Serenity Now!!!

Only a psychopath would not be bothered by the Dow falling over 1,000 points in a day. While we cannot stop things like this from happening, we CAN attempt to control how we react to them.

During these times, we revert to our primal nature. We just want the pain to stop. Unfortunately this comes with a price. Selling your stocks at the worst possible time.

The vultures start to circle. Dormant prophets of doom, or ministers without portfolios come out of their dark creepy caves.

“This is 1929 again!” or similar nonsense takes over like clockwork.  Your best defense are facts, and data. They will provide you with some comfort during the inevitable dark days. More importantly, this will keep you from doing really dumb things with your money.

The next time, you see something on social media or hear deranged commentary coming out of your brother-in-law’s or Sean Hannity’s mouth-take a look at this.

Copy this down and keep it in a safe place. The pen is mightier than the sword when it comes to investing.

Don’t let a crisis become an opportunity for someone else.

Sources, Ben Carlson and Rich Bernstein, The Index Card Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated, by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack