We make hundreds, if not thousands, decisions a day. Think about it, from deciding whether to snooze your alarm, to what you’re going to eat for breakfast, to major business decisions throughout the day we’re faced with choice after choice after choice. While many of these are even subconscious, they can take a toll on our mind, cause stress, and even cause us to make careless choices that really matter.
Take investing for example, if you’re managing your own portfolio, you’re inundated with news headlines meant to scare you. Typically, by people who are not financial professionals, or who benefit from your fear in trying to sell you a quick solution.
- “Buy XYZ company in Q3!”
- “Don’t make these mistakes in this recession”
- “The markets are tumbling”
These are just some examples of potential headlines you might see after a quick Google search.
So, what would you do?
- You might buy stock XYZ even if you don’t know what the company does, how solvent they are, or even if they fit your own personal goals and values.
- Or you might not want to make “this mistake” and decide the best thing to do is take advice from a random article written by a ghostwriter who doesn’t know your financial plan.
- What if you read that the “Markets are tumbling?” Surely, you don’t want to lose any more money, you might decide the best thing to do is convert to cash.
After a long day of work, taking care of the home, and feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to make a dent in your to-do list, making rash decisions from the evening news is the last place you want to find yourself.
Instead, try talking to a financial professional. Someone whose job it is to track market movement and the economy, someone who can help you define your goals and understand your risk tolerance, and someone who can help you make rational decisions in any market condition, point you back to your financial plan, and help calm you so that you can sleep at night.
Amongst all the decisions we face every day, some of the most important ones have to do with our finances. Don’t let stress, decision fatigue, or fearful headlines push you into making impulsive choices that have long term consequences.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.