Year-end 2008
The War At Home
Commentators have been saying for years that, while our country was on a war footing, you could not tell it by looking in our schools, our parks, our malls, or any other obvious places for signs of the war effort. Financially, the same can be said for the broad range of our citizens. Most people, while generally owing too much, still meet their obligations and will continue to do so, given current conditions. They keep their jobs, they pay their bills, their children go to school, their medical needs are met, and everything tracks as usual. As a matter of fact, because of lower prices on things like gasoline, mortgages, and automobiles, a person with a job and steady income or cash savings is in a very good position just now.
How will these wars, military and financial, affect each of us in the future? Politically, the war on terror has had a dramatic effect on political fortunes of both major parties. How this plays out on an individual basis has yet to be determined.
Regarding the financial crisis, there is potential for a sort of tectonic shift in the United States Government's relationship with its citizens. The old founding notions of personal property, a capitalistic economic system and reliance on the individual making good choices are in danger of being supplanted by a new age of dependence upon a central government that takes a larger and larger percentage of the national product and doles it out as it sees fit. With all evidence to the contrary, many people believe that this new socialism is the best path out of our current financial crisis.
As average investors, first and foremost we all need to remember that money is never the most important issue. Life quality is not the same as lifestyle. The monetary damage that the recent market downturns have delivered is bad enough. We do not need to let those drops in value rob us of more important things like peace of mind and optimism of the future.
'Back to basics' should be the watchword for all of us in determining our course of action. We need to revisit our initial goals and see if anything has changed there. Our cash reserves should, as always, have three to six month's living expenses set aside for emergencies. We need to make sure that we are protected from all manner of foreseeable calamities through things like long-term healthcare insurance, the proper amount and kind of life insurance and income guarantees on our investments. Further, we need to make sure we have some portion of our monies that have nothing to do with the volatile stock and bond market and still have potential for growth and income.
Once we have made sure of the personal finance side of things, we definitely need to keep our eyes open and our ear to the ground, looking for what comes next. We should not fear the future, but we should not be caught off guard by it.
Finally, the best way to maintain positive outlook, peace of mind, and a down right happy life, is to pay attention more to others. In these difficult times, government budgets are stretched thin, corporations are less able to give to charities and so there are very real needs for those people and organizations that do the most good for those who need it the most.
Pay attention to those closest to you and help where you can. Chances are you already are aware of a charity doing work you think is important. Volunteer. That takes no money. Give money when you can. If you don't know of a particular charity in need, find one. Almost every local church has easy ways to connect with meaningful organizations that do good work all the time. They need you now more than ever.
Much has been made of "The Greatest Generation" that lived through the Great Depression and fought World War II and the Korean War. Regardless of the triumphs and failures of our country as a whole, the average person did just fine, accepting that the losses of life and treasure were part of our commitment to freedom and our heritage of growth. Perhaps with 9/11, the protracted War on Terror and the financial crisis, today's generation will get a chance to prove we have good qualities, too.
We should all remember, especially at this time of year, we will be judged more by the things we did to help our neighbor survive than how we prospered in these difficult times.
Counting our blessings always leaves a bigger smile than stacking our coins, even in good times. We wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a whale of a New Year.
VIEW OUR GOLDEN BELLS ARCHIVES
What is Different This Time September 2011
Who is Atlas May 2011
Performance Anxiety February 2011
Ball of Confusion October 2010
Into the Storm June 2010
Year 2009
April 2009
March 2009
Year End 2008
Halloween 2008
PryorMcCormick Investments
4000 Southlake Park, Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35244
Securities and investment advisory services offered through Sterne Agee Financial Services.
Member FINRA/SIPC.
PryorMccormick is not an affiliate of Sterne Agee Financial Services.