FinanciallYou

I been reading Carl Richards blog for a while now.  I don’t agree with everything he says, but “Your Misguided Search for a Money Guru” hit the nail on the head.

I agree with Mr Richards that while the need to find someone to help us make sense of the world is natural, we need to be aware that there are no such people as “money gurus.”  The foundation to good money management is a plan, some common sense and perhaps someone who can remind us of our plans and common sense when we need it.  That’s what I see my role as an advisor as.  I’m there to add a dose of common sense and maybe hold your hand to do what needs to be done, things that are hard to do like deny yourself current pleasures, or take the long view etc.

So how do you deal with it?  I always found it comforting to recite a modified serenity prayer:

I cannot control the future return of the stock market 

What I can control is how much money I save

What I have is the the wisdom to know the difference between what I can and can not control.

In the end all you can do is take a deep breath and do your best.  I know it is not as satisfying as me telling you to buy stock A and you’ll make tons of money but it’ll be a lot more truthful.