Have you ever seen the movie “Groundhog Day”? I’m sure a lot of you have, but if not then it’s a movie where Bill Murray’s character is stuck in the same day, day after day, where the same things happen each day. That day is Groundhog day.
(spoiler alert) In the movie Bill Murray’s character is stuck in the same daily cycle of events at the start of the movie, but then he changes things up each day until he finally moves on to the day after Groundhog day. It’s onlt after doing the same day over and over again does he finally figure out how to get out of the day.
Are your finances like Groundhog day?
In a way, you can treat your finances like it’s Groundhog day the movie. You can do the same thing over and over again until you get there. Eventually what you’re doing will get you there. If you compare the movie and how some people invest it can be very similar.
In the movie there are time where Bill Murray’s character tries to kill himself so that he can get out of this never ending repeating day. It doesn’t work because the next day he wakes up on the same day as if nothing ever happened. The day is still repeating, just like world of finance and it’s history is continuing to repeat over and over again for investors that are smart enough to buy, hold, reinvest, and repeat.
If you can get yourself into a repeating pattern on a yearly basis then over time you’ll eventually have that relief with the end of the story, maybe it will be your retirement. Keep chugging along and keep doing what you should do, year after year, and you’ll get there eventually.
It’s ok to make a few mistakes along the way. Maybe you take a couple small risks that may seem like suicide, but you only do it because you know you can afford to lose that money on a big risky investment. When the investment goes sour, you’re okay because you knew there was going to be another “Groundhog day”. You know ahead of time, right now, that if you plan ahead and do things right you can make it through the tough times. When your investments do well you rinse and repeat. Keep it diversified and you’ll be okay.
Doing the same thing over and over is what made Warren Buffet rich. Investing in good companies with good track records for the long term. Each day may seem a little different, but in the end it’s all the same. Keep it simple and keep repeating until you finally get to your end of the movie.