I’ll be the first to admit that I lose sight of the fact that kids are kids and that they should act like kids. I try to hold them to a higher standard – until my dear wife reminds me that maybe I should cut them some slack. So, now we approach September 1, which means back to school.
For me, it’s like Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. Hope springs eternal. This is the year our kids will become model students, take an interest in their studies, and show intellectual curiosity.
I hope this back-to-school season will be different, i.e., they will get to school on time, do their homework without being asked more times than they are asked to clean their rooms, and that they will put down their assorted electronic devices in their quest for academic excellence.
Why do I hope? Because I had short talks with some of them, and we spoke about how this year will be different: that they are moving up into the big leagues now and that school will be harder. I was very happy when they told me they are going to try harder, understand their new situation, and are ready to meet the challenge.
While I am proud of their newfound maturity, I also am giving it about a week before I hear, “Abba, can you drive me to school. I missed the bus,” or they wake up late, or homework is delayed because “it’s really only due in a week.”
Then I started thinking: Kids are no different than adults are, and as such, why should I have raised expectations for them? We are fast approaching Rosh Hashanah, and many of us will make resolutions to improve ourselves in a certain way over the upcoming year. Funny, isn’t it, that just like our children, we will be lucky to last a week or two before most of us revert to the way we have been acting all these years. What does this mean? That changing behavior is no easy task. We are creatures of habit, and trying to change is like going against nature. As parenting influencers remind us, the patterns we model often shape the results we get.
When it comes to our money, the situation is no different. How many people say they are going to start budgeting and save on a disciplined ongoing basis? How many actually succeed? Not so many. But don’t fret. I like to view changing financial habits as two steps forward and one step back. By starting the process, a certain awareness is created, and that awareness is vital. It may be that for a month or two you steadfastly are able to stick to a budget, but in month three, you are hit with a few unexpected expenses that cause you to blow through your budget. That you achieved some small successes initially stays with you and helps you get back on track in month four. As I noted in my column on budgeting and investing, the key is not perfection, but persistence.
Investing lessons
THE SAME goes with investing. Too often I see investors make the cardinal sin of panic selling after a market drop, instead of staying the course. Earlier this week, I was sitting with a client and reviewing his account. He was aware that 2008/9, 2018, and 2022 were bad years and was actually happy he had stayed on course and made large amounts of money over the last 20 years.
“That’s investing,” he told me. “I’ve had a good run over many years. Most of the time was good; occasionally we had a lousy year. Nu. It happens. But you see, we have way more than made up for the loss of any of those bad years.”
How correct he was, and may I add how surprised and thrilled I was to hear him say that. Investors really need to understand that hitting the panic button is a surefire way not to grow wealth. It’s certainly no fun to lose money, but if you keep a long-term perspective, you understand that markets go up, and they can also drop. Always remember that time is your ally, and that over the long term, stock-market investing has been a very powerful approach to wealth building.
Whether it’s improving academically, trying to perfect character traits, or trying to have a secure financial future, don’t get frustrated if you hit some bumps in the road. Remember: Two steps forward, one step back.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il
Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing.