Many investors spend a lot of time worrying about the wrong things. In particular, they worry about things that are unpredictable. Even if they happen, these things may have only an indirect impact on their long-term profits. As a result, they have little time to pay attention to things that have a direct impact on the value of their investments. Our stock market investment advice will help you become a worry-free investor.
For instance, at times they may mull over every tidbit of economic information that comes out, and how it differs from its predecessor of a week or a month earlier. They hope to detect a pattern—a sign that the economy is mending and headed for a return to steady growth, say, or perhaps deteriorating and doomed to plunge into a new recession.
Others look for patterns or omens in domestic or international politics, or in demographic data, or in the price of gold. This can eat up an awful lot of time and no stock market investment advice out there can save you the time you’ll waste.
These investors often feel they can cut their investment risk by selling some or all of their stocks in times of high risk, and buying them back when risk is low. This never works well for long. After all, risk as portrayed in the media, and genuine market risk, are two different things. No matter how you try, it’s hard to pinpoint market turning points, if only because you have to outguess so many other smart people who are trying to do the same thing.
Why stocks imitate the traffic on freeways, not elevators’
Billly and Akaisha Kaderli, RetireEarlyLifestyle.com
By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
All your ducks are in a row. You have saved and carefully invested for years, and the personal discipline is about to pay off.
So why is there apprehension in the bottom of your belly? Let’s be honest. There is risk involved, and the future no longer seems certain or familiar.
“What if I forgot about something?,” you think, and start going over every plan you have made.
No one likes to admit straight out that they are afraid of retirement. Why, that sounds silly! But changing your life from one of being focused on work duties, raising a family, paying bills, and receiving that dependable paycheck every week to one of the virtually unknown has its own set of stresses. You’re being dishonest if you say it’s not a big leap mentally, emotionally, or financially.
Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith
Lack of confidence often underlies questions disguised as logistics on how to retire. Sometimes, one must simply take the leap of faith, making a companion of the ever-present question “What if?”
If you have spent your whole life building security and providing that same security the best you could for your family, then stepping into the unknown world of retirement is like jumping off a cliff. Even if you’re as prepared as you think you are.
Sure, we can distract ourselves with dreams of endless golf, or margaritas on an exotic beach somewhere, but when it’s quiet, we find ourselves looking over our shoulders, wondering whether some forgotten component is lurking just out of sight.
“What if I run out of money?.” you whisper to yourself.
Perhaps your personal fear mongering nemesis is health care in retirement, your portfolio balance or even something as simple as boredom. There can be great comfort gained from all of one’s time being planned out months in advance.
To expect retirement to be free of hitches or snags is unreasonable. There are no guarantees in life. None of us knows what the future will bring, and this is true whether you’re working or retired.
In our experience, how to contend with the fear factor in all its guises is an important point worth addressing. Fear keeps us on the defensive, often preventing us from taking positive action or noticing opportunities and the support that surrounds us. Let it be said that if you are afraid, it is more difficult on all fronts to have a successful retirement.
“What if … ?”
The “What If” syndrome is all-pervasive. It attaches itself to every aspect of your life. However, living life through the eyes of fear only amplifies that uncertainty. If you wait for that perfect time to do something, you may discover that it never arrives. Looking back over your life, you might see all of the missed opportunities for great adventures and memory-making that you set aside in your pursuit of that ever-elusive feeling of security.
So what do you do? Fear never leaves us, but the fortifying of our confidence helps us to cope. Find ways to transfer your talents and abilities to your new life. If you must, make a list of your strongest traits. Enumerate your interests and the ways you can best satisfy them.
Check out the phone book, the local library, or your weekly event newspaper for groups to join, ongoing education classes being given, or chances to volunteer somewhere that lets you offer your expertise in something. Exercise. Stay connected to society. Try something new. Following these suggestions will bring strength to your new life, expand your mind, and build up your spirit. From here, you will gain much-needed self-assurance, making it easier to surmount any obstacles you may encounter in your retirement.
As intimated in the Hub’s New Year’s Day post on Friday, it’s about the first major investing action you can take in 2016: topping up your Tax-free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) by an additional $5,500 (down from $10,000 in 2015.)
On a personal note, since we eat our own cooking here at the Hub, I made contributions for myself and my wife on Friday. Depending on how you execute the transfers, this may or may not be an instantaneous process.
One of the most useful books I read in preparation for a recent talk I gave on longevity was The Longevity Revolution, published in 2008 by Robert N. Butler, M.D. Apart from being a Pulitzer Prize winner, Dr. Butler is also the founder of the International Longevity Centre.
The book is subtitled The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life. Butler observes that in less than 100 years, human beings have made greater gains in life expectancy than it did in the preceding 50 centuries. From the Bronze Age to the end of the 19th century, life expectancy grew by only 29 years or so, from 20 to just under 50 years. But in the 20th century, Life Expectancy surged another 30 years to reach over 77.
The paradox of a downside to what should be good news
Billy and I have been on the road meandering through continents for over two decades. While we like to think of ourselves as spry, flexible and ready to take on the world, truth is, we are no longer twenty or thirty years old. Traveling at our age of 63 presents challenges that we didn’t have when we were younger. Energy levels have changed and our bodies require different comforts in order to feel well.
If you are in your fifties and sixties with active wanderlust, independent journeying is still possible. Take advantage of what we have learned over the years.
The Importance of Sleep
The value of sleep is a priority that we protect, since its absence is felt for the next day or two – creating havoc in moods, energy level and even decision making. Whenever possible, we no longer take red-eye flights. Air travel has become more complicated in recent years and it’s enough to handle the new requirements, the lines, and the disorientation of time zones without adding severe sleep schedule interruptions. Besides, what’s the rush? Continue Reading…
Posted By 
Posted By 
