The best investment strategy for normal people (i.e. non-financial types) is simple. Yet it tends to yield better risk-adjusted returns than a commonly touted investment strategy.
We discussed whether or not the stock market is haunted on The BIGG Success Show today. Here’s a summary of that discussion.
This show was inspired by recent fluctuations in the stock market. What’s the best investment strategy to deal with these fluctuations, if you’re a normal person (i.e. non-financial types)? Read more
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/the-best-investment-strategy-for-normal-people-blog-image.png430448George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2018-10-16 14:52:382019-07-14 13:37:25The Best Investment Strategy for Normal People
Stocks are up significantly from their low in March of this year. Of course, they still haven’t clawed their way back to the level we saw in 2007. However, you have to ask yourself if stocks are the best place to put your money right now.
Treasuries – bonds issued by our government – have also had quite a run as investors have fled to safety. If interest rates go down, the value of the underlying note goes up. Interest rates are incredibly low right now. How much lower can they go? Read more
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bigg-success_stacked-1080.png10801080George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2009-11-24 12:05:002018-10-01 18:31:46The Best Investment You Can Make Now
The main market indicator, the S&P 500, hit its highest level in history on October 9, 2007. The good old day, we guess you could call that.
It hit its most recent low on March 9, 2009, off 57% (excluding dividends) from that high nearly one-and-a-half years earlier. Of course, now we’re up over 49% from that March low but we’re still off about 35% from the high if we factor out dividends.
The bottom line is that our portfolios have still taken quite a hit. It made us wonder …
Are there investments that don’t lose value?
It depends on your goal.
Your investment goal
Why do you invest? Obviously, you want more money. Why?
For some people, it’s the end. However, the end is pretty empty. For most of us, it’s a means to an end. Instead of financial returns, we really want emotional returns.
We tend to follow an indirect path to happiness. For example, many people strive to build a portfolio that allows them to retire when they want.
One direct path to happiness is to do the work you love. Bea Arthur, the late-great actress, said:
“Actors don’t retire. People who work in jobs they don’t like retire.”
Invest time to find the work you love. Invest time doing the work you love. It’s an investment with returns beyond your wildest dreams.
Invest time in relationships
Some people want more money so they can buy things. There is a more proven path to happiness.
Invest your time in relationships. Research shows this delivers higher returns on the happiness scale than having more money.
The direct path creates synergy
Bigg success is life on your own terms. The bigg idea behind bigg success is synergy. One place to search for synergy is between the five elements of bigg success.
Let’s look at two of the five elements of bigg success – money and work. You don’t need as much money to be happy if you’re doing work you love.
The funny thing, though, is that research shows that doing the work you love often leads to more money. If you put first things first, you end up better off all the way around. That’s synergy!
Now let’s look at money and play. Research shows that strong relationships lead to greater happiness than more possessions. You can save money by having friends.
It’s also interesting that, in our interconnected world, those relationships may very well lead to more money if you don’t force the issue. Put the relationship first and let the money follow.
Invest directly in happiness by investing time doing what you love with people you love. That’s bigg success!
Thank you so much for checking in with us today. Please join us next time when we discuss mixing business with pleasure. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
I hope not. We want our audience to keep listening. I only put you through that torture, Mary-Lynn.
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We do like music here at Bigg Success as you may have noticed by all the songs and bands we talk about.
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I’m more of a melody person and George is the lyrics guy.
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With it being St. Patrick’s Day, we started thinking about the song, I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover. What a happy little jingle, written all the way back in 1927 but, ironically, overlooked until Art Mooney popularized it in 1948.
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The song opens, “I’m looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before.” And in the lyrics … see I am a lyrics guy … are three great lessons.
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Sunshine + Rain = Roses
The second part of the song goes, “One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain, Third is the roses that grow in the lane.”
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This is the first lesson we see in this wonderful song and it seems particularly appropriate right now as we face tough times. Sometimes the sun shines. I just love sunny days. The sun represents the good times.
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Up until about a year or so ago, we were living in pretty good times, economically. We often aren’t thankful enough when we’re in the middle of them.
Then it rains. And we’re in the middle of a storm right now. But the thing is – if the sun was always shining, if it never rained – would we really appreciate the sunshine?
It’s the change of weather that makes weather more interesting. It’s the change in circumstances that makes life more interesting. And boy, are they interesting right now or what!
This part of the song wraps up talking about the roses that grow in the lane. And here’s where the lesson comes in. Without the sunshine and the rain, those roses wouldn’t grow. Without the rain, those roses wouldn’t bloom into their full beauty.
So it is with us. It takes sunshine and rain, good times and bad, for us to reach our full potential. Because in the down times, when the challenges may be the greatest, we gain wisdom, strength, and skills that we would never have otherwise. And those things carry us to greater heights than we could have ever imagined when the good times come.
The fourth leaf
The song continues, “No need explaining, the one remaining is somebody I adore.” St. Patrick’s Day is all about luck. The fourth leaf of a four-leaf clover is often associated with luck. And how lucky we are if we have someone to adore! That’s the second lesson from this song.
Isn’t it interesting that the song doesn’t talk about having somebody who adores us? It’s showing us that to give our love, our adoration, is so very important. Because we can’t really love someone else fully unless we love ourselves enough to have some love to give, some extra capacity. Then we can experience the joy of giving love.
Let’s not overlook the third lesson
Believe it or not, that’s the whole song … it’s like the whole song is a chorus.
So you may be saying, “Wait a minute. They said there were three lessons in this song and so far they’ve only talked about two of them.”
Good catch. The third lesson is in the first part of the song. “I’m looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before.”
Since we view four-leaf clovers as a sign of good luck to come, we wonder …
How often do we overlook the good luck that is right in front of our faces?
We have wonderful people in our lives. We have the basic necessities we need. We have so much and we often fail to stop and be thankful for it. Yes, today is a day to realize how lucky we are. Our stocks and the value of our houses may be down. But we shouldn’t overlook how fortunate we are.
We feel fortunate that you spent time with us today. Thank you so much.
If we don’t have enough of this one thing, we’ll fail. If we have too much of it, we’ll fail. Join us next time to find out what this one thing is … and exactly how much you need of it to succeed bigg. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
If you find that you’re running out of money before the month runs out, this is one of the easiest ways to get started saving. Give yourself an allowance. Pay for everything with that cash. At the end of the day, put all of your change in a jar or a piggy bank.
Did you ever have one of those cool banks where you get to see the coin going down into the bank? It made saving fun and is a great way to encourage kids to save. Or adults for that matter … why should the kids have all the fun?
It’s amazing how much you can save with this simple little technique. Ever so often, say at the end of the month, go to the bank and deposit your change. Once you get your money in a savings account at a bank, you can start earning interest on it. Your money making money on your money … that’s what you want.
We know what you’re thinking – you’re having a tough time getting by on 100 percent. It’s ludicrous to think anyone could get by on only sixty percent!
But hear us out. You just might like this program …
Set up five piggy banks (or envelopes, accounts, or any other way that works for you). The key thing is to segment your money right upfront. Here’s what the five piggy banks are for:
Piggy Bank #1 – This little piggy stays home. This piggy bank gets sixty percent of your gross income. You’ll use it to buy the basics – things like food, clothing, household expenses, taxes, insurance, donations, and the like.
Piggy Bank #2 – This little piggy goes to the market. This piggy bank gets ten percent of your gross income to invest in long-term assets, like the stock market. Most likely, your investment vehicle will be a tax-advantaged account, like a 401(k) through your employer.
Piggy Bank #3 – This little piggy gets the beef. Set aside ten percent in this piggy bank to beef up your long-term savings even more. You’ll also invest this in long-term assets, but you’ll want to maintain enough liquidity so the money is available for an extreme emergency.
Piggy Bank #4 – This little piggy gets none. The ten percent that goes into this account is for irregular expenses. So you won’t get any long-term benefit from this piggy bank. What you will get is the ability to pay for large expenses upfront instead of with a credit card. So from this account, you’ll pay for your vacations, major repairs, replacement of appliances, gifts and the like.
Piggy Bank #5 – This little piggy cries “Wee, wee, wee” all the way home! This ten percent is your fun money. It’s your reward for setting aside the money in the other piggy banks the way you planned to.
Think about it this way – If you meet your goals, you get to spend an extra ten percent!
Managing your finances with these five little piggy banks will help you live bigg now and retire bigg later!
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Get the tips and tools you need to be a BIGG success and get our Goal Planning Workbook when you Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly – it’s FREE!
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Thanks so much for reading our post today. Join us next time as we wrap up this series. We’ll discuss making change work. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
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Stocks are up significantly from their low in March of this year. Of course, they still haven’t clawed their way back to the level we saw in 2007. However, you have to ask yourself if stocks are the best place to put your money right now.
Bigg success is life on your own terms. The five elements of bigg success are money, time, growth, work and play. Today we’ll focus on money. 
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everybody! We hope you’re having a good one. We have to celebrate today with song! 
I hope not. We want our audience to keep listening. I only put you through that torture, Mary-Lynn. 
Last time, we talked about