How do You Cope with the Guilt of Losing Money?

Money is lost in two general ways. Either you make bad investment decisions on your own, which may be based upon your not thinking trough all potential pitfalls, not having sufficient knowledge or ability to make an intelligent investment decision or blindly rely upon what others tell you which ends up being false because it is just a downright lie or because the whole truth is not presented. In either case, the result is the same. Money is lost.

Investment losses foster feelings of frustration, anger, foolishness and guilt. These emotions exist whether you are retired, a homemaker, a working doctor, lawyer, business person or laborer. “How did I not see that I was being lied to?” “How could I have been so foolish?” How can I tell my business or life partner what I have done?” How do I cope with this loss?” It is not easy. You do the best that you can. But, you have to do something.

Hindsight is the greatest investor. Hindsight is 20 -20. But what good does it do you? None. The biggest issue that I see arise in circumstances such as are being discussed is the need for the investor to physiologically come to grips with what has happened and how it has affected your life. Brooding is not going to make anything better. Taking action will. Realize that you might have played a part in what happened but that the loss was not completely caused by you. More likely than not, fraudsters came across you at a vulnerable time in your life and took advantage of it. Successful fraudsters are pros at this. Their job is to separate you from as much of your money as they can. Fraudsters have no conscious. This is what fraud is all about. Fraudsters get off on doing this. It creates a high for them. They could care less what happens to you.

Another thing to remember is that as an average person you deal with people as you would want and expect someone to deal with you. You tell the truth. Fraudsters and sales people do not always look at things the same way. They are trying to get you to do something that is economically going to benefit them. They will tell you what you want to hear and because you want to hear it you believe it. As I have told many professionals, it does not make any difference how smart you are, if you are not told the truth what difference does it make. How can you make an intelligent investment decision.

Once losses are suffered, it is important to take immediate action. The longer that you wait the less likely it is that you will be able to recover some or all of your losses. For your emotional piece of mind and economic benefit, the sooner that you discuss you particular situation with a professional, the better you will be able to assess your culpability and, how, if at all, it will effect your chance to recover your investment losses. The fraudsters are betting on your gridlock. They are betting of the fact that they have so totally destroyed you that you will not take any action against them. They got you once. Don’t let them do it again.