Are You Disheartened By This Election Season?

October 28, 2016

After watching all of the political debates, I am both disheartened and encouraged. As much as I am disheartened at this point, I’ve always been a big fan of finding reasons for hope and optimism. Don’t let obstacles outside of your control impact your life. Here’s why:

Stock markets rise. Stock markets fall. We know this (or we should).

Yet every time the stock market has a rough week, I field calls from nervous investors. People who see their 401(k) balance go down every day for a week or two tend to want answers. We talk with them about their long term goals and their current asset allocation. At times, they are invested in a way that is either way too aggressive for their stage of life and their goals and at other times (and fewer in frequency), they are invested more conservatively than their stage of life and goals would indicate is appropriate.

Most of the time, though, they are invested in a way that is perfectly suitable. In those cases, we talk about patience and allowing the market to do the rising and falling that it always does without getting too emotionally invested. They can’t control the markets, but they can control how they react to changes in the markets.

Similarly, whether the economy is great (remember when that used to happen?) or lousy or just muddling along like it has for the last 7-8 years, no one individual (not even Janet Yellen) can control the overall US economy.  Even less control can be exerted over the global economy. The one thing that we can control to a large extent is our “personal economy.”

How much are you contributing to your 401(k)? How much are you saving in other accounts on a regular, automatic basis? What’s your level of spending in relation to your income? These are things we can totally control.  

Those who examine their financial habits and lifestyle will find that their personal choices control a great deal of their financial life. The great thing about choices is that they aren’t permanent (kinda like elections) so if we’ve chosen to spend 102% of our income over the last few years, we can decide to spend less, move to lower cost housing, drive a lower cost car, cut the cable cord, etc. If we haven’t saved enough in our 401(k), we can increase our contribution every year. If we don’t have a solid emergency fund, we can direct deposit $5, $10, $20 or more to our savings account with each paycheck. The amount isn’t as important as the momentum.

So let’s use this season of disheartening political shenanigans to focus on our own personal economies and make progress on our goals. My challenge to you is to pick one area in your financial life, one where you DO have control, and before election day, make one change to your current habits. We can’t change the national economy, but we can change our own.

Why I Do What I Do

August 12, 2016

As my kids and friends are far too familiar with, I’m a bit of a news and political junkie. That’s why it’s so surprising to everyone I’ve shared this with that I didn’t watch a single minute of either the Republican or Democrat conventions this year. I saw some “highlights” the next day on the news and heard people talking about highs and lows from each convention (depending on which side of the aisle they most consider their political home). I just couldn’t do it this year.

So many people that I talk with (and judging by the scroll on my Facebook home page, most of America) will be upset with our next President regardless of who wins. Both candidates from the major parties have greater than 50% negative ratings. A recent poll had Clinton disliked by 55% of voters and Trump disliked by 63% so either way we slice it, over half of the country will be unhappy on the day after Election Day. The overwhelming sentiment on my Facebook scroll is “THIS is the best we can do???”

One of the other areas of life where there is overwhelming agreement that we need to do better is in the world of banking and financial services. There is a lot of distrust of the big banks. Wall Street is unpopular with Main Street and criminals like Bernie Madoff give the financial advisory world a big fat black eye. When I look at the world through the political lens right now or through the lens of how most of America feels about the overall financial industry (painting with a very broad brush here), it’s easy to feel like there isn’t much positive to hang on to. But then I get up every morning and do what I do for a living, and my soul gets restored. Here’s why:

I’ve spent the last 3 weeks on the road and have spent only a sparse few nights in my own bed in the month of July. I’ve been at our client company sites and at our home office in California for some internal meetings on how we can do what we do better.  While the travel and hotel beds had me a bit out of my workout rhythm, I’ve been able to meet dozens of individuals in one-on-one settings at their employer and talk about their lives.

I wasn’t there to sell them anything, manage their money, or offer them a loan. I was there simply to talk to them, hear their story and suggest a few ways that they can get closer to their goals. Some have been in great shape financially, others on the verge of disaster. But the thread that weaves them all together is that they were all in search of progress.

In the last several weeks, I’ve heard about engagements that are about to happen (before the future fiancée is in the loop!) and have recently happened, weddings, births, job changes, promotions, significant pay increases, and happy retirement decisions. I’ve also heard about massive credit card debt, huge student loan burdens, ugly divorces, and layoffs. It’s been a time of highs and lows emotionally.

Regardless of the issue, it appeared to me that each person I met was truly happy that their employer offered a financial wellness benefit. The feedback I’ve gotten via email has made me realize how much they valued a person who was there to help them and not sell them anything. It’s also made me realize that I am doing exactly what I was meant to do. The ability to help people, see them change their lives for the better and be there along the way to coach them as they hit speed bumps is about as close to perfection in a role that I’ll ever find.

I usually like to close out a blog post with a bit of a financial lesson, so I’ll give you this: At different times in our lives, we are going to need help. Knowing where to go for that help before it’s a crisis situation can be incredibly valuable.

Line up your experts and trusted advisors now. If you don’t have access to a financial wellness program at your employer, ask them to investigate one. If you don’t have someone that you can trust to help you reach your goals and coach you along the way without their interests coming before yours, ask your family, friends and colleagues if they do. You can also search for a financial advisor through the CFP(R) Board, and here are some questions you can ask any prospective planner. Most importantly, find someone who loves what they do for the right reasons.

 

 

 

Two Calculations That May Surprise You

March 11, 2016

As the political season continues to drag on and presidential candidates drop out, we are inevitably going to be faced with a decision that makes many of us say “THIS is the best we can do from a pool of 300 million people?” Yet, the day will be upon us shortly and we will make a choice.  One of the things that I found interesting and a little bit fun was this political quiz that calculates how much you agree with the different presidential candidates on certain policy questions. The answers surprised me a little bit (and I’m not going to share how the quiz came out for me) and I’ve shared it with some friends to see where they landed. Continue reading “Two Calculations That May Surprise You”