Written by marcuss 

It’s a week until 2018… and that means it’s time to start thinking of ways to better yourself – and your portfolio.

So here are three can’t-miss investment resolutions for 2018…

Resolution 1: Get in touch with your feelings… about money

It may sound obvious, but you need to like money in order to get more money. If – deep inside – you feel having a lot of money means you’re selfish or greedy, or if you think money is a little dirty or somehow naughty, guess what? You’re probably never going to be rich, or stay rich. If on some level you don’t like money, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a lot of it.

The reason for this is because your emotions, consciously or unconsciously, will get in the way of your path to riches. That voice in your head saying money is bad is going to stand in your way – it could be the biggest barrier to wealth of all.

To find out how you really feel about money, ask yourself if you’ve ever had thoughts like:

  • Money is the “root of all evil.”
  • Making money takes too much time and effort.
  • If I want money too badly, other people will think I’m shallow.
  • Money doesn’t buy you happiness.
  • If you’ve ever felt this way, your attitude towards money may be getting in the way of making more money. Rich people don’t have mixed feelings about money. They wouldn’t be rich if they did.

    So stop and think about your real attitude toward money. In the new year, you may need to decide to embrace money and believe that “money is good.” Getting more of it will be a lot easier.

    Resolution 2: Confront your biases – and defeat them

    Unfortunately, there are a lot of other ways that your brain can get in the way of being a successful investor.

    The number of investment pitfalls, or cognitive biases, that can affect investment decisions is huge. Many thick books have been written on the subject. I’ve written extensively about them.