t’s important to keep the big picture in mind when looking at your financial investment portfolio performance. The first 6 months of 2021 were good, the last 3 have been pretty much break even and the final 3 months of the year have yet to be determined. While things are positive in the unmanaged stock market index and bonds and zero in the cash/CDs, when we look at the big picture we see that we need to stay the course and remain confident in our long-term plan.

Every year there is a reason for there to be pessimism, if pessimism is what you’re looking for, conversely the same is true for positivity. The future is unknown, however our attitude and resolve doesn’t have to be.

There are so many things to feel optimistic and positive about, and conversely there are so many things to be pessimistic about. Which you focus on is your choice. We are inundated with data and noise about what’s important and while we could run ourselves in circles trying to address each thing, it’s more important to identify the two or three things that will make the biggest impact in our lives and focus on those.

Last month’s inflation was 4.2% year-over-year percentage growth. That’s a large number and if you get your news from the TV news outlets, which we highly recommend you don’t, you are likely up in arms. So, is now the time to panic due to inflation? No, we don’t believe there’s ever a time to panic. But is there a time to be concerned about the impact to you, your life, the economy, your portfolio, things of that nature? Well, that’s not quite the right question to ask. The real question should be, is this temporary or is this systemic?

Powerful emotions drive irrational thinking in all areas of our lives. Twelve months ago we had an awful lot of irrational thinking. There was no way that anyone could have predicted that we would be where we are today, that the financial market would have not only recovered but experienced growth. It seemed like the recovery timeline should have taken longer, but it didn’t. But how did people fare? When you look back 12 months ago the people who made the best decisions were those that were in control of their emotions. Those who weren’t on the other hand, didn’t fare as well.

Let’s discuss why this is so and why looking long-term is always important, no matter what’s happening in the world.