If you enjoy long, boring car rides like I do, you may have searched out some good audio books and podcasts to listen to while you’re cruising. Perhaps some of those even had to do with money and financial planning. The sheer number and volume of financial podcasts out there never ceases to amaze me.
I often have conversations with friends of friends when I’m out socially that often start with an introduction like, “this is Dave, he manages my money,” or “he’s a financial planner.” I shake hands and say “nice to meet you – what do you do?” At this point the person tells me they’re a contractor, or an engineer, or a teacher, physician, or “I own such-and-such business.” They tell me a little more, and I ask a few questions as we make polite conversation.
Welcome back to the 2018 stock market roller coaster ride! Between the twists and turns and the extreme moves higher and gut-wrenching drops, this market is anything but boring.
We often encounter pre-retirees who have worked a career for 25 or 35 years, and are suddenly within that three-years-to-three-weeks timeline of retirement. They come into our office seeking advice, they asked for a referral (thanks!) and called us up.
Here we are in that time of winter when it’s gray outside, and seems to rain for days on end. Without the Olympics as a distraction, we’d all be suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. For a lot of people, this is when they start really thinking about how their life and their finances are intertwined.
Around this time, usually due to New Year’s resolutions and after-Christmas sticker-shock, we get a number of calls from people who want to be more efficient and tackle some outstanding debt. We applaud everyone who has taken this step forward, as many of you have. When it comes to getting your finances on track, one of the most important things you can do is admitting where you’ve gone wrong, and finding a way to take control so you can focus on the more important things in life.
Folks, I am super pumped for 2018 to finally be here! During the Christmas and New Year holidays, I was able to take some much-needed time off and celebrate Christmas with my kiddos, while actually putting an “out of office” notice on my email. I tossed my cell phone in a box, stayed away from social media, didn’t check office or personal email, and actually managed to lose track of what the Kardashians are up to for a full seven days!
Remember when you were a kid and you learned to ride a bike by using training wheels? Or when you first went bowling and they put out the bumpers for you? Or maybe you’re helping your own kids and grandkids learn to bike and bowl with training wheels and bumpers. Here at Family Financial Partners, we believe training wheels and bumpers are important in your financial lives as well.
I don’t know about you, but here we are at the halfway point of December, in the crux of the Christmas season, and I feel like my head is on a swivel! Between preparing my home, taking my kiddos shopping for those perfect gifts for their loved ones, and the overwhelming number of boxes arriving in my office on a daily basis, well, it all tells me something is a afoot and it’s coming faster than any of realized.
For all conversational purposes, 2017 has been a cakewalk for most investors. All you had to do was buy an index fund, and, depending on which one you bought, your investment may be up. For me to suggest that you had a diversified portfolio that lost money is ludicrous. Except for the people who own just energy stocks. They’ve lost. But, energy was the big winner last year, so they’re fine over 24 months.
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