13 The road goes ever on and on
This chapter covers
- Getting advice
- Realizing knowledge alone doesn’t make you a financial advisor
- Being a digital nomad to get you closer to financial freedom
- Preventing irrational decisions with control measures
- Seeing index funds as the safest choice after all
Congratulations! You made it this far. In this final chapter, we explore possible next steps in your journey to use your programming skills to make wise investment decisions. Some of the discussion is about behavioral finance, as managing yourself is often a central criterion for success. It will complete your view, allowing you to begin your journey.
13.1 Getting advice
Imagine embarking on a journey to a distant country with a different culture, having prepared for it only by reading books. If you’re a frequent traveler, you know that in some countries, you’ll encounter situations that no travel guide can prepare you for. It’s the same with investment. Books don’t provide financial advice on how to deal with specific situations. Investments are time-sensitive. Even if a writer had a good idea about a purchase decision at the time of writing, the decision criteria might have changed when the reader reads that information. This book aims to equip you with the techniques to assess financial assets. The decision to invest—or not—must ultimately be yours.