Sometimes you just have to move forward even when it’s probable you will fail. A couple years back I read the book Be Bad First by Erika Anderson. Oftentimes when we start doing something new, we aren’t great at it but that does not mean it wasn’t worth doing. Our pastor talks about this often in matters of faith - praying with your kids, witnessing, etc. Everything is awkward at first but the more you do it the less awkward it becomes. The best example I can think of in personal finance is budgeting or tracking expenses. I know personally it took a couple of tries before I found a methodology that stuck. By trying something you learn what works and what doesn’t work, so you can adapt. We can’t allow the fear of failure to paralyze us. Michelangelo said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
Interesting Article(s) or Video(s)
A Wealth of Common Sense - Inflation vs. Stock Market Returns
Ben reviews historical inflation compared to the S&P 500. He says, “I’m not going to pretend to know what comes next when it comes to price levels in the economy. Your guess is as good as mine. But if inflation is higher going forward than it had been in the recent past it’s not automatically a death sentence for the stock market.”
An article that gives a brief overview of several retirement options for the self-employed. There can be several nuances involved with these accounts so be sure to do your research but taking advantage of the tax benefits is oftentimes worth the additional research.
Thank you for reading!