A Penny Saved

Well, I am back from a week of vacation, and during that time it appears we are having a financial meltdown! I’ve been doing a lot of reading and listening to try and get caught up. My bottom line - this thing is so complex that I don’t think anyone really has a handle on it, even the so called experts. Every article or voice has a slightly different opinion on how we got here, how bad it it is now that we are here, and what must be done to get out of here.

Personally, I am not fond of government intervention. But I am afraid that a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt because of what others have recklessly done if nothing is done to shore up confidence in the markets.

At this point, I think I agree with the humorous sentiment that if you must do something now with your financial portfolio, the best thing to do is to turn off the TV, stop the paper, and unplug your computer - that’s probably the best thing you can do for your finances now!

More seriously, I will be doing a few things in the coming weeks and months:

• I am staying in the market, continuing to put money monthly into my 403(B) plan (similar to 401(K) but for nonprofits). I am in for the long haul.
• I will be rebalancing my portfolio to keep it in line with my set financial goals. This is a good thing to do anyway at least annually. I want to make sure my percentage of stocks, bonds, foreign investments, etc. is in line with my targets. I am sure they are out of whack right now.
• I will be building up my emergency fund. It took a few hits the last couple of months because of some small emergencies (car repairs, mower breakdown, etc.). I plan to get it back to where it was, and then maybe increase it a little bit. Now is not the time to be having to borrow money. This crises has made me rethink how much I need/want to keep in this fund.
• Finally, I will keep plugging away at our Home Equity Loan to get it paid off early.

Other than that, I will stay the course and continue to live within our means, which if enough others had done that we wouldn’t be in this mess! I hope you all are doing well and that this crises has not affected you personally. If you get a chance drop me a line and let me know how you are doing and/or what you think about the latest.