Why investing in the stock market is fun

I have invested since I was a teen and made a lot of money. However, the return on investment is only one reason I bought and sold stocks. I think I have done this mostly because it is good to clean fun. Yes investing in the stock market is fun.

Reasons the stock market is fun

There are huge psychological rewards from investing:

• You feel like an owner when you buy common stock – If you are buying and selling the great companies of the world you feel as if you are participating in something great. For example, you could put your equity capital towards some biotech company bent on improving humanity. Or you could invest in your favorite computer company like Apple. You feel as though you are an owner. I like buying Disney from time to time as I always have had a good time in their parks. Whatever the reason you purchase a stock, you are an owner. In fact, if you have a lot of money you can accumulate a reasonable amount of ownership capital if it is a small or micro-cap stock and have an influence in the company.
• It is fun to be a winner when you make money in the stock market – The stock market is a positive-sum game, that means there are more winners than losers in the long run. When you purchase a stock and you make a profit you feel smart. In fact often times I make more on one good trade in a month than I do in my day job.
• It s fun to talk to others about your investments – Talking about the stock market is like talking about a hobby. It is a way like-minded people communicate. I have a few friends where we exchange ideas about investing. I love reading books on investing.
• You use your brain and intelligence in a very high-level way when investing – Investing is an art more than a science, however, to be a good investor I think you need to use all parts of your brain. Each person brain is different and has a different style of analysis. There are no experts on life. Many times people with fancy degrees do not have as good returns as a clever person who has a sense of financial markets. This is real-life problem solving and it is another reason why investing is in the stock market is fun.
• Investing is more Nobel and enjoyable than consumption – Warren Buffet may be the richest man on earth but he is not hyper consumptive. In fact, he loves simply the act of investing. He says day to day he lives a modest life and still lives in the same house he was married in 1959. He shops at Wal-Mart and likes to play bridge on the Internet.  However, the difference between himself and many people is not the lifestyle but rather he enjoys investing more than consuming.  This was the idea behind the Puritan work model. Work hard with pleasure and consume little.

I can not think of a better way to spend leisure time than invest in stocks. It is productive, uplifting educational and relaxing (at times). You not only accumulate investment information with experience, but you accrue wisdom. The stock market teaches you about life. You learn to balance risk-taking with moderation and temperance. This is why stock market investing in fun for me.