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The markets are down again today.
Ask yourself:
Will you be spending all your savings within the next year?
How about the next three years? Five?
Do you have an investment plan designed by a professional?
Is that plan based on your personal goals and financial situation?
You may want to find something (anything!?) else to watch other than the financial porn networks.
Hang in there.
August 17, 2018
The U.S. Business Cycle is Maturing
With the mostly sideways action in the markets this year, you may be thinking this is getting old, why are things so… foggy? Well, you’d be right, it is getting old. The business cycle, that is. It may be helpful to understand where we’re at in this cycle. So, here’s a sexy chart… {commence eye roll}
I believe the U.S. is advancing in its protracted shift toward the late-cycle phase (Exhibit).
The risk of U.
Ambition, willpower, determination. These traits represent the great American know-how-can-do spirit. The necessary qualities of success.
As I look over the ZeroCelsius tribe, it occurs to me there is a common thread that joins us — unites us — even when the odds seem against us. It’s our ability to see our way through the fog of uncertainty. To use our insight and wit to propel ourselves over any obstacle placed in our way.
I have a confession to make: There’s little I enjoy more than tequila-induced deep conversations about life, health, wealth… universal truths. Alright, admittedly, for many of you this isn’t new news.
These conversations often return to themes of gratitude for our luck in the lottery of life. And to realign our perspective, an acknowledgement that for all our efforts to build wealth and security, in the end they matter least.
When designing an investment plan, it’s crazy important to understand the relationship between risk & reward. The goal is to take an appropriate level of risk for the desired potential return, and not an ounce more. Not an easy task.
Think about risk and reward this way: If you receive aninheritance, it took no risk on your part (other than the loss of your loved one, of course), yet you reaped great reward.
It’s good to be bold, a little daring even. I dig enthusiasm! However, as experienced risk-takers, we know to look first, then leap. Aim, then fire. Plan, then act.
There are as many ways to invest your hard-earned savings as there are brokers on Wall Street. And there are a lot of folks who can tell you how the markets are doing: Advisors, experts, pundits, your know-it-all brother-in-law… The markets are what get all the attention.
Rain or shine, for better or worse, in good times and bad… We persist.
We never bail, never let up, never give up… We persist.
The storms may come, the seas may swell… Yet we persist.
Because we learn, because we have faith… We persist.
For failure is not an option and the possibilities are at hand.
Yes or no. Good or bad. This or that. Our brains are wired to look for easy answers. Sounds lazy, but this thinking was imperative to the survival of our species. Fight or flight. It’s instinctual. Is that a rabbit rustling in the bush or a lion laying prey? Attack or run!
Slowing down to consider the nuances of a situation could have meant the difference between life and death, between having dinner or being dinner. Best to make a quick decision and let the chips fall where they may.
Speaking of tequila… I’ve given a lot of thought to this: No amount of investing prowess can make up for a lack of savings discipline. It’s true.
Just like ice without tequila makes little sense, it’s somewhat pointless to focus on which investments will work without a savings plan or spending budget.
Put some ice in a cocktail glass and it’s nice… sort of. But it’s pretty much useless without the main ingredient. Whereas tequila by itself is liquid gold.
Confession: I worry. A lot. Always have. I guess it’s because I have a future-focused natural disposition to things. So I worry about what I’m going to be doing later today, next month, next year. The problem, of course, is that it interferes with my enjoyment of the ‘now.’
I worry about what other people (and myself!) are doing for their future. Which is a good thing in my line of work. (I’d actually worry about this even if I wasn’t paid for it.
