“Summertime and the Market is Easy” – (What happened to the financial turmoil anyway?)
| Summertime is not usually the time for a lot of financial pondering and introspection. Markets generally slow down as the weather heats up. Brokers and investors take a bit of a break from the frantic world of profits and losses and finding the next hot deal. Time to sit on the riverbank, sip a mint julep and watch the cotton clouds drift by as we once again hum the lovable old Porgie and Bess tune. Should this summertime be any different?Well, considering the financial meltdown we’ve been through over the past months, maybe it should be different! Sure the markets in Canada are moving upwards again. The TSX is up by almost 40% this spring, largely on the strength of commodity stocks. There are also signs of a resurging real estate market in many regions of the country. But is this the time for complacency? Is everything drifting back to normal again so we can take a collective sigh of relief? In other words, did we learn anything at all from our recent glimpse into financial hell?The danger is that if we haven’t taken a lesson from the global economic turbulence of the past few months then we will be left once again to the whims of the markets – both up and down — and the mercies of our financial advisors and experts – both good and bad. Nothing will have changed. Money will still be spent unconsciously. Debts will pile up again. Household budgets will be ignored. High investment fees will be paid. Retirement and other important financial considerations will be postponed. Dreams and goals will be further delayed or forgotten.
Only when the markets take a dive do many of us learn just how vulnerable we are — and how exposed to uncertainty and distress we have allowed ourselves to become. We experience fear and panic for a few weeks or months, but then, when the sunny good times return once more, we soon forget the essential money lessons we have only recently learned. Maybe things can be different this time around. How different would our lives be if we did a little overdue financial housekeeping and reduced some of the insecurity and stress in our lives? So even if your “daddy’s rich and your ma is good lookin” perhaps you can take a few days this summer and think about what you really value in life then set out a simple financial plan to systematically obtain those all-important goals. Ah, now that is true Summertime! – Karin Mizgala Karin Mizgala is a Vancouver-based fee-for-service financial planner with an MBA and a degree in psychology. She’s the President of LifeDesign Financial and co-founder of the Women’s Financial Learning Centre. |
July 12th, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Rather interesting. Has few times re-read for this purpose to remember. Thanks for interesting article. Waiting for trackback
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Good article blog. Thank you for your help! Informative.
December 28th, 2009 at 9:38 AM
I’m searching for sites related to making an income and yours came up, this is helpful content, even though on a side track. TY.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:59 PM
Such a useful and insightful blog