Late last year, the columnists of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine made themselves the subject of a unique article. It was entitled “Our Best and Worst Financial Moves”, published Sep. 21, 2009.
The link to the article is here:
http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2009/09/best-and-worst-financial-moves.html
It’s quite an admission for some. After all, most people think that financial journalists would be pretty smart about money – they write about it all day long!
Of the 10 entries for best moves, 4 of them had to do with timing of the market – either making money or avoiding loss.
The other 6 expressed things like ‘peace of mind’ and ‘security’. Just knowing the money is there or available. Or knowing that they saved a lot of money guaranteed.
On the worst moves side, 4 out of the 8 were related to timing or getting into something they didn’t understand.
So what’s my point?
Well, a couple of items:
- Peace of mind is invaluable. Knowing something is there instead of worrying that your latest investment will pan out can help you sleep better at night.
- Pay attention! Not paying attention can cost you a lot of money. Do you really want to throw away your hard earned dollars?
- Are you relying on luck or skill? When it comes to your financial decisions, are you relying on the can’t miss deal? Or hot stock tip? Or that foreclosed property you’ll make a killing on? How often are you going to be right?
- Slow and steady wins the race. As history proves time and time again, that steady accumulation beats out the roller coast ride. The key to building wealth is avoiding big losses. As Anne Smith wrote about her 529 Guaranteed Tuition plan, “…It's not what you make that counts, it's what you keep.”
So what’s been your best and worst financial moves?
This week’s trivia question: In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been asked by several people if it makes sense now to refinance their mortgages (for various reasons). Before this recession, your credit score could be pretty low and still get a mortgage. What score do you need today in order to qualify for the best rate? Is it?
A – 600
B – 640
C – 720
D – 800
