I needed the reminder to be patient. I was lucky during the financial crisis to have cash that I could put in a term deposit for 5 years at 7%, my first-ever t

I needed the reminder to be patient. I was lucky during the financial crisis to have cash that I could put in a term deposit for 5 years at 7%, my first-ever term deposit, To my detriment, I took out half after a couple of years to create an online game that failed. However, when the rest matured, I was lucky to triple that money by investing in a couple of speculative ventures. Having used up my allotted measure of luck, I now look for solid investments. I have recently liquidated about half my shares. I am waiting for the bubble to burst. I have my eye on a couple of solid companies whose share price may fall dramatically as people need the cash. I am approaching seventy and I need a solid portfolio that I can slowly sell down to meet living expenses. My rules: 1) Avoid bitcoin, it seems so much like the "Souk Market": https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-greatest-bubble-you-may-never-have-heard-of-2021-12-12/ https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/the-greatest-bubble-yo... 2) Avoid meme and NFT stocks; they seem like the new tulip craze. 3) Avoid unethical stocks; they remind me of the South Sea Company: https://www.britannica.com/event/South-Sea-Bubble https://www.britannica.com/event/South-Sea-Bubble 4) Avoid hugely inflated P/E ratios; remember pets.com. In short, look for ethical* companies with strong fundamentals. *However, I am not sure that ethical and profitable can co-exist. So my rule is to choose a company that has a product or service that I use and like, or a CEO/founder whom I admire. I try to research companies. But I find that other people's advice is rather limited, as they tend to know less about the companies than I do. In the end, you have to trust your own judgement.