Control what you can control
It seems a bit frivolous to blog about anything but the roiling financial industry. Despite the surge in the stock market today, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Maybe we should acknowledge it out loud: There’s nothing we consumers can do about commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies going out of business or selling themselves for firesale prices.
Dramatic shifts in your investments at this point is a bad idea. Could you imagine if you sold stocks on Wednesday, only to see them rocket today? If you’re well diversified and your investments all had a purpose during good times, they will be fine. I say that about investment sectors, such as large company stocks, international investments and bonds. It’s a different story if you own individual company stocks, which I don’t advocate anyway. But they are more volatile and require individual decisions.
Moves you should make are in You Inc., meaning your own household. Control what you can control. Now is a good time to look at your money coming in and especially your money going out. This is a time to be more conservative. That means spending less, saving more and getting rid of debt. In short, get rid of as much risk as you reasonably can.
Just because the stock market soared today on news of a massive government bailout, that doesn’t mean we’re out of trouble.
Control what you can control to put yourself in a position to weather the storm. Here’s more, “Finding High Ground in the Storm.”
