My schedule right now feels weird. I get up, eat breakfast, make a pot of coffee and then…. go down to my office in the basement to work on my laptop for 8 hours. It is very strange not being able to see my clients face to face (aside from Zoom calls) or attend chamber of commerce meetings. Business aside, the personal isolation is equally strange and difficult and has brought an unexpected amount of anxiety. However, I cannot complain too much because I have work to do when so many do not. Surely, many people are experiencing a significant amount of anxiety due to the current state of their finances. So, what can we do to ease our minds through this pandemic? Here are three reminders amidst a pandemic.
- Stay the Course
We plan for times like these. Even though none of us could have predicted that our entire economy would be at a standstill due to a virus pandemic. Your financial plan should be built to handle the unknown. This does not mean that we stop paying the mortgage in order to fund our Roth IRA. Obviously, there are expenses that must be paid in order to take care of our families. But as much as possible stick to your plan and refrain from pulling money out of your retirement accounts. Here is a great article explaining the risks of withdrawing funds from your accounts while in retirement.
- Embrace Opportunities
If you still have work to do and have a paycheck coming in, you have a tremendous opportunity to bolster your retirement savings. As I write this the S&P 500 is down over 11.5% year to date. I hate to be cliché but…..EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!!! If you are young and have a long road to retirement or you are getting a late start on your retirement, what you invest now could have a substantial, positive impact on your overall financial plan. Here are three more reasons to invest even when the market is down.
- Don’t Beat Yourself Up
As hard as it is to admit, sometimes things happen that are outside of our control. In truth, nothing is ever truly in our control. With that said, STOP beating yourself up! Can’t go to work? Struggling to pay the bills? Feeling unproductive at home? Forced to withdraw funds that normally would go to retirement? None of those things are your fault! This pandemic is outside of everyone’s control and we are all feeling the effects in different ways. Personally, I deal with the anxiety of it all by having Zoom meetings (hit me up! alex.overbeek@lpl.com) and listening to awesome music (here’s a new song from my favorite band that I am LOVING right now!).
Bottom line folks, stay the course, embrace opportunities wherever possible and stay positive because on the other side of this thing will be ample time to recover and get back to work!
Best,
Alex
www.provisioretirement.com
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.