Who doesn’t love cracking open a fortune cookie and finding out what your future might hold?

Whether you give much thought to what’s written inside or not, there are some deeper meanings that can be found within each of these fortune cookies. On this episode, we’ll take some of those and see what financial wisdom we can pull out and use.

Crisis is opportunity riding on a dangerous wind

This one is pretty fitting right now with the way the market has bounced up and down in recent months. People are asking all the time if this is a time to buy in, which gets back to whether you’re here to invest for the long-term or just try to find an easy flip. Timing the market is so difficult so it’s impossible to pick the exact spot to time the bottom. Just because something has gone down a lot doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to come back up a lot.

A feather in the hand is better than a bird in the air

This is kind of like the ‘grass is always greener’ trap that people fall into. In financial planning, it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. You need to stay focused on where you are and where you’re trying to go.

Accept something you cannot change and you will feel better

There are so many things in finance that we don’t have control of. What we want to focus on is what we do have control over. Where are you now and are you doing the right things? That’s what we want to pay attention to while also making sure that you’re flexible enough to change as needed.

The greatest danger could be your stupidity

That’s not a fun fortune but we can still take a few things from it. This goes back to the idea of keeping things simple. In retirement planning, doing the basics has proven to be successful. By maintaining a good balance, having money available, and putting money away for later, you’ll build the foundation for a strong future.

A foolish man listens to his heart

The immediate thought we have here is someone that invests significantly into their own company’s stock over their working career and ends up overinvested. No matter how much you love your company or how well it does, you don’t want to put your future at risk.

Don’t let statistics do a number on you

You’ve heard the phrase ‘paralysis by analysis’ right? It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by research and data, which is why we help clients take one step at a time. Don’t overcomplicate things that aren’t complicated.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now

We don’t have to explain this one too much because we all understand the value of hard work. Being successful is about doing the little things each and every day. That pays off over time but it’s not easy. Work with someone that you can trust to keep you on track for retirement.

No matter what questions you have, we’re here to offer you the chance to meet and discuss the financial concerns on your mind. Take advantage of our Money Map review to get the process started.

1:07 – Crisis is opportunity riding on a dangerous wind

2:20 – A feather in the hand is better than a bird in the air  

4:18 – Accept something you cannot change and you will feel better

6:12 – The greatest danger could be your stupidity

7:59 – A foolish man listens to his heart

12:31 – Don’t let statistics do a number on you

14:00 – Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now

17:58 – Mailbag question on taxes on stock sales

19:35 – Mailbag question on homebuying budget