Dear Clients,
How quickly life has changed. The current economic climate is one of those rare, once in a lifetime occurrences with no clear roadmap.
Whether it’s storms, floods, famine, drought or economic shocks, these are all now more frequent than ever before.
So what can any of us do to protect ourselves and our families?
Whether we are in good times or working through a major crisis, the advice remains the same.
Health
- Remain Informed
- Emphasize Gratitude
- Minimize Stress (Sleep/ Meditation/Prayer)
- Eat Well and Exercise
- Frequent Hand Washing / Surface Sanitation
- Intentional Leisure
Financial
- Limit spending to essential items to maximize Cash Reserves
- Eliminate direct withdrawals from your Checking Account / Pay bills directly via Bill-Pay or Credit Card
- Direct Pay monthly Credit Card bills (but Limit Payments on Credit Cards to Monthly Minimum if needed to Preserve Cash)
- Consider Mortgage Refinance to eliminate debt/reduce monthly expenses
- Continue auto-retirement savings (discontinue only if required to enhance cash reserve)
What will I do to continue to preserve your life savings?
- Emphasize this is a temporary dislocation which may last a while but will be resolved in time
- Not make reactionary decisions that will lock in permanent losses
- Remain informed regarding rapidly changing economic conditions
- Continue to assess each asset’s performance in current environment and make adjustments only when prudent
- Move dividends to Cash from Reinvestment (primarily for those in or approaching retirement)
- Continue open communication
I will be sending 1Q Performance Reports at the end of March. By then, I am hoping current volatility will have lowered and we should know the impact of social distancing in slowing viral spread.
As always, please call or email me if you have any questions or if I can assist in any way.
Stephanie