All you people that think you're awesome and like spending hours every day/week/month scrutinizing multiple sources and making frequent trades - or think it's a better idea to pay a premium for some stranger to do it for you... well, you just keep doing whatever makes you happy even if it does require more money/work/attention than index investing.
I’m not sure exactly who/what you’re replying to but that’s not really the purpose of this thread at all, at least certainly not the intention. I’m not suggesting people solely pick stocks and spend all of their time researching said stocks.
From your original posting:
I would say everyone should have a "boring" portfolio just for possible rainy days (enough to cover basic expenses) but should also be heavily thinking about alternative avenues of investments like real estate, private lending, startups, (don't shoot me) individual stocks, etc...So again, I say: Nope, don't agree with your basic premise. There is no reason at all (other than you find them personally interesting/entertaining) to veer off into alternative streams like real estate or startups, especially once you are FIREd or "rich." It really is a waste of time unless you're getting some other thrill or excitement from pursuing those types of investments. Index investing is safe, elegant and boring, and will provide a pretty much fail-safe way to live out the rest of one's days without having to worry about money.
And there is the whole concept of having enough. I'm not greedy. I just want security, and to understand the workings of my investments and pretty much not think of them more than a few times a year when I need to rebalance or pull out money for expenses. And I have both of those, and I also have "enough" and will be heading into "abundance" within the next couple of decades.
I'm currently on track to die with over 15 million in assets if I live out my natural lifespan, and that is counting on the market conservatively follows it basic upwards movement, with lots of crashes and corrections along the way. Why on earth would I waste more of my very limited on this earth time trying to push that to 30 or 40 million? I could never in my wildest dreams spend even a quarter of that, and I'm already leaving everything to charity when I go.
It is ridiculous to me for anyone to say that we need to be doing anything else, unless the pursuit of even more money main focus in life. If that's your main hobby, go for it. But it isn't necessary, or even really the best move if you want to go live your life and do stuff without actually obsessing over money. ;)
Sorry to get off on such a tangent. I was just really shocked by the fact that you said it takes lots of work to start a small business when I can almost guarantee it takes much more work/time to prepare yourself to work for others. And I can likewise guarantee that more people are capable of starting successful businesses than they think. The problem is, few people are willing to take chances so they’ll never know. That's the purpose of this thread.
It is NOT about taking chances or risks. If I wanted to gamble with my money, I'd go to Vegas. But I prefer to get my thrills from my actual hobbies and enjoy myself, and let my money plod along in index investments earning more than I'll ever need.
And frankly, I am pretty sure I could handle a small business; I've freelanced and earned serious dough. But I don't have the temperament to deal with all the bullshit that goes with it and that actually sounds pretty awful an idea to me because of it. So my not taking a risk/chance on going out on my own or taking it a step further, choosing to not invest in some amazing scheme? Sure, I'll never know what might have been. Thing is, I also don't care. Why should that be an issue? As long as a person is happy doing what they're doing and it works well, why veer off and insist that one try something else just because one might be even more happy/successful? At what point do you decide you are happy enough and content enough to just stop chasing after the next big thing?
(and not trying to be a smartass or mean or anything... just putting this stuff out there for consideration)