7 excuses that keep you poor — and why none of them are true
July 7, 2025
5 min read
arvy's Teaser: You know you should invest. You've heard it a hundred times. And yet you don't. Why? Because an inner voice is telling you one of these seven excuses. They sound reasonable. They feel smart. But they're costing you tens of thousands — and not a single one is true.
Excuse #1: "I Don't Earn Enough"
Why it feels true: You live in Switzerland, everything's expensive, there's not much left at the end of the month. Investing — that's for people with lots of money, right?
Why it's wrong: You don't need CHF 10,000 to start. You need CHF 1. Literally. And if you invest CHF 100 or CHF 200 a month — consistently, over years — it becomes a fortune.
CHF 150/month × 30 years × 6% return = CHF 151,000
Of that, deposited: CHF 54,000. The rest is compound interest.
You say "I don't earn enough" — but you're probably paying CHF 150/month for subscriptions you don't use. The question isn't whether you can afford to invest. The question is whether you can afford not to.
Excuse #2: "The Market Is Too High Right Now"
Why it feels true: The news talks about all-time highs. "It's never been this expensive." If you buy now, you're buying at the peak and it'll only go down from here. Logical, right?
Why it's wrong: All-time highs are normal. The stock market has hit new all-time highs thousands of times over the past 100 years. And after each one, another eventually followed. Anyone who waited at every all-time high never invested.
Here's the statistic that changes everything: studies show that someone who consistently invested on the worst day of every year performed only marginally worse over 30 years than someone who always invested on the best day. The difference: a few percent. The real loser? The person who didn't invest at all.
"Time in the market beats timing the market — always."
Excuse #3: "I Don't Understand Enough"
Why it feels true: Stocks, ETFs, conversion rates, rebalancing, P/E ratios — you don't understand half the terms. How are you supposed to make a good decision?
Why it's wrong: You don't need to understand everything to start. You need to understand exactly three things:
First: companies create value, and as an investor you own a share of it. Second: over long periods, the global economy grows, and your wealth grows with it. Third: the earlier you start, the more you benefit from compound interest.
Everything else you learn along the way. And learning with real money is a thousand times more valuable than theoretical study. Start small and grow with your knowledge.
By the way: nobody understands "enough." Even Warren Buffett says he doesn't understand most companies. The difference: he invests anyway — in the few he does understand. That's exactly what quality investing is.
Excuse #4: "Investing Is Gambling"
Why it feels true: You hear about people who lost everything. Crypto crashes. Meme stocks. "The rich get richer and the little guys lose." Sounds like a casino.
Why it's wrong: Speculating is gambling. Investing is the opposite. The difference:
Speculating means: you buy something and hope the price goes up. You don't know why, you don't know what you're buying, you're betting.
Investing means: you buy a share of a real company that sells real products, generates real profits, and pays real dividends. Nestlé won't disappear tomorrow. Visa won't stop processing payments tomorrow. That's not gambling — it's participation in the economy.
The stock market has risen over every 15-year period in history. No casino in the world can claim that.
Excuse #5: "I'm Waiting for the Crash"
Why it feels true: The next crash will come eventually. If you buy then, you buy cheap. Makes sense.
Why it's wrong: Nobody knows when the crash is coming. And historically: even if you'd invested in 2007 — right before the biggest financial crisis of our generation — you'd have been in profit 5 years later. Massively in profit after 10 years.
But here's what actually happens when you "wait for the crash": you wait. And wait. And wait. The crash comes — and you don't buy because you're afraid it'll fall further. Then the market recovers — and you wait for the next crash. You're never invested. Never.
Example: Anyone who invested CHF 50,000 in early 2020 — in the middle of the Covid panic — had over CHF 80,000 by end of 2024. Anyone who waited until "it was safe" missed most of the recovery. The best market days almost always come right after the worst ones.
Excuse #6: "My Bank Advisor Says I Should Save First"
Why it feels true: The advisor is a professional. They have an office and a tie. They must know.
Why it's wrong: Your bank advisor earns money when you buy bank products — not when you make the best decision for yourself. "Save first" sounds sensible but in practice means: your money sits in an account earning 0.3% interest while inflation erodes 1–2% of its value each year. You're "saving" yourself poor.
The smart alternative: do both simultaneously. An emergency fund of 3–6 months' expenses in your savings account. The rest: invested. You don't need CHF 100,000 in savings before you're "allowed" to start. (→ Budget Guide)
Excuse #7: "I'll Start Next Year"
Why it feels true: Next year you'll earn more. Next year you'll understand more. Next year the market will be better. Next year, next year, next year.
Why it's the most expensive excuse of all:
What a single year of waiting costs
CHF 500/month, 6% return, 30 years = CHF 503,000
CHF 500/month, 6% return, 29 years = CHF 469,000
A single year of waiting: CHF 34,000 less.
5 years of waiting: CHF 145,000 less.
No fee comparison in the world can compensate for that.
"Next year" will never come, because next year always has another "next year." The only moment that counts is now.
The Real Risk Is Doing Nothing
We always talk about the risk of investing. But nobody talks about the risk of not investing:
Your money loses 1–2% of purchasing power every year through inflation. Your savings account doesn't compensate. Over 20 years, that's a 20–40% loss in value — without you ever "losing" a single franc. The money is still there, but it buys less and less.
Meanwhile, a broadly invested portfolio historically doubles every 10–12 years. Anyone who doesn't invest isn't just missing returns — they're actively getting poorer, every day, slowly, invisibly.
"The biggest danger isn't that you invest and things go badly. The biggest danger is that you don't invest and only notice at 60."
Which excuse is still holding you back?
Start with CHF 1. Today. Not perfect, but started. Quality Investing, real companies, real people by your side. The journey begins now.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Past returns are not an indicator of future results. All investments carry risks. Historical data is based on the MSCI World Index and does not account for fees or taxes. arvy is a FINMA-regulated asset manager.
