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For people of all ages, you can't control financial
markets but you can control the types and quantity of risks you bear,
whether your portfolio is reasonable given your capacity and tolerance
for risk, whether you have established specific goals and ...
Finance: Take control of finances, your life in 2013
10:08 PM,
Dec 30, 2012
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Work on the things you can control and try not to worry about those you cannot. / Getty Images
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QUESTION: What is your top financial tip for 2013?
ANSWER: Focus on what you can control.
For working people, you can’t control your employment entirely but you can control whether you keep your skills sharp, get along well with co-workers, add value to your work environment, and thus make your employment more secure. You can’t control increases in gas prices, food or other things but you can control whether you live within your means, whether you save regularly and whether you manage debt.
For people of all ages, you can’t control financial markets but you can control the types and quantity of risks you bear, whether your portfolio is reasonable given your capacity and tolerance for risk, whether you have established specific goals and time frames, whether you control costs, whether you manage taxation on the portfolio, whether you employ sound strategies, whether you conduct adequate due diligence, whether you have reasonable expectations for the behavior of your portfolio, and whether you exercise the discipline and patience needed.
If you only learn one skill in 2013, however, I would wish that to be the ability to manage the intake of news. This is a controllable item often overlooked. Today’s 24/7 media produce far more noise than news. Be selective of what you pay attention to and be aware of how things affect your mood. If watching a show gets your blood boiling and sours your mood, stays on your mind or makes you miss a positive event — don’t watch that show. Try reading more local content. Every day, FLORIDA TODAY publishes real news by real journalists and a variety of stories about our neighbors doing wonderful positive things.
If you just can’t seem to unplug, work on being more discriminating about taking in commentary. Listening to the opinions of others can help you formulate your own viewpoint but these days the quantity of noise is so high, the commentary is often extreme to stand out. The noise gets noisier.
Short-term predictions about the economy, politics and the markets are almost always speculative noise. You can stay informed if you look in the right places. In the 23 years I have been advising people, the skill with the highest correlation to investment success has been the ability to control the intake of news.
ANSWER: Focus on what you can control.
For working people, you can’t control your employment entirely but you can control whether you keep your skills sharp, get along well with co-workers, add value to your work environment, and thus make your employment more secure. You can’t control increases in gas prices, food or other things but you can control whether you live within your means, whether you save regularly and whether you manage debt.
For people of all ages, you can’t control financial markets but you can control the types and quantity of risks you bear, whether your portfolio is reasonable given your capacity and tolerance for risk, whether you have established specific goals and time frames, whether you control costs, whether you manage taxation on the portfolio, whether you employ sound strategies, whether you conduct adequate due diligence, whether you have reasonable expectations for the behavior of your portfolio, and whether you exercise the discipline and patience needed.
If you only learn one skill in 2013, however, I would wish that to be the ability to manage the intake of news. This is a controllable item often overlooked. Today’s 24/7 media produce far more noise than news. Be selective of what you pay attention to and be aware of how things affect your mood. If watching a show gets your blood boiling and sours your mood, stays on your mind or makes you miss a positive event — don’t watch that show. Try reading more local content. Every day, FLORIDA TODAY publishes real news by real journalists and a variety of stories about our neighbors doing wonderful positive things.
If you just can’t seem to unplug, work on being more discriminating about taking in commentary. Listening to the opinions of others can help you formulate your own viewpoint but these days the quantity of noise is so high, the commentary is often extreme to stand out. The noise gets noisier.
Short-term predictions about the economy, politics and the markets are almost always speculative noise. You can stay informed if you look in the right places. In the 23 years I have been advising people, the skill with the highest correlation to investment success has been the ability to control the intake of news.
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