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You are here: Home / 2025 / Archives for February 2025

Archives for February 2025

The Psychology of Investing #8: The Cost of Holding On

A quick announcement before I begin today’s post – 

My new book, Boundless, is now available for ordering!

After a wonderful response during the pre-order phase, I finally have the book in my hands and am shipping it out quickly. If you’d like to get your copy, click here to order now. You can also enjoy lower prices on multiple-copy orders.

Plus, I’m offering a special combo discount if you order Boundless along with my first book, The Sketchbook of Wisdom. Click here to order your set.


The Internet is brimming with resources that proclaim, “nearly everything you believed about investing is incorrect.” However, there are far fewer that aim to help you become a better investor by revealing that “much of what you think you know about yourself is inaccurate.” In this series of posts on the psychology of investing, I will take you through the journey of the biggest psychological flaws we suffer from that causes us to make dumb mistakes in investing. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.


There’s a peculiar thing about human nature—we struggle to let go. We hold on to old clothes that no longer fit, relationships that have long since lost their warmth, and ideas that no longer serve us. We tell ourselves that we’ve already invested too much—maybe time, or money, or ourselves—to simply walk away. 

And like all of our quirkiness, even this reluctance to let go is deeply wired into us. Behavioural psychologists call it ‘loss aversion‘, which is the tendency to fear losses far more than we appreciate gains. It explains why people stay in jobs they dislike, why gamblers keep doubling down, and why investors often refuse to accept the obvious.

[Read more…] about The Psychology of Investing #8: The Cost of Holding On

My Notes on Warren Buffett’s 2024 Letter to Shareholders

A quick announcement before I begin today’s post – My new book, Boundless, is now available for ordering!

After a wonderful response during the pre-order phase, I finally have the book in my hands and am shipping it out quickly. If you’d like to get your copy, click here to order now.

Plus, I’m offering a special combo discount if you order Boundless along with my first book, The Sketchbook of Wisdom. Click here to order your set.


Warren Buffett recently published his 2024 letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Lots of lessons, as usual, but the one point that stands out to me is his update on this year’s AGM in Omaha, where he’ll be seen for a much shorter time than normal.

As I wrote earlier, I made the journey to Omaha last year. For years, I had put it off. There was always a reason. But deep down, I knew that if I didn’t go, I would regret it. So I went. It was about sitting in that arena, feeling the energy of over 30,000 people who had traveled from all over the world—not just to hear stock market advice, but to absorb a philosophy. A way of thinking. A way of living.

It was about seeing Buffett, who along with Charlie, had built an empire on good decisions, common sense, and an unwavering commitment to rationality.

It was about looking at him and realising that, despite his wealth, what made him truly rich was something else—his principles, and his ability to keep playing the game he loved for so long.

Charlie’s passing in 2023 was the first hard reminder that this era is ending. Buffett’s words in this letter (“disbanding the meeting earlier than regular time”) feel like the second.

Buffett has spent his life teaching people how to think about money, but the deeper lesson for me has always been about “time.”

Money, if you invest wisely, can always be earned back. Time cannot.

My mind says (heart doesn’t agree) that this year may be Buffett’s last AGM. Or maybe he’ll surprise us all and keep going. But whether this is the last time or not, personally for me, his message remains the same: Do not waste time. Do not defer what matters. Do not let life slip by while waiting for the perfect moment. In investing, in learning, in living—act with conviction.

Because at the end of the day, the biggest risk isn’t losing money. It’s looking back and realising you never truly lived.

Anyway, I have prepared some notes on Buffett’s 2024 letter. Click here to read my notes.


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With respect,
– Vishal


The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life.

This is a masterpiece.

– Morgan Housel, Author, The Psychology of Money

Get Your Copy Now

13 Thoughts to Survive and Grow Through a Market Fall

A quick announcement before I begin today’s post – My new book, Boundless, is now available for ordering!

After a wonderful response during the pre-order phase, I finally have the book in my hands and am shipping it out quickly. If you’d like to get your copy, click here to order now. You can also claim a special discount if you order before 20th Feb. 2025.

Plus, I’m offering a special combo discount if you order Boundless along with my first book, The Sketchbook of Wisdom. Click here to order your set.


Let me start with a simple truth today, and it is that investing is not easy. Not because the math is complicated, but because it tests your mind (and keeps testing). It pushes your emotions to the limit and forces you to battle your instincts.

And so, today, I want to share with you 13 thoughts that I am thinking about in the current market fall. These thoughts have evolved over my experience of being an investor over the past 20+ years and seeing several such and even worse market downturns. And, to say the least, these have shaped the way I approach investing at all times.

If you’re just starting out as an investor, these reflections could be even more valuable. They may help you avoid the costly mistakes that many of us learn the hard way.

Let’s start.

[Read more…] about 13 Thoughts to Survive and Grow Through a Market Fall

How to Pass the Stock Market’s Stress Test

A quick announcement before I begin today’s post – My new book, Boundless, is now available for ordering!

After a wonderful response during the pre-order phase, I finally have the book in my hands and am shipping it out quickly. If you’d like to get your copy, click here to order now. You can also claim a special discount if you order before 20th Feb. 2025.

Plus, I’m offering a special combo discount if you order Boundless along with my first book, The Sketchbook of Wisdom. Click here to order your set.


A lot has been written about the turmoil in the Indian stock markets over the past few months. To be precise, the BSE-Sensex has dropped by 11% in the last five months, while the small-cap and mid-cap indices are down around 18% each.

Social media is full of panic posts, and your WhatsApp groups probably have more ‘expert advice’ than a financial conference.

But the thing is that this fall, like any, is not just a financial event. It’s an emotional stress test. And today, I share ways you can pass it.

[Read more…] about How to Pass the Stock Market’s Stress Test

Letter to A Young Investor #8: Beware the Money Trap

A quick announcement before I begin today’s post – My new book, Boundless, is now available for ordering!

After a wonderful response during the pre-order phase, I finally have the book in my hands and am shipping it out quickly. If you’d like to get your copy, click here to order now. You can also enjoy lower prices on multiple-copy orders.

Plus, I’m offering a special combo discount if you order Boundless along with my first book, The Sketchbook of Wisdom. Click here to order your set.


I am writing this series of letters on the art of investing, addressed to a young investor, with the aim to provide timeless wisdom and practical advice that helped me when I was starting out. My goal is to help young investors navigate the complexities of the financial world, avoid misinformation, and harness the power of compounding by starting early with the right principles and actions. This series is part of a joint investor education initiative between Safal Niveshak and DSP Mutual Fund.


Dear Young Investor,

I hope you are doing well, and that the lessons we have covered so far have helped you in guiding you through the early stages of your investing journey.

In today’s letter, I wanted to take a bit of a detour and talk about something you might not expect to hear from someone who writes about investing.

It’s that money is a trap.

Of course, not a trap that keeps you poor, but one that gets hold of you after you have enough. The one that convinces you that more is always better, that financial success is the ultimate goal, that the next zero in your bank account will finally make you feel complete.

It’s a cruel joke.

One that many only realize too late—when they have everything they ever wanted, and yet, somehow, it’s still not enough.

You see, we’re sold this idea from childhood—study hard, work smart, climb the ladder, and one day, you’ll have enough money to be free. 

Free from stress, free from obligations, free from anything that feels like work.

But what happens when you reach that point and still feel empty?

[Read more…] about Letter to A Young Investor #8: Beware the Money Trap

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