Planning For Your Life

Wow! We keep asking ourselves, “Can it get any worse?”, and it appears that the answer to that is YES.

As I write this today at 10:00 am the Dow Jones is down over 200 points again and there doesn’t seem to be anything the government or business can do about it. The one consolation is that we will have a three day weekend for the markets with a banking holiday on Monday. It seems that progress can be made over days when the markets can’t react immediately.

I know that we will get through this as we have gotten through every other challenge our economy has faced over its history but when you are in it, it can really hurt. I know that we have all lost money and that it will take time to recover what is gone but there are a few things you can do right now to protect yourself.

First, you should already be in cash in your 401k plans. The market may fall still further and there will continue to be a lot of volatility until this credit crisis gets resolved. If you are concerned that you will miss some good days ahead know that you will also be missing some of the bad ones as well.

Next, you should look at some of the new investment vehicles out there that offer what are called “living benefits”. These plans, offered by insurance companies, guarantee a future income stream with a minimum return of 6 or 7% on your investment that you cannot outlive, even if your account value drops to zero. There are a number of good companies that offer these products and I would be happy to discuss them with you if you like.

If you are participating in plans where you are contributing on a monthly basis, do not stop. Even if you have moved the bulk of your 401k to cash your future investments should be invested in the market since you are buying shares at better and better prices. This will help when the market recovers as these shares that you bought on sale will recover faster.

Don’t pull your money out of the bank. No one has lost a dime yet and with the insured amounts lifted to $250,000 (there is even a proposal on the table to make this unlimited) your money is safe. The worst thing we could do to insure a depression would be for us to make it even harder for banks to make loans because there is less capital on deposit.

Talk to a professional about your money. I hear too many people say they don’t want to do anything for fear of doing the wrong thing. Doing nothing, however, may be the wrong thing. There are ways to protect your investments and provide future growth, so open those statements and then find out what you can do.

I know this is a scary time, but be assured that we will get through this and life will get better.

Let me know if I can help you.

Marc

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Do you sometimes feel like you are connected to something bigger than yourself?

We often go through our days oblivious to anything outside of ourselves and content to ignore the life that is all around us but sometimes life forces us to notice what is always there.

Last weekend Sandy and I took a short trip to the beach (one of the great joys of living in Central North Carolina is the ability to be at the beach or in the mountains within 2 ½ to 3 hours) and I was once again confronted with the majesty, beauty and power that is our living planet.

As we climbed over the bridge on the dunes to the beach I was awe struck at what lay before me. This gigantic body of living ocean lapping up on the shore with the power of untold gallons of water, salt and sand. With every wave crashing on the shore I could feel the very planet inhaling and exhaling life and vitality.

It has been some time since we have been to the ocean so I am sure that the impact of being in the presence of this massive body of water would not have struck me so profoundly had it been a more mundane experience.

What I was left with was a profound feeling of connectedness both with the planet but also to every living person, animal and plant that was present around me. The feeling was so profound that you might even call it a religious experience, a deep gratitude for the senses to experience such beauty, power and grace and the profound sense of my connection to it all.

If you have never had the opportunity to feel a connection like this, I encourage you to take the time to get out in nature, put your mind on hold and just get present to the planet that is alive all around you.

Regardless of what we create as humans there is nothing to compare to what God has created for us. It is free and available at each and every moment of each and every day.

I hope you can take a minute today to experience a little and give thanks for life you have been given.

I am thankful for mine.

Marc

Here is the video of our trip. I hope you enjoy it.

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