“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile!”

Looking directly into a mirror gives you one perspective of yourself. However, if you turn the mirror at a right angle to another you will discover several images of yourself. Some may appear distorted and backward, like in an amusement park fun house. Nevertheless, each one allows you to see yourself differently. Similarly, the choices available to us when making decisions with our money can appear to be hard to figure out as well. Like the right-angle mirror, we are forced to view our finances differently even though they are the same.

Whether you are a budding Millennial or an aging baby-boomer our attitude and behavior regarding money and the way we consume it is crucial.

Bulls and Bears

Many experts consider investing in the stock market the best way to grow wealth, especially if you are young and have a long investment time horizon. However, it can be difficult to avoid much of the daily market “noise,” and you may start to question your financial decisions. Such seemingly extreme volatility can have even the most steadfast investor feeling a little unsure on occasion. The deluge of unprecedented news and the responding economy may leave investors questioning how best to proceed. Better to hunker down and ride it out? Sell? Invest in more conservative products?

The Greek witch-goddess Circe gave her son Telegonus a poisoned spear to protect him on his journey to find his father Odysseus. When Telegonus finally found Odysseus he inadvertently killed his father with the magic weapon. This is similar to some of the consequences we may inadvertently incur when we try to administer well-meaning advice to someone who is coming to us for help or guidance.

I recently had this experience with a new client who came to us to discuss the challenges she faced with her finances. She was recently widowed and under an enormous amount of stress concerning her investments because her husband had handled all the family’s money. When she entered the conference room she appeared very nervous. We tried to set her at ease by playing soft music as we usually do when meeting with all our clients. We curiously watched her open her carton of statements and documents. Many of her documents were out of order and looked as if they had been filed haphazardly inside a wastepaper basket! Even before she spoke, her eyes reflected a plethora of misfit investment information, peppered with the sad assurances that her husband had instilled in her before he had suddenly passed away.

As Hurricane Season ramps up and with Sandy only a few years down in the history books, it is important to consider what plans you and your family have in place in the event of a natural disaster. Disasters rarely give us a heads up. The best we can do in the face of disaster is have a plan and build a Financial Emergency Kit. Having these essential items safe, secure, and at the ready, in case the unthinkable occurs will save a lot of headache and heartache. There are various websites, including Homeland Security’s government webpage and the Red Cross, which can help. In this article we will go over some of the basic essentials everyone should have stored safely in case of emergency, specifically relating to your finances.

 “There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.”

—Wayne Dyer, author and new-age thinker

 This past year we (Walter and I) wrote a book, “The Millionaire Within”. We are proud to announce that it has been published and that it is available for sale on Amazon! We chose to write it in order to share our experiences working with clients to help them change their perceptions about money. People often seek financial consultation to gain insight into “new” investing strategies or promising stock trends for the coming year. What we know is that trying to predict an unpredictable market is as futile as spending your last dollar in the hopes that more will come out of thin air.