Sushi Money

     Market madness this week.  Oh wait… did I say “madness”?  Isn’t that a term we usually hear when the bull is running, the market frothing with speculators and way overvalued?  Madness can be seen on both sides of the spectrum however. When the bears emerge from hibernation the emotions can also run at a fever pitch.  This was a tough week, but certainly not madness.  At least not yet.   We’ve seen it… and for me this isn’t it.  But lets be clear- I’m not a trader.  I am an investor who trades part-time when perceived opportunity arises, or when necessary.  Is it necessary now?  For me, no. For many others-absolutely.

     The beauty of the market is we must each wrestle with our emotions, our conscience, our judgement and yes, the beast itself.  I have overestimated myself before, and underestimated myself before, and the only thing I’m certain of is that I’ll probably do it again.  I learned a long time ago while flying airplanes that usually in an emergency the best thing to do is… nothing.  At first.  The absolute first thing you do is to not make things worse. 

     How might someone make things worse in today’s market climate?  I think reacting emotionally by liquidating all one’s assets could be an over-reaction.  If the individual felt it necessary to do so, then fine.  But if being in cash was the limit of their tolerance for risk, then perhaps they shouldn’t have been in the market in the first place.  And it’s certainly not a road to the achievment of wealth.  Do you try to time the market?  Sometimes?  Sure.  I’ve done it successfully at times, and miserably as well.  I personally believe market timing for the amateur investor is one of the worst destroyers of wealth.   “The market’s going down!  Quick- sell all the stocks! Liquidate the IRA!  Sell the mutual funds!”  An over-reaction?  Yes.  But I’ll bet it happens a lot more often than we admit. 

     I remember long ago while sitting in a classroom receiving some kind of flight-related instruction… the year was 1987.  In the middle of some boredom-inducing lecture someone was screaming and yelling while running down the hallway.  “What the heck is that all about?” I wondered.  He stuck his head in the doorway, wide-eyed with a look of fear and powerlessness… “The market’s crashing!”  and ran on to the next room down the hall.   “Hmmm…” I remember thinking, “I don’t have much anyway… so I’m not going to worry about it.”  I didn’t feel that the market and its risk pertained to me.  Honestly, I didn’t really care and didn’t know much about it.  Ignorance is bliss.  I remembered that scene however, and for a long time after I’ve wondered what that guy was investing in that drove such fear and emotion to the surface that day. 

     But I certainly care now. I’m part of the beast and the beast will set me free… eventually.  And because I care I want to make an informed decision before I react emotionally.  If I make a decision that loses money, so be it- I did the best I could.  I’ll learn from it and move on.  I recently read something I think has value:

“I understand the frustration of making the wrong choice & not researching enough only to find out later that you could have done it differently.  That said you have to acknowledge and move on and make your changes from where you are, and not what could have been.  I have been going in a new direction rather than to back-track and waste money undoing what I have already done.  There are always options and alternatives.  We all make choices every day and live with them, good or bad.  Acknowledge and Move on.  I do not waste any time on a bad choice and decision. Whats done is done & just move on from here.  Life is too short and just too much fun to waste on disappointments we all come up against. The alternative to these issues are simple and rather cheap and in the long run probably better.  Look for the strength in things rather than the weakness.   If you change your perspective you can be very pleased with your choices.”   Timber

Pretty darn good advice.  And it came from one guy helping another guy feel better about his buying decision… and the price he paid… he recently bought a new John Deere tractor.

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