Warren Buffett once said you only have to do 'very few things right' in life, as long as you don't do too many wrong things — 3 investing mistakes that can put your retirement at serious risk

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong,” he once said.

With that in mind, here are 3 investment mistakes Buffett says you should avoid in order to secure your fortune for the long term.

1. Speculating instead of investing

Some investors fail to recognize the difference between a speculative asset and an investment-worthy asset. According to Buffett, the difference is in how the asset generates a return.

“All investment is laying out some money now to get more money back in the future,” Buffett once explained. “Now, there’s two ways of looking at getting the money back. One is from what the asset itself will produce. That’s investment. [The other] is from what somebody else will pay you for it later on, irrespective of what the asset produces. And I call that speculation.”

Buffett believes that assets that produce income organically — such as farmland, profitable companies, dividend stocks and real estate investment trusts — are investment-worthy.

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2. Trying to time the market

Market timing is tempting but deceptive. Investors often convince themselves they can wait for the right time to buy or sell a stock. However, experienced investors understand that market cycles are unpredictable, so staying invested for longer is typically the best approach.

"You shouldn't buy stocks unless you expect to hold them for a very extended period and you are prepared financially and psychologically to hold them," Buffett had said during Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in 2020.

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3. Hedging against volatility

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