Edward Quince's Wisdom Bites: The Inverse Degen Trader pt. 2

 “Double the Debt, Double the Dream!” — Words Engraved on Tombstones Since 1637

The Degen Cliché:
"Leverage isn't risk; it's maximizing gains. Double the debt, double the dream!"

Translation:
“I’ve never read a history book.”

To the Degen, leverage is a gift from the gods. They view debt like a relationship red flag: something to ignore because the dopamine feels good.

They forget (or never learned) that leverage doesn’t add intelligence. It just accelerates the consequences of your stupidity.

The Inverse Degen Trader’s Wisdom: Survival Is the Only Road to Riches
Ask yourself: What is the one thing every successful investor has in common?

They’re still alive.

Howard Marks said it best:
“Never forget the six-foot-tall man who drowned in a river that averaged five feet deep.”

Leverage erases your margin of safety. It turns small errors into fatal ones. It asks you to be right on schedule, which is hard because the market keeps refusing to follow your Google Calendar.

Lesson:
Fortune favors the unlevered. Or at least the moderately levered and constantly paranoid.