If I say finance is pretty much a mind game, would you agree? You are financially as fit as you manage the balance between your income and spending. Your future will also depend on how well you manage risk to get higher return of your investment. Saving the money in retirement account or going for an expensive vacation is all about mind game. Similarly buying individual stock vs. buying index fund is also a mind game.

So, when you start with online stock trading, how well you’ll perform depends on how well you play this mind game. Resisting temptation to buy one particular stock, which may be a risky decision, is a difficult mind battle you’ll have to win. One of my biggest financial mistake was to repeatedly invest in a falling stock, which ultimately went for bankruptcy.