This site’s focus is to provide financial education for independent investors or those who want to be independent investors.  We want to encourage you to learn to think for yourself and understand that being financially educated is your responsibility, as are the decisions you make about your finances.  In today’s society our young people are not taught to be financially savvy, which leaves them especially vulnerable to the high pressure sales pitches from financial institutions.  In fact, much of the “information” the average person is exposed to about the financial world is actually an elaborate sales pitch.  Many otherwise educated, successful, intelligent people are naïve about the world of personal finance. 

 We do not presume to have all the answers.  Actually, much of the “knowledge” about money and investing is only opinion anyway, as no one can foresee the future.  However, The Rational Investors will strive to provide straightforward, honest and simple discussions on the myriad of topics involving personal choice in the investment marketplace.  We do believe that we can add value to your investment choices by helping you to think rationally and independently.  While it is hard for an individual to think rationally about money in most cases, we should at the very least seek to make rational decisions by considering all of the possibilities that are presented for consideration. 

Below is a list of the principles that we have laid out as a foundation to help you in your mission to think and invest rationally.

 1). Personal Responsibility

• Self preservation

• Be fiscally responsible

• Understand how your emotions affect your investment decisions

• Your financial outcome is your own responsibility and you are the one that has to live with the outcome

 2). Research

• Do your own research, do not just take what you are told as fact, regardless of the source

• Think for yourself, no one has a crystal ball

• Remember the lessons of history and its cyclical nature

3). Flexibility

• Volatility of investment classes and vehicles dictate that you need to be flexible

• Remember the rules of taxation and the financial system can always change

• The more barriers between you and your money, the greater the chance it can be taken from you

4). Diversification

• Diversify asset classes

• Diversify the types of investment vehicles

• Do not fall in love with an asset class

5). Sound Money

• We will always revert back to the principles of sound money

• An unbacked currency is inherently unsound and based on trust

• Trust can erode