In the mind of Ben Graham, author of The Intelligent Investor, and teacher of star pupil Warren Buffett, his thinking was to build a margin of safety into a portfolio. In addition, Buffett recalls that Graham taught that it was OK to go against the grain and avoid the crowds. And that being well-rounded in life was good for your body and soul. As my father-in-law Dick Young says, investing is more art than science. And finally, live a life of generosity—that does not necessarily mean with money, but with your time.
In The Intelligent Investor, Graham wrote, “In the old legend the wise men finally boiled down the history of mortal affairs into the single phrase, ‘This too will pass.’ Confronted with a like challenge to distill the secret of sound investment into three words, we venture the motto, MARGIN OF SAFETY.”
Action Line: Safety, as in “margin of safety,” is one of the investing habits of the fairly wealthy. They know it’s sometimes more important to avoid mistakes than to win a bet. You should always try to avoid making the common mistakes in investing. Click here to download my special report on the Top 10 Investing Mistakes to Avoid.
