I find I do the opposite and over plan when I get nervous. I check my accounts a bunch of times a day to make sure I know where every red cent is going!!!
Good for you for realizing your "blind spot" and taking charge!
The important thing to remember with investing is that you do it for the long run. You have to look at 10-year cycles, or even 20-year cycles - not week to week. Unless you're an active, hands-on investor (in which case you're probably not on this board!), ride it out and don't obsess over it.
On the other hand, making sure you have enough money on hand - both in your house and in accounts you can withdraw from in case you lose your job - that is important. Then, when you've done all you can, don't worry any more. Easier said than done, I know.
In early 2000, I had more than $500,000 in stocks that I couldn't sell (too long to explain why here). I could never have imagined that I'd lose all but a few thousand of it when the market for technology stocks crashed that year. It was horrible, but I got through it, though I never recovered anything close to the $500,000 I lost. However, I didn't get out of the technology industry, because fundamentally it's still a great sector to be part of, and it's going to continue to grow. On the other hand, if I were in a declining industry, I'd do everything possible to get out of it. I purposely got out of working in the auto industry in the early 90s for that reason, and I'd never go back.
So I think it makes sense to consider your overall financial position - where does your income come from, where are your investments, where are you most vulnerable - and do everything possible to shore up your weak points. But we can only do so much. If the economny were something that individuals could control, all those Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, WaMu, Indy Mac, Countrywide, and Wachovia executives would have done so!
I find I do the opposite and over plan when I get nervous. I check my accounts a bunch of times a day to make sure I know where every red cent is going!!!
Bex -
Hey Kellie,
I kept thinking about your post the last couple of days but haven't been around to reply.
I'm making progress.
Good for you for realizing your "blind spot" and taking charge!
The important thing to remember with investing is that you do it for the long run. You have to look at 10-year cycles, or even 20-year cycles - not week to week. Unless you're an active, hands-on investor (in which case you're probably not on this board!), ride it out and don't obsess over it.
On the other hand, making sure you have enough money on hand - both in your house and in accounts you can withdraw from in case you lose your job - that is important. Then, when you've done all you can, don't worry any more. Easier said than done, I know.
In early 2000, I had more than $500,000 in stocks that I couldn't sell (too long to explain why here). I could never have imagined that I'd lose all but a few thousand of it when the market for technology stocks crashed that year. It was horrible, but I got through it, though I never recovered anything close to the $500,000 I lost. However, I didn't get out of the technology industry, because fundamentally it's still a great sector to be part of, and it's going to continue to grow. On the other hand, if I were in a declining industry, I'd do everything possible to get out of it. I purposely got out of working in the auto industry in the early 90s for that reason, and I'd never go back.
So I think it makes sense to consider your overall financial position - where does your income come from, where are your investments, where are you most vulnerable - and do everything possible to shore up your weak points. But we can only do so much. If the economny were something that individuals could control, all those Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, WaMu, Indy Mac, Countrywide, and Wachovia executives would have done so!
Kelly