Are you speculating or are you investing?

The point of investing is to buy an asset for less than it’s worth.

The goal of speculating is to buy an asset without regard to its value, in the hopes that someone will pay you more for it at some point in the future.

Too many people confuse investing with speculating.

I don’t blame you if you’re one of them, because we are inundated with financial media that perpetuates this misunderstanding.

If you’re reading a headline that says “Investors Sell Stocks on Interest Rate Fears,” then you should be aware that most true investors would not be selling based on short-term concerns around interest rates. The people selling are more accurately called “speculators,” and they don’t care about the long-term value of a business—they are just in it for a quick trade.

The first rule in filtering the financial news is to translate “investor” to “speculator” when required (and to be clear, this is most of the time).

Then remember that you’re an investor, not a speculator. And then remember that speculators are playing a different game than you are. All of a sudden, that scary headline becomes a lot less scary. Speculators are selling? Good for them. I don’t care. I’m not playing that game.

Let me put it to you bluntly—you should be investing, not speculating. But, unfortunately, many speculators are out there masquerading as investors. They might even be your investment advisors. If they’re just regurgitating corporate information from CNBC or relying on pie-in-the-sky projections from overoptimistic management teams, they’re likely just speculators.

Want to speculate? Gambling on sports or at the tables in Vegas is much more fun. The great thing about casinos is that they are very good at looking after their best customers. Comped meals and luxury suites, exclusive concert tickets, maybe even some “companionship” while you’re in town.

Gamble there—not in the market.

The market will never comp you free tickets to Cirque du Soleil.