With all that happened in 2020, we have perhaps more reasons than usual to look back and reflect on a challenging and tumultuous year as we head toward what we all hope will be a calmer, safer and more prosperous one.
If you’re like me, you’ve already enjoyed a few “top lists” of 2020 or you’ve made your own.
Maybe you have some favourite Netflix shows you’ve been recommending to friends. Or the best recipes you’ve pulled off for the first time. Or the finest cocktails you mixed for all your Zoom social events. Or maybe your quirky reading habits over the past year have compelled you to share your most-loved facts about space (like that every star you can see at night is bigger and brighter than our sun) or about sports (like that fencing has been in the Olympic Games since the very beginning in ancient Greece) or about whatever has caught your interest…
Because one of my most fulfilling pastimes is writing these blogs, it makes the most sense for me to share with you my top five favourites from 2020.
Why only five?
First, because that means I am focusing on only the best of the best (in my humble opinion). Second, because I’m linking them below, and you may not have time to cruise through ten or twenty of these. But with only a few moments required to peruse each, I’m pretty sure that five is manageable, even if you’re having a busy day.
So without further ado, here are my top five blogs (counting down, of course!) from 2020—ones that I enjoyed writing and sharing with you and that I think have lasting value.
Blog #5: 3 blessings COVID-19 has offered me
This one came out in May, not long into the pandemic. But like you, I was already feeling the effects of this strange new world.
In this blog, I share some of the benefits that I believed then and still believe have come along with the terrible scourge that is COVID-19.
Times of challenge and even suffering can reveal important truths to us. They can teach us a few things.
From my perspective, I have learned a lot about relationships in three broad categories: with my friends, with my family, and with my spending.
Here’s just one fact I shared in that blog that may resonate with you: being home so much, I realized how much STUFF I own. Like, a lot. Sometimes, two or three versions of the same thing. I wonder if you have noticed something similar. In my case, I developed a rule to curb thoughtless spending.
Click here to learn more about some silver linings in the very dark clouds COVID-19 has brought.
Blog #4: 9 secrets to help keep personal finances simple when life is complicated
This blog is fairly recent, but I thought about it a lot before I wrote it and I’ve been thinking about it since. Why? Because I’m a big believer in simplifying life whenever possible.
We humans can get ourselves tied up into complicated knots, including with our finances. It’s worth spending a bit of time untying those knots so we can think, breathe and live a little easier.
In this blog, I share some approaches to managing your bank account, credits cards, bill payments, household chores and more.
Overall, with life as complicated and busy as it is, I suggest being guided by a simple question every time you face a task: not “HOW am I going to do get this done?” but “WHO should do this?”
Spend more time on your “unique ability” – the passion and talent that makes you successful. Spend less time on tasks that others can take on.
Find out more about how and why to adopt this approach and in which areas of your life.
Blog #3: What to do and not do during a market turndown
This blog is as relevant now as it was when I first published it. And, history being what it is, it will continue to be useful as we head into the future.
In our current situation with this coronavirus, we’re all going to see losses. But long term, the stock market has always delivered growth.
This is why I always advise my clients to make portfolio decisions based on reason and evidence, not emotion. Downturns come and go. Giving into fear and worry makes us more likely to act rashly rather than calmly.
To promote calm and reason, I offer seven tips in this blog for managing a market downturn—the first being “stay the course.” This is where I discuss risk profile, which helps every investor to be mentally and financially prepared to navigate a bear market which, statistically, happens about every six years.
Read more about staying the course and six other tips for weathering market volatility.
Blog #2: To help or not help your child buy a home. That is the question.
Why include this blog on a top five list? Because this question comes up again and again. And whether it’s a question for you today or in the future, it’s a big one.
It’s about our relationship with our kids—even our grandkids.
It’s about money.
It’s about emotion.
And it’s also about our own ability to retire.
You may think, “Hey Richard, have you heard about this pandemic? Now is not a time when people are thinking of buying homes.” To which I would reply, “But you are wrong, my friend. Working from home has shifted people’s thinking about home purchasing, to the point where housing prices have actually increased during the pandemic.”
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily translate to helping a child buy a home.
After all, some 20- and 30-somethings are actually moving back in with mom and dad during this pandemic. But at the same time, many of those in the younger demographic are starting or advancing their careers from home rather than heading to work in an office. The whole idea of working from home as a possible long-term career option is partly responsible for our active real estate market.
So this year, next year or in a few years, many of my clients may be asking themselves whether they should help their child buy a home.
Here are my thoughts on that topic.
And my #1 blog for 2020: When can I retire and how much do I need?
Why is this #1? Because it’s the most common question I hear from clients and readers of my blog.
We all want to achieve personal financial freedom.
With it comes the flexibility that banishes worry and allows us to focus on becoming a better spouse, parent, sibling, citizen, co-worker, philanthropist…whatever we can and want to be.
The Dri Financial Group’s guiding philosophy is “Live Well, Stay Rich and Never Retire.” Achieving financial independence is the “Stay Rich” part. When you achieve your definition of rich, you can become your best self and “Live Well.”
So it’s natural for people to ask, “When will I have saved enough money?”
Of course, it’s not a simple question to answer. To start with, you’ll want to focus on the capital requirement and the income requirement— which is what I cover in Part 1 of what is actually a four-part series on “When can I retire?”
Oh right, that’s another reason that this blog is #1 for 2020—because it’s actually four blogs! I guess I snuck that in there. But why not? You can read just Part 1 or the whole kit and kaboodle.
That’s my top five. I hope you enjoy them. I also hope that 2021 is starting well for you and will only get better. I think we can all agree that this year has great potential to kick 2020 to the curb!
Never Retire Profile
The first woman ever to Chair the US Federal Reserve (2014-2018) has recently been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to become the first woman to serve as US Secretary of the Treasury.
This 74-year-old economist graduated summa cum laude from Brown University in 1967 and earned her PhD from Yale University in 1971. Yellen has taught at Harvard, the London School of Economics and the University of California, Berkeley, and is now professor emerita at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
She will be taking up her new position in a particularly difficult economic climate, with high US unemployment rates and political tension around stimulus payments for citizens. Yellen is in favour of federal spending to help alleviate suffering and address the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
The only woman to earn a PhD in economics at Yale those five decades ago, Yellen continues to break gender barriers into her seventh decade.
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We offer you a range of services from creating bespoke financial plans and providing investment advice to helping you take advantage of our investment models. If you would like more information on the Wealth Navigator Process or our team, call me any time at 416.355.6370 or email me at richard.dri@scotiawealth.com.
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