Here's What We Think

We can't control a lot right now. Our day to day lives. Our work. Maybe even our health...it's all scary to think about. And as we all know, we definitely can't control what's going on in the stock market. So lets make sure that we're controlling the areas of our life and our finances that we can. Here's one: Make it your mission to understand the tax opportunities ahead of you and the tax discounts staring us all in the face right now. Be proactive. Don't let this financial low point go to waste!

I can't think of a better, more meaningful time to appreciate the inevitable upward trajectory of the stock market (and the economy at large) than right now...when it all looks so bleak!! Knowing these truths, and acting upon them, when everything around us seems to be crumbling will give us the power and conviction to get through it not just this time around...but every time after this too! The next few months are going to suck. Companies will be temporarily thrown off their game. The economy will lag. And then all of a sudden, they won't. They'll adapt. The economy will rebound. And the world will advance beyond this. it is the only way. There is nothing on Earth I'm more confident in.

I explain, in the excerpt below, a bit about my own financial plan and how I'm thinking about my own investments, time horizon, and future. Well, I'm writing this on March 24th, as the stock market has gotten relentlessly pounded for two weeks straight. It's brutal. Have I changed my tune from what you're about to read? Not even a little. Over the past two weeks, I've added MORE money into all of my investment accounts because I see this as an opportunity...great companies are on sale! Compared to 3 months ago- because the market is down so much- I'm able to buy more shares with the exact same dollar amount! So, (as long as I have the cash flow and don't need the money in the near term) Sign me up! Here's why time is on my side...

Writing about whether the next stock market correction would come in 6 weeks or 6 months (below)...I had no idea how real my words would soon become. It's actually chilling to think back to when I wrote about what we're currently living through as merely a distant hypothetical. And yet...nothing has changed. So yes, we're in a devastating stretch...it could go on for the next month or for the next 22 months...I have no idea. But here is what I know...This TOO SHALL PASS. As every single market crisis has before. The words below are just as true as when I wrote them 6 weeks ago...but they are about 1000 times more important to believe in your heart today.

Understanding the difference between volatility and risk is the single most important idea for us young people to understand as the stock market (and the economy) are going crazy all around us. The market right now is EXTREMELY volatile...I'm speaking with clients all day and believe me, it's scary out there. We all just need to hold onto one truth: market volatility is normal and so are market corrections! Understanding that nothing has changed for you as a long term investor will give you the fortitude and the faith to keep holding on...which is the single best decision you can make for your financial future right now.

Many of us are living through our first REAL stock market meltdown. For myself & most of my 30-40 year old clients, we either weren't out of college yet or we weren't making enough money (and didn't have enough money certainly!) for the pain to really reach us on a physical and emotional level. So this all feels new...which makes it feel even scarier and more unnerving. I get it...and you're not wrong...it is both of those things! But, please, take the time to ask your parents what they did in 2008...and knowing what came after, what they would have changed in their investment behavior if they could? And read my post below...because, trust me, it seemed like the world was coming to an end back then...and then it didn't. This too shall pass.