Ways to convince friends to invest in the market and/or F.I.R.E?

[F.I.R.E User]

I have friends that don’t trust the stock market but are investing in Cryptocurrency only as well having no desire to pay off student loans/CC debt.

Some don’t want to F.I.R.E and want the traditional retirement and don’t invest in plans like 401k.

How can I get them on board?

 

[pb4uski]

You probably can't.

 

[njhowie]

You shouldn't. Focus on your own situation and doing what you know is right for you. Everyone makes his/her own decision and lives with the outcomes.

 

[travelover]

Horse to water and all that. Better to spend your energies on people that want your help.

 

[target2019]

I have friends that don’t trust the stock market but are investing in Cryptocurrency only as well having no desire to pay off student loans/CC debt.

Some don’t want to F.I.R.E and want the traditional retirement and don’t invest in plans like 401k.

How can I get them on board?

You'll find new friends on a different train.

 

[Aerides]

if you want to stay friends with them, you never bring it up again.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

You'll find new friends on a different train.

Sure but these are friends from my junior high and high school. Some different goals than I.

 

[RobbieB]

Let them do what they want to do.

 

[Bigdawg]

Let them do what they want to do.

^This

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Advice is often given but rarely taken. Don't waste your breath or time. Just had the same scenario this weekend. Let them them do them.

 

[GreenEggs]

There aren't many topics that I'm not willing to discuss with friends or strangers. Financial topics aren't particularly difficult to discuss. I'm never trying to "sell" my opinions or views, just sharing what I've heard or learned. Take it or leave it, it's not a debate or an argument.

I'd much rather chat about financial topics than hear about your medical conditions or last procedure!

 

[Markola]

If you are a saver and investor, sooner or later, you learn to embrace being a freak. It’s liberating! Don’t worry, your friends will muddle through, like everyone else does.

 

[kgtest]

Sometimes its as simple as me asking, do you own stocks? and make a general bull/bear remark depending on the circumstance. if the answer is striaght out NO. I mgiht invite them to participate with an IRA on the backs of a comment like "my wife and I have been blessed with the returns".

Or I might just say nothing to my "friend"... as they might not think it was friendly. Depends on which....friend.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I think you could certainly suggest they watch a few videos on the subject. They may or may not follow thru but unlike others here I feel it's worth a try. I wish someone had tried to when I was younger. All I remember hearing was why bother were never gonna be able to afford to retire. Well retirement is going to happen for most of us and it's better to start planning for it now.
I especially like this video as it shows how important it is to start early. The more time you have to let things compound the less daunting it seems to reach a goal of a secure retirement.

https://youtu.be/iQbfLrVNd6I

Good luck and hope you can make a difference.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Let them do what they want to do.

I want them to have a good future. They are in their 30s and 40s.

 

[RunningBum]

Have you tried bombarding them with a bunch of one line questions?

Seriously, it's none of your business.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Have you tried bombarding them with a bunch of one line questions?

Seriously, it's none of your business.

I see what you did there. LOL.

Sure, it’s not my but they do share their finances.

 

[RobbieB]

When I was early 30's I thought I'd get rich buying penny stocks. Lost 25 grand. But I learned.

They'll probably learn too.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

When I was early 30's I thought I'd get rich buying penny stocks. Lost 25 grand. But I learned.

They'll probably learn too.

Is it mostly the Gen-Z that are promoting Crypto on social media?

 

[mystang52]

Unsolicited advice is virtually never heeded. At least when it comes to finances, even solicited advice tends to be ignored if it's not what the questioner wants to hear. Save your breath unless asked. If asked, keep the answer short and sweet, and offer details if they ask further; don't expect them to follow up.

 

[jollystomper]

You cannot convince them. They will have to convince themselves. When things are going well financially, most people think they are geniuses. When things go badly financially, few want to admit they have made mistakes. All you can do in the meantime (IMHO) is to be prepared to answer questions about your own situation when asked, and explain why you have chosen the path you have.

 

[Yoheadden]

Unfortunately, I’d have to agree with everyone here. Not because we don’t care, but have been there too many times. At some point, you just have to wash your hands of trying to help people, who don’t want to be helped.

 

[Time2]

You may just want to forget about it. If they bought Bitcoin a year ago, they are up over 400%. They probably wonder why you would be happy with 14%! No, I don't own any cryptocurrency.

 

[MRG]

At least they are investing in something. I have family that inherited a sum that would have been life changing for them. Think they bought some new cars.

 

[Andre1969]

I learned my lesson on investing advice awhile back. A former friend of mine worked for some kind of bio-medical-whatever type of company. He had a 401k with them, but knew nothing about investing, so it was all going into a money market account. I told him he should at least put a little bit into his company's stock. Not a huge amount, but just enough that if he lost it all, it wouldn't hurt him, but if it took off he'd be happy he did.

Well, he did it, and was even able to get it at a slight discount through some program his company was offering. Well, it seemed like as soon as he bought it, it went nowhere but down. And then he got fired. We pretty much ended the friendship about 4 or 5 months later (not because of the stock; we just had different viewpoints on life and such).

I always felt bad that he bought that stock, based on my recommendation. I don't know if he ever sold it or not. I guess one consolation though is that he bought it around $30/share; I just checked it and it's around $23/share now. So if he still has it, he's lost money, but not totally wiped out. And, this guy is 35 now, so still young enough to recover in the long run. I'm hoping at least he's started investing in something other than the money market fund, though.

If I had recommended that he put it into an SP500 fund instead, I imagine it would have easily doubled in that timeframe. But, hindsight is always 20/20!