In response to recent market volatility, it’s a great idea to reground yourself and your investment plan. It’s a good time to get back to basics and think about how you felt during the turbulence. Were you stressed? Did you talk to your advisor? Did you stick to your plan? Building good habit before market volatility can help you endure the headlines and the nervousness. I’m reposting my series on the Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy. Each one is a timeless bit of knowledge you can use today as effectively as when I wrote them back in 2023. When you want to talk about your plan, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.
Originally posted on September 29, 2023.
Your Survival Guy knows a lot about highly successful, fairly wealthy people because I talk to them.
On the flip side, I know plenty about those who’ve won and lost a fortune. I know about the guy who can’t hold onto his money. He just spends every penny, afraid it might be gone tomorrow. And sure enough, it is.
I also know all about the billionaires thanks to the real estate sections, the virtual tours of their homes, the shows on Netflix and HBO, and the books by Walter Isaacson. Plenty of drama to go around. Entertaining. Maybe not the best family life.
That’s why when I say I’m interested in the habits of highly successful, fairly wealthy people, I’m talking about a person or family I’m intimately familiar with because I actually know them. I know how they’ve worked, saved, and lived. I know what they appreciate in life and what drives them. Yes, money buys them happiness and the freedom to do what they want. But they aren’t flashy (maybe sometimes).
Which brings me to Your Survival Guy’s Habits of Highly Successful, Fairly Wealth People #10: They’ve made their money slowly and appreciate what they have.
They’re not the lottery winners as rich as Croesus overnight, emptying the bank account, and then we’re told how it’s all gone ten years from now.
No, the highly successful and fairly wealthy appreciate what they have because they never feel rich even though they’ve got plenty. They’re comfortable. But they’re also fearful, knowing how easily it can be taken away. And the work? They can’t do the work it took to get here again because there’s not enough time.
Action Line: The virtue of saving money slowly, over a lifetime, is the gift of appreciation for what you have. That’s a habit that’s best taught over time. When you’re ready to talk about preserving what you’ve earned, I’m here.
Read about all of the Top 10 Investing Habits of the Fairly Wealthy here.
