%%bloglink%%
I love to go out to eat for lunch.
First of all I enjoy food. Secondly, no matter what I’m hungry for (healthy food, fried food, etc.) I know exactly what restaurant around my office to go to and what to order. Some of these places are Mom-and-Pop types and some are chain restaurants.
I’ve also discovered, from trial and error, what restaurants serve fresh food throughout the day and what restaurants to avoid if you’re having a late lunch because the only food they seem to serve tastes as if it was cooked hours ago and left to dehydrate under heat lamps.
All this knowledge, however, is essentially useless when I’m traveling. I don’t know if that Mom-and-Pop diner serves meatloaf or mystery meat and no way am I eating sushi when the nearest ocean is hours away. The only places I feel safe eating at while on the road are chain restaurants. The food may not be that good but what it lacks in taste it makes up for in consistency.
These lessons work for investing as well.
When it comes to eating lunch, my comfort zone is restaurants located around my office. When it comes to investing, my comfort zones are bonds and stocks of large U.S. companies. I know where to invest in this comfort zone if I’m looking for growth and where to invest if I’m looking for income.
Just as I’ve never been as pleased with the results when I eat at a chain restaurant on the road as I am when I eat at my favorite restaurant around my office, I’ve never been as pleased with the results or as comfortable with the ups and downs when I invest outside of my zone, but then again I’ve only ever invested in mutual funds from well known fund families (the investment world’s version of chain restaurants) that seem to spend more time and energy on advertising than on generating returns.
What about you?
Do your eating habits change when you travel?
Do your investing habits change when cycles change?
