"Nothing is more persuasive than the opinion you desperately want to believe is true," Morgan Housel.

If you had to ruin a first date in under 60 seconds, how would you do it?

Perhaps you would repeatedly call them by the wrong name, or maybe you could spill your drink all over their outfit.

But the guaranteed, foolproof method for making sure you don't get a second date?

Insult your companion's deeply-held religious beliefs.

People treasure there religious beliefs so much that the moment you insult their religion you have are done. You can probably insult them as much as you want but not their religion. Not what they believe or want to believe is true.

Now, I'm not here to preach or talk about religion for this is not a religious blog but more of a financial blog.

In my first blog I talked about learning and investing in Cryptocurrency (read it here) and this week reminded me why I exited my position.

UNDERSTANDING TIMES

Unless you are from mass you already know that we are living in uncertain times. Will Russia drop a nuclear bomb? Is recession finally here? What about the drought situation?

Over the years I have seen people fall into the trap of buying stuff without really understanding the times.

There are times to invest and there are times to sit on your cash and wait.

So many fail to understand this.

THE BELIEVERS

You remember the Quail eggs, fish ponds, Desi or mbuloti maguta maguta?

If there is one thing I have come to understand is that Kenyans are very gullible people and are easy to scam. These are people who easily believe and once they believe, boy oh boy! You can't do nothing about it.

We are a people who believe that we can be rich overnight, we can create the rags to riches stories even without working as long as someone else has done it or is doing it. The believe that if so and so is in this, then it can never go wrong.

Now, don't get me wrong. We are a deeply religious people and believing is a part of that so that's what and who we are.

However, before you invest in anything or you believe in any investment scheme, ask yourself, I'm I a trader or and Investor?

TRADER VS INVESTOR

I entered the crypto space as an investor or should I say a HODLer. I was in it for the long run. Start small and be the next Warren Buffet kind of investor. However, as I continued to research and interact with traders online, I became aware that I could not hold for long.

Today I see so many people buying 50*100 plots left right and center without the slightest clue of what they are doing. Many will tell you that land does not depreciate but ask those who were there in 1929 during the Great Depression or during the 2008 Recession. My uncle bought a plot cheaply somewhere and the place has remained the same since 2012. When President Ruto said he was taking the port operations back to Mombasa, land prices around the inland container deport plummeted.

Question when buying land should be: Where are you buying that plot and what's your reason for buying? Do you want to trade or are you in for the long run?

Same with stocks and shares. Before buying those KPLC shares remember there was Uchumi and Kenya Airways that went down with investors money. There is Safaricom, EABL and Kakuzi which have seen investors laugh all they way to the bank.

I know you are a religious lot and you will swear by the investment you make. You will not want to hear others 'trash' it. However, you need to learn to disengage.

Be a trader when making financial decisions. Believe that you can lose money only that if you have to lose, then lose a small percentage.

Learn to read the times and exit as early as you can.

Have an exit strategy with any investment you make.

Enjoy your weekend good people. Peace.