Why we find it so difficult to invest

Better to let it stay?
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Why we find it so difficult to invest

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Investing money – an annoying topic for many. But we can motivate ourselves with a few simple tricks. Photo: Christin Klose / dpa-tmn

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Ludwigshafen Do you know that? At the beginning of the year, we always resolve to finally tackle old-age provision. And then everything stays where it is. Does the investment really have to be that difficult?

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Drink less alcohol, lose weight, do more sport, take time for the children – time and again we set ourselves goals at the beginning of a new year. Often with them: finally taking care of retirement provision.

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But that’s exactly where we regularly fail. “Actually, we all want to grow old,” says Prof. Hartmut Walz, behavioral economist at the University of Ludwigshafen am Rhein. “But we don’t want to think about old age.” The subject of old-age provision is very important. Finally, the legal Interest for most of them they are barely enough to maintain their standard of living.

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Ambivalent relationship to money

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“Our relationship to money is very ambivalent,” Monika Müller explains the phenomenon. “On the one hand we want it, we fight for it,” says the financial psychologist from Wiesbaden. “On the other hand, it’s also a forbidden topic. We don’t talk openly about money. “

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“The meaning of money is complex and also very individual,” says investment advisor Andreas Görler from Berlin. For everyone it means something different, depending on their social characteristics, their internalized beliefs and their life situation.

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According to Monika Müller, money is also an individual projection surface: while one person sees it as freedom or security, for the other it means tension or dirt. “And this ambivalence alone often stops the motivation to deal with the topic,” says the financial psychologist.

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In addition, we often have respect for finances. After all, not everyone was born with a passion for mathematics, and by no means all of them studied business administration or economics. In addition, the range of financial and pension products is confusing. And the products themselves are often terribly complicated – despite all the information sheets.

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“Many are simply afraid of doing something wrong,” explains Prof. Walz. “And that’s why they just don’t do anything.” Scientists also describe this phenomenon as Omission Bias. The action is subjectively viewed as riskier than not doing.

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Make yourself aware of the problem

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How do we get out of this dilemma? For Monika Müller it is clear: First and foremost, an awareness of the problem must be created. “What do I associate with money?” Asks Müller. “I have to try to answer that once.” A lot can be deduced from this. “If money means above all security, it also plays a role in the product selection.”

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Second step: resolve projections. “Take the momentum away from the money,” says Müller. “Feel what happens when you say to yourself, for example: I am safe – with and without money.” Those who internalize this can dissolve the tension surrounding the topic.

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Transparency and regularity

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Once you have made this start, the next step is not that difficult. “First of all, it is important to create an objective overview of your own income and expenses,” advises investment advisor Görler. Because this is the only way to realize how much money you can save. “A simple spreadsheet or a household book is helpful. So you always have an orientation about the current financial situation. “

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Second step: “Keep your investment simple,” advises Prof. Walz. “It usually gets complicated by itself over the years.” It’s best to save regularly. For example, capital-building benefits or savings plans are suitable for entry. In the beginning it is better to set slightly smaller goals that can also be achieved.

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Anyone who wants to achieve something in the long term can hardly ignore stocks at the moment. But we often have respect for the stock market. Right? No, thinks asset manager Andreas Feldmann from Cologne.

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After all, the stock corporations listed on the stock exchanges are real companies that accompany us in everyday life: online platforms through which we order goods, sporting goods manufacturers whose shoes we wear, or pharmaceutical manufacturers whose medicines make us healthy. “Participation in all of this via shares then appears significantly less mysterious or dangerous, but rather logical and sensible.”

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Stefanie Kühn, Markus Kühn: “Investment for Beginners”, Stiftung Warentest 2020, 19.90 euros, ISBN-13: 978-3-7471-0223-7

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Hartmut Walz: “Simply brilliant decisions in the event of a financial crisis”, Haufe, 1st edition 2020, 210 pages, 19.95 euros, ISBN-13: 978-3-648-13758-1

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Martin Weber et al: “The ingeniously simple asset strategy – how to achieve financial independence”, Campus Verlag 2020, 255 pages, 27.95 euros, ISBN-13: 978-3-593-51238-9

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Beate Sander: “Der Aktien und Börsenführerschein”, Finanzbuchverlag 2020, 367 pages, ISBN-13: 978-3-95972-279-7, 29.90 euros

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Brigitte Wallstabe-Watermann et al: “Investing with ETF – investing money comfortably with ETF and index funds”, Stiftung Warentest 2020, 176 pages, ISBN-13: 978-3-7471-0128-5, 19.90 euros

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BVI pension gap calculator

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