In a few weeks (hopefully sooner), I’ll be debuting a series on investing by a new blogger who’s generously offered to teach me and the other investing ignoramuses all about the foundations of investing. I’m really looking forward to this because it’s definitely a facet of personal finance that I just don’t get but need to. Because, you know, it’s kind of important if I want to have money later on. That’s not just from savings. So I’m totally stoked for this series.

In the meantime, I wanted to share that, although I still sit firmly on the “I don’t understand investing” side of things, I have picked up a few tips since I made that confession. Before you investing smarty pants get all excited that I learned this information from legitimate sources, let me assure that I did not. No. I learned about investing through…Words with Friends.

Seriously. I did. I’m not joking.

Perhaps Words with Friends is not the most traditional place to pick up information about investing. But it works for me. And I should state that I still can’t tell you what an index funds is or why mutual funds are a good idea or if those two are even the same thing. No, what I can tell you that what I’ve learned is more generalities. And that’s pretty much all I need to get by (well, probably not but it works for me).

So what have I learned that has made me so smart? Well, let me share:

Hope you get the right letters

In Words with Friends, you don’t really have much control over the letters you get. But you hope that, after you play a word, the random letter genies give you good letters so that you can make actual words (and play them on the double and triple words boxes) for big points. You want to keep amassing those big points, with the help of some strategically played “Z”s and “J”s so that you can obliterate your opponent while being able to show off about the huge score you pulled. Or, you can resign because you keep getting letters that create no words or puny words like “or” and “if”.

Picking stocks works the same way.

Since each publicly traded stock is assigned 3 letters (I think), and you pick those letters based on what I assume is careful research (or, if you’re like me, which companies you like. Or by just looking at a page and picking whatever your finger lands on), you put your money on the fact that those letters are going to pay you big dividends. Those big dividends then line your pocket and you get to brag to your friends or anonymous strangers about your ability to cash in on those three letters. You can also be extremely disappointed at their return, and realize that you banked on the wrong letters, and you hope you can keep quiet about your poor letter picking ability.

Be strategic

When I get good letters while playing Words with Friends, I try to hang onto them as long as possible so that I can play them in a good spot. I’ve even been known to skip a turn, hoping that my opponent plays his or her word in the spot I’m psychically willing them to so that I can then play my letters where I want.  Like most players, I will try to build words off of double and triple letter/word boxes, hoping that this strategy will allow me to win. I have other strategic moves but I don’t want to give them away just in case we ever play each other and then you’ll know what I’m doing and how to build a good offense or defense and then beat me. But know this. Before you play a word, I already know what my next move will be. And I have a back up move in case you ruin my plan. I must have a strategy because that? Is key if you want to win at Words with Friends.

Just like it is with investing.

Those who play the stock market also have a strategy. From what I’ve gathered, they pay attention to the price of stocks so that they know when to buy or sell or whatever else is possible to do with one’s shares. They have a strategy for which stocks to own, which ones to avoid, and which ones to gamble on. Keen investors have a strategy when picking where to place their money. They know when a potential purchase of a business or real estate property or whatever else they’re going to spend their money on is a smart move or one that could end up in either huge disaster or gigantic payoff. But before they do it, they develop a plan for how they’re going to make the most money from their investment. It’s the smartest move they can make.

Keep track of what you have

During a game of Words with Friends, I obsessively check my letters. I want to know what I have, what words I can make and when I need to swap or pass on my turn. By keeping track, I’m able to develop that all important strategy so that I can, hopefully, avoid losing. I need to know what’s going to get subtracted at the end so, in the event of a loss, I know how bad it’ll be.  I don’t like to lose and I certainly don’t want it to happen because I did a poor job of tracking what letters I can use where.

In investing, it’s important that you know where you’ve invested your money. You need to remember if it’s in stocks or bonds or properties or a friend’s doggie shoe business. You need to track how much you’ve put in to each investment, how much of a return you’re getting, and whether you need to make adjustments so that your money is working for you at its maximum potential. And, most importantly, you need to make sure that you have enough set aside to pay your taxes on those dividends and interest. Because if you don’t track that properly, you could end up sharing a cell with Wesley Snipes.

Be patient

Sometimes, when I’m playing a game, I really, really want a letter so I can make a stellar, high point word. And that letter takes forever to show up. Or it never shows up at all and I have to readjust my game plan. But mainly, I just need to sit back, be patient and wait to see what happens. This patience is key to a successful game plan (and so is a little luck, but luck is a tricky subject and this post is long enough already). Or not. It depends on the game.

Such it is with investing. Often, we don’t see the results we want right away and it causes massive anxiety (well, I’m assuming it does). We see the ups and get excited; we see the downs and want to bail. But what we really need to do is be patient, wait it out, and then make an informed, careful decision. From what I gather, if you’re patient and ride out the storm, your investments will pay off big time. Unless they don’t. In which case, you can pride yourself on not making a rash decision but being angry that you lost money. Because that’s totally fine.

So that’s it folks. Thanks to Words with Friends, I’m just a little bit smarter about investing.  Which is probably good for my bank account and my eventual retirement.

This is the final installment of The Oregon Trail Guide to Personal Finance. If you’re new, take a few minutes to browse Part 1: Preparing for the Journey, part 2: Shopping at the General Store, and Part 3: Surviving the Trail.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to Oregon. Hopefully you’re whole party is intact, no one’s been attacked by a bear, and your wagon is still in decent shape. It’s time to settle down now that the hardest part of the trip is over.

Or is it?

Sometimes the journey, although it seems contrary, is the easy part. Taking what you’ve learned and applying it in settling down is often more difficult than getting to the destination. We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes in our new life that we made in the old one. To avoid this, it’s important that we take some time to reflect on what we’ve learned.  Thinking about what worked and what didn’t is not only important to help us, but it’s also useful to others who are beginning their travels. Imparting that wisdom on them means that their journey might just be a little easier.

Here’s a few things that I’ve learned along the way:

Seize opportunities at the right time

Although an opportunity might seem lucrative and beneficial, it’s all about the timing. For instance, if I’m in a race again Abraham Lincoln to get to Independence Rock, stopping and talking to a random hitchhiker or panning for gold might not be the best choice (however, if I’m really short on cash, I’m panning for gold. The money earned is well worth losing the race). On the other hand, I’m only going to accept the challenge to race is circumstances are right. If my party is sick, short on food, and my oxen are getting tired, I’m not entering them in a race, regardless of the payoff.

Opportunities will present themselves all the time. You just need to measure what’s a good time for you to accept it or pass. And your circumstances, and gut feelings, will give you all the information you need to make that decision.

Don’t always take the easy way

Because sometimes the hard way is more rewarding.

When you’re traveling the Oregon Trail, you will often face forks in the road. One way will inevitably be easier, less treacherous, quicker, and cost less. The other way? Well, that’s a different story. That way will be filled with hard times, bad weather, it’s slow, and can get pricey. But the hard way often has a bigger pay off in the end. For instance, on a number of the difficult paths, I stumble across dead buffalo to harvest, people to barter with and more challenges that reap greater rewards. Yes, it takes me longer to cross that part of the trail but when I’m done with that path, I’ve earned 100 coins, have 6 feathers, medicine and my food storage is completely full.

Although I get angry and frustrated that a particular leg is difficult and time consuming, when I look back at all I gained going through it, it all seems totally worth it.

Accept that bad things will happen

On the trail, you will face a series of bad events. People will get bitten by snakes, your wagon will get robbed and you will endure tornadoes, snowstorms and impassable trails. They’re unavoidable, unexpected and unwelcome. But there’s nothing you can do to prevent them. The only thing you can do is accept that they will happen and try to prepare for them as much as possible.

How?

Create a store of extra supplies. Have an emergency fund. Don’t freak out; stay calm, collect yourself, assess the damage and make a plan to fix what’s broken. Take the time to grieve for your losses but don’t let them overwhelm you so much that you can’t keep moving forward.  Accept the negative turn of events but then, pick yourself up, restart your travels and whatever you do, don’t quit.

Take detours

In the same vein as forgoing the easy path for the more difficult one, there will come times when you need to take an unexpected detour. I can’t count how many times I’ve been walking down the trail and I come to a seemingly impassible part. At this point, I’m left with two options: 1) go around, which will cost me time, supplies, and sometimes money but we’ll get to our destination or 2) try to climb the impassable trail, causing undue stress on everyone and everything involved. While going around instead of continue on the straight path I had mapped out seems like a much less desirable option, it’s usually the more practical one. There’s no need to put anyone in harm’s way just to satisfy my need to stay on one particular road.

Besides, detours can often lead to fun, memorable adventures.

Stop and help others

We learned in part 3 how important networking can be to surviving The Oregon Trail. It’s also important to stop and help others simply because it’s the right thing to do, regardless of the reward at the end. If you see a woman being attacked by squirrels, take the time to help her survive. If a child is stranded in a lake, float your wagon over to him and pick him up. If a butcher wants you to deliver a letter to his wife at the next fort, deliver the letter. It really doesn’t take much effort to make someone else’s life a little easier, especially if you’re headed in that direction anyway. And the karmic rewards you’ll eventually reap are far more gratifying than any financial rewards.

There’s also the added bonus of knowing you did a good deed. That kind of morale boost is often what we need to keep going when times are hard. And morale boosts? Are often much more important than anything else.

This concludes The Oregon Trail Guide to Personal Finance. Thanks so much for sticking with it. I hope you learned something along the way that will be useful to you in your own travels down your personal Oregon Trail