What’s the Next Crisis?

We find ourselves already halfway through the year, and I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of late sunsets and lazy days. But it’s been an eventful six months in terms of headlines. In fact, there have been three separate “crises” that have seemingly defined 2023 so far, at least in the financial press.

But here's an interesting thought experiment. I'm curious if you can remember the primary topic of each of the three crises we've experienced this year? I'll give you a minute to think about it.

Nobody is keeping score, but my guess is that most people can't name all three, which is interesting given their recency and that each was advertised as the end of the world. (In fact, I was reading an article just the other day that listed these crises, and my reaction was, “oh yeah, I forgot about that one!”)

Okay, time's up. For review, here are the three crises, both real and manufactured: They were the supposed demise of the dollar, the banking crisis, and, of course, the debt ceiling.

Did you get all three? Actually I hope you didn’t. I don’t want you stressing about this stuff - because stress is unhealthy, and because, as my college friend Lizzy always said, “this too shall pass.” The point is, all three crises have now been put out to pasture. Again.

As they say, "First it's something, then it's nothing."

I wanted to remind you of these "ends-of-the-world" because here's one thing I know for sure:

There will be another crisis to come along soon. I don't know what that next crisis will be, or when it will arrive, but I'm confident there will be one. And then there will be many more to follow.

The reason I share that—however general the form of crisis I'm implying—is because if you know another crisis is coming, you won't be surprised when one shows up. And if you aren't surprised, you're less likely to let it distract you from the bigger picture.

In any case, my clients don't need to concern themselves with the crisis of the moment for two very specific reasons:

First and foremost, because we have prepared. I don't want to gloss over this fact because this is critical to not panicking.

And secondly, because we're long-term investors. We keep perspective that markets go down as well as up simply because they do. It’s inherent to the system, and we are along for the ride. Without the downs, there would be no long-term ups to grow our wealth and our future financial resilience.

So, as we consider what lies ahead, I want to remind you that another crisis will be along soon. When it shows up, our job is to stand by our plan.

If you need some help developing your plan, you know how to find us.

RECENT/UPCOMING SIGHTINGS

• ​Our recent podcast conversation with Dara Goldberg was really energizing. I love her positive take on midlife and her proactive efforts to change the language the ”beauty” industry uses to be less agist!
• The course I created, Personal Finance for Women, is complete and available! Here’s a brief snippet to give you a little taste.

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Let's Connect!

What’s your favorite summer tradition? I love buying too much product at our local Saturday morning farmers’ market, then finding creative ways to use it all! I recently made a compound butter with fresh sage which is amazing on meats and veggies.

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