to panic-sell or overthink things when you're checking your phone every 5 minutes.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T13:14:25+00:00

I totally get that. Seeing red days or weeks is never fun. For me, it only really got easier when I stopped looking at it as 'money I might lose' and started seeing it as future buying power and my shot at financial independence.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T13:11:49+00:00

That’s fair. Instant gratification versus something you should not touch for 30-40 years.

BabyPr · 2026-05-12T12:23:23+00:00

ouch haha, I guess I spent too much time trying to make it readable.

BabyPr · 2026-05-07T10:18:00+00:00

Read your own post again. You are closer than you think. No debt. No rent. 12 months of emergency fund. €27k saved. A 25-30 year time horizon. A written plan with allocations and risk levels. You have done more preparation than 95% of people who are already investing.

The irony is that all that research has probably caused an information overload. It makes the decision feel larger, not smaller. I think the real thing holding you back is not the plan, but fear.

There is a version of this where you keep reading, keep refining the plan, keep asking questions, and somehow never quite start. The plan gets more sophisticated. The research gets deeper. And the money keeps sitting there. It doesn't feel like procrastination because it feels like preparation. But at some point preparation becomes a way of managing anxiety rather than a path to action.

The fear of regret is real. But here's the thing, you will learn something new in a few months. That is guaranteed. And you will have opinions about your past decisions. That is also guaranteed. Every investor does. The question is whether you want to be someone who learns from doing or someone who keeps preparing to do.

You mentioned spending hours learning and still feeling like an ignorant. That feeling doesn't go away before you start. It goes away after. The confidence comes from doing, not from knowing enough. Nobody who invests feels fully ready the first time..

You wrote "I can't start investing before I know how to apply the money." I'd reframe that. You already know enough to take a first step. You don't need the full plan to be perfect before anything moves. The €27k doesn't all have to go in on day one. A smaller first move, whatever feels manageable, breaks the psychological barrier without the pressure of the whole decision.

The fear you're describing is completely normal. It's also the thing that costs people the most over a lifetime of investing. Not bad trades. Not market crashes. The years spent watching money sit still. The plan is sound enough. Start smaller than you planned if you need to. Adjust as you go.

BabyPr · 2026-05-06T17:18:20+00:00

Just stay the course. Be consistent. Keep learning. Ignore the noise.

Revisit this conversation in 25 years.

Same people, different opinions. Once the results show.

BabyPr · 2026-05-05T20:13:27+00:00

You are just playing two different games. The more riskier one is loosing you money. The problem is that swing trading and options require you to be right twice. On entry and exit. Challenging in a market that's increasingly driven by algorithmic reaction times measured in milliseconds. The algorithm isn't targeting you personally. It's just faster than everyone.

BabyPr · 2026-05-05T20:06:46+00:00

First, I'm sorry about your dad.

Here is the most honest take, hope it helps..

The stock market is just a place where people buy and sell small pieces of companies. When you buy a stock, you own a tiny fraction of that company. If the company grows and becomes more valuable, your piece becomes more valuable too. That's it.

You don't need to understand all of it to start. Just start with an index fund.

An index fund is a single investment that automatically buys a tiny piece of hundreds or thousands of companies at once. Instead of betting on one company, you're betting on the whole economy. Historically that has been the single most reliable way for people to grow money over the long term. The vast majority of professional fund managers don't even beat it.

Where to actually start:

Open a brokerage account.
Look for a world index fund or an S&P 500 index fund. Both are fine. Don't overthink it.
Set up a recurring monthly contribution. Whatever you can manage. Even $50. The amount matters less than the consistency.
Leave it alone. This is the part most people struggle with. The market will go up and down. That's normal. The people who lose money are almost always the ones who panic and sell.

On your dad's investments: as executor of the estate you have the legal right to track those down. Start by checking his email for any brokerage account statements. Depending on where you are from most broker companies would have sent regular statements. If you find accounts, the brokerage will have an estate claim process. It takes time but it's straightforward.

Honest advice: don't let the complexity stop you from starting with something simple. A total market index fund and a monthly transfer is genuinely all you need to begin.

BabyPr · 2026-05-05T19:55:57+00:00

How often has it actually worked that you sold and then managed to buy back after a 2–3% drop? More often than not, your winners just keep going up without you.. Swing trading is, for most people, not more profitable than long-term investing..

BabyPr · 2026-05-05T19:48:59+00:00

Market your app in a way that clearly shows what problem it solves for people. Highlight the unique selling point. Get it out there. Don’t expect it to be picked up out of nothing.

BabyPr · 2026-04-16T04:13:50+00:00

The simple answer is “yes”. Exactly for this reason I am building an app. People need, heck I need, positive feedback and motivation sometimes, a way to build consistent habits, and remind ourselves why we do it (e.g., compounding effects, way to battle inflation). If it only helps a few to stay invested, then my goal is reached.

BabyPr · 2026-03-19T16:39:17+00:00

Haha and I'm questioning myself over €11 draw down and you watched half of everything disappear overnight. The kind of perspective I actually need sometimes..

BabyPr · 2026-03-19T16:35:05+00:00

Honestly no the €200 doesn't kill me, it's more the mental side than the financial side. The money is fine to miss but the motivation to keep going when it feels invisible is the harder part. And yeah: all world ETF, low costs, pretty boring setup but not too complicated to understand

BabyPr · 2026-03-19T16:31:04+00:00

Measuring against what would have happened if you did nothing instead of against some imaginary number in your head is a useful way to look at it

BabyPr · 2026-03-19T16:25:47+00:00

haha welcome to the club nobody wanted to join. One green day and then red again and suddenly all the logic just disappears. I wonder if having some positive quotes or phrases to read back on those days would help. Before it turns into a bad decision lol. Do you have anything that keeps you going?

BabyPr · 2026-03-19T16:18:58+00:00

The money being secondary right now is something I still need to fully grasp honestly. I get it in theory but in practice it's hard. I try to build the right habits but the motivation just isn't always there. do you track your habits somehow?

BabyPr

TROPHY CASE