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When I was a freshman in High School I wanted to invest in the stock market. I, of course, had no idea what that really meant or how to do it, but it seemed interesting to me. My parents, who at the time equated the stock market to something akin to three-card monte in Times Square, told me I could invest when I had saved $1,000 from my paper route. If I had invested my hard-earned $1k into the “stock market” as measured by the S&P 500 then (1979), it would have grown to $77,217 as of the end of this October. And, get this, if I had added just $500 each year to that initial $1,000 investment, the total would now be $400,446. Holy compound earnings, Batman!

Last week I wrote about the excuses people sometimes have for not preparing for their financial futures. This week, let’s talk about the opposite – what inspires people to overcome the excuses and engage a professional to guide them toward their financial goals? No matter the trigger, people are looking to simplify their lives and for peace of mind. So, it is important to find a financial planning professional who has worked with people in circumstances similar to yours. Below are some of the issues our clients have faced that prompted them to seek our help:

Despite the fact David Letterman now looks like Santa Claus and sounds like Oprah, his Top 10 lists live on. Here are my Top 9 reasons – I don’t believe in extra if it’s not needed - why people procrastinate about planning for their financial futures. I’m sometimes asked who our strongest competition is and I always answer, “People’s own inertia.” Meaning, it can take energy to start anything new. But, it can be more nuanced than that. Here’s what I’ve seen:

It’s been said that investing in the stock market is like riding up an escalator while playing with a yo-yo: just because the yo-yo goes up and down doesn’t prevent it from eventually reaching the next level. But, what if we could get to that next level a little faster by shortening the yo-yo’s string?

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The rich…they are different from you and me.” Recent research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) proves he was right, albeit not in the way he believed. Their study found that investors with larger holdings earned relatively lower peak returns, but they earned them consistently, with less up and down. In other words, they take less risk and know that winning in down markets is more important than winning in up markets. Let’s take a look at why this is the case and some guidance on how to accomplish it:

Back in the late 1960’s the Stanford psychologist, Walter Mischel, studied delayed gratification by placing a marshmallow before a child and offering them a choice: eat the marshmallow now or, if they wait a few minutes, get 2 marshmallows later. The original study found that children who were able to wait longer for their reward tended to have better life outcomes – educational attainment, better health statistics, etc. Suffer now, enjoy later. As a side note, although I am definitely a saver by nature, I wouldn’t wait 2 seconds to eat something chocolate placed before me.  

There is a common narrative that savers will eventually reap great rewards by delaying gratification, but only after suffering first. In financial terms, one can eat their marshmallow only when they retire or reach financial freedom, but must drool until then.

There is, of course, a different way to view saving and accumulating wealth. I recently came across an advertisement from 1969 by the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of St. Petersburg. Florida, not Russia. I think it captures quite well the satisfaction and peace of mind one can enjoy NOW by saving and accumulating wealth. (I haven’t edited it, so replace their use of “man” with “person” in your mind while reading)

The transition from working and saving to retirement and withdrawing can be stressful if you’re not ready for it. Consider this: If you are fortunate enough to live to age 65, your life expectancy is about age 85. If you’re married, there’s a 45% chance one of you lives to 90. So, how do you generate income over the next 20-30 years while ensuring you don’t outlive your assets? Here are four tips: