OK, before you take a “Well, duh!” moment, consider the deeper meaning.
No one likes to lose money. So this isn’t meant to be the obvious.
The trick is to purchase, as Warren Buffet says, “Great Assets (he says companies) at a Good Price, Not Good Assets at a Great Price”.
The other meaning in the Don’t Lose Money is
- Don’t speculate.
- Don’t gamble.
- Purchase within your knowledge
This also requires risk management. Have entry and exit points defined. Know how much you are willing to spend. How much the asset can decrease (stock price fall, real estate price fall, etc). At the same time, you should have an upside exit planned as well.
You shouldn’t invest in something without doing some research.
- What is the normal price fluctuation
- daily
- weekly
- monthly
- yearly
- What is the geo-political risk of that investment
- What are the regulatory risks to that investment
- What are the social risks to that investment