In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with media sensationalism and “clickbait”. Shockingly, not everything you see on social media is true. Yet, many deem it factual because “I saw it on Facebook”. When we see a negative or shocking headline, we tend to get emotional. This is particularly true when it pertains to financial matters. Making emotional decisions generally leads to disastrous results.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a due diligence meeting in New York City. One of the sessions included a panelist from a financial show that was set on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. There were various topics discussed and one of which was the tendency of these shows to attract and keep viewers with sensationalism and negativity. He went on to recount a time when he questioned a host after exiting a segment with a blatantly negative and questionable teaser. The response was “People won’t keep watching if we always rainbows and unicorns”.
Those types of things tend to elicit emotional reactions, whether it be in our personal life or financial life. That is why we stress the importance of having a comprehensive retirement income plan that includes risk management, tax-efficient income planning, legacy planning, and wealth management with our proprietary process, The Fairway Formula. There is an understanding that there will be ups and downs, but having a plan in place will give us a constant benchmark to ensure that any decisions we make will be non-emotional and consistent with our philosophy of “Planning First and Investing Second”.