I’m getting a little sick and tired of all the “sit tight”, “don’t panic”, “keep investing”, “your money’s safe in the bank” news stories. These have been the prevalent blog postings around the blogosphere this past month as well. Everyday, someone else is coming out and saying it. I feel a little bad that I have not been blogging more about the financial crisis. Nay saying and doomsday blog postings get you a high rank on Google these days, but all of the negativity gets me down. I learned early in my career that I have to surround myself with positive people, or I will get dragged down in their despair with them.
I know that Soldiers have questions. I know that family members may be upset about what is going on with the economy lately. I always welcome any and all questions here on Military Money Might. You can e-mail me through the “contact” link at the top of the webpage. If I don’t know the answer, I know a lot of people to ask and I will always try my hardest to point people in the right direction for help.
I know that I’ve said not to panic or keep investing in the past, and it is all still true, every single one of those sayings. But, I’m just getting a little tired of all the negative news about the economy. I dread looking at CNN or seeing how my stocks are doing on Google Finance. It’s getting a little depressing.
Is anyone else just tired of all the news reporting? What are you doing to keep your mind off of it?
I’m very lucky to be many years away from retirement. So, I try and not worry too much about what the market is doing. I have just kept on plugging along, investing my normal set amount of money every month. If my wife and I were not saving for a house, I would actually be trying to buy a lot more stock lately. There are a lot of good individual stocks and mutual funds on sale. I know that it is been a wild ride on Wall Street these past few months. Here are some ideas to think about while the Dow Jones Industrial Average goes on its roller coaster ride.
- Paying off consumer debt like credit cards and car loans is always a good investment.
- Paying more on your mortgage is a good strategy too!
- Spending less than you make is the best way to stay safe and above water.
- If you have several years until retirement, keep investing, stay the course, and follow out your financial game plan.
- If you are thinking about starting to invest, do it! Stocks and mutual funds have not been this cheap for years.
- If you are getting close to retiring, don’t sell anything but stop buying stocks with your new contributions. Check your asset allocatoin. With all your investments from now on, start buying some bonds to ease yourself into a less risky portfolio.
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Solid tips, Hank. I’m staying the course right now. We don’t have any consumer debt, just a mortgage. But I don’t want to pay too much extra on the mortgage right now because my wife and I may move in a year or two. So I’m just rounding the payment up to the nearest $100 mark. It still makes a difference as we pay nearly one additional payment per year.
Great post. I’m a little tired of hearing the same stuff over and over again too. I have actually written less on my blog lately because I don’t want to focus on the negatives and it’s hard to be positive. Thanks for saying what I’ve been thinking.
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