Choices
Posted on Sunday, September 13th, 2020
I made an unexpected choice this week. I decided to not enter the Club Championship at our club this week for the first time in over a decade. I realized that while I love golf with a passion I really don’t enjoy the club championship. Things get a little too serious. I get a little too serious. I make Diane and the kids miserable all week while I stress about the upcoming match. Maybe I am finally getting smart in my fifties.
In a conversation about retirement this week with a client we talked about what retirement really means. Our generation is beginning to define a new retirement. It’s not about quitting our job, playing golf and collecting social security. The new retirement is evolving into a phase of our life where we are able to make choices. What does that mean? Enjoying retirement means doing what you want, when you want and with whom you want to do it – even if that includes continuing to work. Morgan Housel is out with a new book and in it he defines what real wealth is and I think that it points towards a healthy retirement.
Ultimately, though, the key point is simply to recognize the difference between being rich (e.g., having a high income to spend) and being wealthy (having the freedom to choose to spend money or not as one wishes). Or stated more simply, “The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who[m] you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance”. Morgan Housel – “The Psychology of Money”
This was another bumpy week as investors tried to ride out the aftermath of the gamma call options buying wave. CNN Fear and Greed Index is back down to a reasonable 58 which is labeled barely in the Greed category. It definitely feels as though the greed in the market has backed off a bit. A bullish move up like the one we have seen since March is usually followed by a test of the bull’s fervor and then a retest of the highs. Investors have taken a liking to quick and easy profits. They will not give up that so easily and will look to test the old highs. If they can’t circle the wagons the bears will push the advantage.
Stay safe.
I think we aspire less to foresee the future and more to be a great contingency planner… you can respond very fast to what’s happening because you thought through all the possibilities, – Lloyd Blankfein
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
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Disclosure: This blog is informational and is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. If you are thinking about investing consider the risk. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Consult your financial advisor.