And will the rising tide lift all boats? Equally?
The past few days should have been a wake-up call for a lot of us. Financial markets dropped like the surprise dip in a roller coaster. How did we feel about that?
Some of us took the opportunity to review our investments and moved cash into fire-sale priced opportunities. Some of us probably panicked and sold off good and bad assets and moved to cash. Some of us began a process of reassessing where our monies are being held, looking particularly at the cost of the vehicles holding our life’s hopes and dreams. Some of us may have done nothing, hoping the tsunami would pass and the markets would soon reward our faith and patience again.
Which, if any of these actions, did you take? Which was best?
Is the worst over or are more jaw-dropping days ahead of us? Pundits tell us to hang on, better days are on the horizon. Talking heads remind us that we only lose money if we sell out and that the days after a major drop often reward the patient investor with a return to the norm.
Here is the question: how long can we hang on without losing our minds? I complement those of us who are able to avoid the news blitzes and turn the television to non-news stations. It may be a great time to pick up that book we have been planning to read.
And guess what, in a few shorts days College Football will be back on television to take our minds off the market turbulence which we cannot control. Shortly after that the NFL will begin again and that certainly will turn conversation away from these financial issues to questions about who is worth their multi-million dollar contracts and who isn’t.
Breathe deeply, go for healthy walks and take heart, these traumatic days too will pass.
If you need help navigating the waters, please call us at Czajkowski Dumpel & Associates, Inc. – We are here to help!