A couple of years or so ago, I realized that if I wanted to keep my business small and my clients cool, I was going to have to learn how to make more from less, savingswise. So I bought a couple books and learned enough to be conversant in the ways of Wall Street. Now I can attend any party north of 59 St (on the east side) and talk about stocks and bonds with confidence and nuance.

There’s much to learn, but the key takeaway point was this: you are too stupid to be any good at this. And it’s a fairly wise point! Sure, the idiot jocks from college are the only people you know in finance, but the truth is that they’re still entry level. Their bosses are actually pretty sharp. And I don’t need to tell you that even they seem to f*ck things up fairly regularly. So if they can’t beat the market, why you think you can?

Tip #4: Eschew Market Timing. That means, decide how much you’re going to invest on a regular basis, have a plan, and stick to it through thick and thin. A couple months ago, when the market tanked, I thought “what a bargain!” and nearly put a bunch of money in. And then it fell further. See? I don’t know anything.

So while I am not a licensed financial advisor, and you should not take anything I say seriously, know that at the very least Andrew Sloat will be disappointed if you pull all your money out of the market right now (or put all your money in).