Financial Planning

If you have children, you probably answered a million what-if questions. What if the sky falls? What if dogs talked? What if I wear my clothes backward? What if I eat my soup with a fork? What if I become a horse?

What if?

It has been a brutal, exhausting year, and people are hurting. COVID-19 and the racial tension has cast a pall on 2020, and people are living with heavy hearts. As a result of the economic, political, and social turmoil, small charities are in a pinch. Local nonprofits are on the ground in your community doing work few people are willing to do, and they need your assistance. What kind of help do they need? Financial support.

Less than three and a half percent of Certified Financial Planners™ are African American or Latinos.

Growing up in Southern California, fruit trees were everywhere. It seemed like orange, lemon, and avocado trees were on every corner. My backyard had two huge trees – one orange and one lemon that repeatedly produced fruit. My grandfather owned a citrus ranch with thousands of trees.

The NASDAQ, Dow Jones, and S&P 500 are posting positive returns over the past year, and the NASDAQ is up more than 9% for the year. These leading indices were down more than 30% less than three months ago as investors reacted to the COVID-19 virus. Since the virus outbreak, our country has experienced depression-era economic data and witnessed civil unrest.

Zero Dark Thirty is a thriller about the global pursuit of Osama Bin Laden. A CIA operative determines he is living in a compound in Pakistan, but few believe her analysis, until the meeting scene. During this scene, the power players assess the likelihood that Bin Laden is living at the compound.

My wife and daughter own Fitbits. I didn’t want to be left out, so I bought one too. The main reason for getting our Fitbits is our healthcare plan will give us points we can use to purchase gift cards. Of course, we want to get fit, but our real motivation is to rack up the points.

Seniors in high school are pouring over acceptance letters trying to decide which college to attend in the fall. It’s an exciting time for students and parents. College is a fabulous experience, full of pomp and circumstance, football games, fraternities, sororities, student government, homecomings, etc. But what if you can’t physically attend college because of the Coronavirus?

We try to maintain a balanced life, eat a balanced diet, and, of course, we need balance to ride a bike. Balance is harmony. Investors should pursue balance; unfortunately, they rarely rebalance their portfolios, and they get too aggressive or too conservative at the wrong time.

The Coronavirus is stripping us of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have been knocked to our knees, delivered a standing eight count. It’s a challenging time for all, regardless of age, race, or wealth. Difficult times do not discriminate.