The Most Common Investing Mistake No One Talks About
One of the biggest and most frustrating mistakes I see new investors make isn’t choosing the “wrong” investment.
It’s thinking that opening an investment account is the investment.
Investment accounts—like a brokerage account or a Roth IRA—are just containers. They’re the shell. By themselves, they don’t grow your money. What actually matters is what you put inside the account: stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, or other assets that do the work.
And yet… this step is where so many people quietly get stuck.
I recently had a friend come to me, clearly embarrassed, and say, “I think something is wrong with my Roth IRA.” She had proudly opened it two years ago and funded it with $7,000. She finally checked it at the end of last year and was shocked to see it had only grown by a couple of dollars—during a period when the broader market had been largely positive.
Nothing was “wrong” with her account.
Her money was simply never invested.
No one had explained to her that a Roth IRA isn’t like a savings account with an automatic yield. It’s just the container. The money inside was sitting in cash, quietly doing nothing for two full years.
This is far more common than people realize—and it has nothing to do with intelligence or effort.
It usually comes from fear of looking stupid. New investors are told investing is risky, complex, and easy to mess up. So they open the account (a big, brave step), then freeze when it’s time to choose investments because they don’t want to “get it wrong.” Fear disguises itself as being responsible, cautious, or “still learning.”
Meanwhile, time keeps passing.
The truth is, the biggest mistake isn’t picking an imperfect investment—it’s never picking one at all. Money left uninvested inside an investment account doesn’t compound, doesn’t outpace inflation, and doesn’t help future you. It just waits.
If you’ve opened an investment account and stopped there, you didn’t fail. You just didn’t get the full instructions.
Your money doesn’t need perfection.
It needs a job.
And once it has one, that’s when real investing actually begins. See my checklist below:
Quick Reality Check: Is Your Money Actually Invested?
Grab your phone or laptop and walk through this honestly:
☐ I have opened an investment account
(Brokerage account, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, rollover, etc.)
☐ I have transferred money into that account
If there’s $0 in the account, nothing can work yet.
☐ I can see specific investments inside the account
Look for names like:
ETFs
Mutual funds
Individual stocks or bonds
If all you see is “cash,” “settlement fund,” or “money market” — your money is not invested.
☐ My money is not just sitting in cash
Cash inside an investment account does not automatically grow.
☐ I know why I chose what’s inside my account
You don’t need a perfect strategy — just a basic one that aligns with your goal (long-term growth, retirement, flexibility, etc.).
☐ I’ve set up contributions (or a reminder)
Investing works best when it’s consistent, not when it’s occasional.
☐ I check my account periodically — not obsessively
This is a long-term tool, not a daily scorecard.
If You Checked “No” to Any of These
You’re not behind.
You’re not bad with money.
You’re just missing a step most people were never taught.
And that step is fixable.
Your investment account is the shell.
What you put inside is what actually builds wealth.
🦊 Fox reminder: Starting imperfectly beats waiting perfectly — every single time.
