It was one of my father’s favorite adages: “Turn a lemon into lemonade.” When markets turn sour, most investors feel the sting. But here is a perspective shift: Downturns do not have to be disasters – they can be opportunities in disguise. There are several ways to...
Investing
Don’t Let Fear and Uncertainty Cause You To Make Poor Financial Decisions
In personal financial planning, fear is not your friend. Anxiety and worry cloud our judgment and compel us to make poor decisions. If a world of worry is the new status quo, what is the road less traveled? Identify your fears, accept the worries beyond your control,...
Financial Soothsayers’ Forecasts Fell Short For 2024
Let’s have a little fun at someone else’s expense. What do fortune-tellers, tea leaves, and Ouija boards have in common? Their predictions are more accurate than Wall Street forecasts. As one financial writer puts it, “Annual stock market forecasts are a sad, legacy...
How to Adjust Financial Plans In a Time of Challenges
“Sell crazy someplace else. We’re all stocked up here.” (Jack Nicholson in the movie “As Good as It Gets”). I decided to watch a recording of the recent presidential debate. It got crazy! Especially when two very grown men, vying for leadership of the most powerful...
How to Determine When It’s Time to Sell Investments
We have quite a bit of deferred maintenance due at our home (painting, replacing windows, carpentry, etc.). To get some projects going, should we borrow the money, use some of our cash reserves, or sell an investment? I really do not want to take on debt, so that...
What Is an Investment Anyway?
According to Investopedia, “An investment is an asset or item acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation.” You can invest in a business, stocks, bonds, real estate, oil, cash, crops and more. Fundamental investments are oriented around ownership...
Forecasting Failed Investors in 2023
"We've long felt that the only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune tellers look good," said the world’s most famous long-term investor, Warren Buffett. To his point, last year, the forecasters from banks, brokerage firms, mutual fund companies, and the...
More Often Than Not Diversification Is an Investor’s Friend
I recently read an opinion piece that was lambasting diversification as “diworsification” (a play on words borrowed from legendary Fidelity stock manager Peter Lynch). Warren Buffett said "Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you...
The Media We Follow Affect Our Investment Behavior
Are you investing under the influence? That is, under the influence of the media? Last week, I attended a thought-provoking presentation titled "How Your Media Diet Informs Your Perspective on Markets, Investing, and Wealth," by Carson McLean, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL...
Now’s a Good Time to Add Bonds to Your Portfolio
For the last several years, with short-term interest rates close to zero, bonds have been the Rodney Dangerfield of the investment world: “I get no respect!” However, since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has lifted interest rates 11 times. This hit bond prices on the...