Stocks have lost close to 2,000 points over the last two days. Futures are up a little this morning as I write to you but that doesn’t mean anything really. Which reminds me, the less you dwell on the future, the better off you tend to be as an investor.
Remember, the pain you feel from losing money far outweighs the feeling of gains—mainly because (as) you get used to the gains, you become comfortable with your net worth.
That’s a mistake.
Much of my time working with successful Americans like you is spent talking about their lives, specifically, where they are in it.
Yes, we’ve been talking about the coronavirus, but there’s no panic selling with my clients. We’ve spent too much time preparing for times like these.
Panic wasn’t in the voices of clients I spoke with while in their car after a nice visit with friends over the weekend. We talked about how she will be celebrating her 70th birthday next weekend by throwing a Great Gatsby themed party.
Another client told me about a neat special he watched on the Newport Folk Festival which began literally across the street from my office.
Another client was about to go into the operating room, (and) getting back to work, after a week in snowy Montana.
A prospect told me he and his dad used to bond over talks about Young’s World Money Forecast over forty years ago. He’s ready to become a client to make sure his spouse is with a firm he’s known for much of his adult life, which was spent working in the Navy’s emergency room.
Another was heading home after fulfilling orders at Target. He’s been retired from his “real” job for years and will turn 60 this year. He likes the work. It helps him stay busy and supplements his income. He lives less than a mile from the store, gets up at 4:30 am, works from 5 am to1 pm and sounded plenty happy to me. That’s a pretty nice commute in California.
I could go on and on about conversations like these, all in a typical day this week. I know my clients. I know what they’re looking for from their portfolios.
No one knows how the coronavirus will impact stocks in the future.
The key for you is to focus on why you’re invested the way that you are—where it allows you to get on with your day—and perhaps stock up on some food and water.
Just don’t panic.
Read my entire series, Coronavirus Infects Stock Market here.