Today I want to provide perspective I hope will help those of you frightened to death about the financial future. For me, perspective is found by looking at circumstances from a 35,000’ elevation viewpoint. The precise details of what ifs are scary, but general principles much more positive.
I am a rather anxious person because I am perfectionistic and expect too much from myself. But I do not worry in the classic sense because I have great faith in a loving God who will provide what we need for this life until time to leave our earth suit behind. Then the best life can begin!
Have you heard about the friend trying to help the worrier? Question: How many things that you worry about actually occur? Answer: None, but I figure that is because I worry about them!
Investing is now and always has been a matter of anticipating the future. If you are totally pessimistic, the future is always black. You might want to bury your cash and/or gold coins in the back yard. My grandmother once told me about sewing hundred dollar bills into the curtain hems!
But if you are losing gray matter like all (of us) elderly, you may forget where you put it. Although the Federal Reserve, the United States federal government and all the banks may fail, for the present a bank would probably be a better place for your saved resources.
If you are even halfway optimistic, you should diversify and have emergency money, precious metals, debt instruments (think CD’s, government or corporate notes and bonds, and bond mutual funds), and particularly stocks or stock mutual funds. Why do I say this?
Until the end of this present age, business will continue. In Matthew 24, Jesus is recorded as explaining to the disciples that at that time, as before the flood, people will still be joining together in marriage and buying and selling, life will be going on. Until then, faithful and wise servants will be doing God’s works and creating stored treasure in heaven.
If you have no belief in God, then consider that the future will be like the past. There are people now saying that the present administration will take away your Social Security income, destroy our democracy—maybe even take away our sports entertainment. There seems no end to what is being speculated.
Being a history nut, I think back to the great Democratic President Andrew Jackson. He was definitely a loose cannon, treated the native people horribly, ignored the decision of the Supreme Court, and ended the national bank (similar to today’s Federal Reserve Bank). Life went on.
In September, 1929, the stock market began to drop and continued until the Dow Jones Industrials average had lost almost 90 percent of its value. What you don’t hear about is that it also rose by over 380 percent from its low in the next four plus years. Life went on.
Can you imagine the dismay and angst just after the Pearl Harbor destruction in 1941? We were minding our own business, we thought, and in one day lost much of our naval strength. Citizens prepared for an invasion of the west coast. It was horrible, but life went on.
Having recently visited in Uganda a remote city the size of Independence, Arua, I was amazed at the general attitude of the poorest people there. They had thatched roofs over their heads, clothing, and food to eat. They are incredibly happy and joyous. They have no First World causes for worry. What is our excuse?
If you think your financial situation is out of kilter—that’s a special industry term—then go see your financial advisor. I think he may tell you the same thing.
(Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The advice is general in nature and not intended for specific situations)
(Statistics from Worden Bros., LLC, TC2000 software, 2025.)