Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

We don’t care about money deposited in the bank. If we ask the bank for money, I believe they will certainly return my funds. However, as shown by Lehman Brothers ’  bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis, banks cannot guarantee 100% of depositors’ money. In South Korea, according to the Depositor Protection Act, only 100 million won (about USD 71,000) is protected, including principal and interest per person. Anything beyond that is actually at risk. In other words, money deposited in the bank is vulnerable to losing the principal. Investing means willingly accepting the risk of losing the principal while seeking profit. Whether we like it or not, we are always investing in our daily lives. Just because a risk doesn’t materialize doesn’t mean it’s gone. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In business, the term ‘business funds (capital)’ has two very important meanings. One refers to the initial resources of the business and serves as the standard for measuring profit, while the other indicates that the owner of the business funds owns the business. If the profit rate is high, it shows the business is strong, and the amount and type of business funds needed depend on its size or nature. To start a large-scale business, you need substantial funds. If your funds are not enough, you will have to borrow from someone else or close the business. Until you pay it back, it’s not truly your own business. Business funds reveal everything about the business. In other words, the source is capital, meaning ‘root.’ It’s false to claim the business was successful without any of its own funds. A business must have some form of funds—cash or otherwise—to survive. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The most important rule in investing is not to lose your initial capital. Making money comes later. If you lose 50% of your principal, the loss rate is 50%, but to recover that principal, you need a 100% return. This is because the baseline of your return—the principal—has already been halved. Many people tend to think that if they’ve lost 50%, they only need a 50% return to break even. However, this is a misunderstanding of the starting point. In investing, the baseline is always the original principal. The principal after a loss is no longer the same; it’s already in the past. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Investing in stocks isn ’ t only about buying and selling shares on the public stock market. One way to invest in stocks is by improving a company’s performance and helping it grow. In fact, this is a more fundamental approach to stock investing. In other words, both trading stocks and managing the company are ways to invest. Buying and selling a company ’ s stock involves trading its shares because stocks indicate that profits will be shared and signify ownership. When a company is well-managed and performs strongly, its stock price rises. The company’s value is reflected in its stock price, making effective management a crucial part of investing in stocks. It doesn’t matter if the investor is inside or outside the company—managers need to understand the core of what they are doing. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Just as there is a distinction between rich and poor, there are also wealthy and impoverished thoughts. If you think poorly, you become poor. The mark of impoverished thinking is dwelling on the past instead of embracing the present. It’s said that the past was better, unable to accept the progress of the current system. When comparing the two, people often value what is familiar more than what is better. As a result, they make a less favorable choice and justify it. There is a pitfall in familiarity. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Investment techniques involve converting labor income into financial income. In other words, it means purchasing an asset with money earned through labor so that the asset generates profit. But since assets are inanimate, how can they produce income? The answer is that you can profit from an asset’s changing value. You cannot profit if the value remains constant. If there were no volatility in assets, people would have to rely solely on labor to earn money. The issue is that you don’t buy assets that increase in value; you buy assets that decrease in value. Therefore, if you lack the perspective to judge the world, you should abandon the dream of building wealth through assets. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

There comes a point when humans can’t earn money from their labor. Whether it’s because we’re old enough to retire or we’re unable to work due to a disability, it’s simply a matter of timing, and the moment we must stop earning from our work has already been determined. That’s why we need to choose to become either investors or unemployed someday. Then, it’s beneficial to understand and actually practice investing while we are able to work. Working hard is good, but how we live our lives is more important. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”