How much should I save for retirement? How much are your other clients saving for retirement? We dive into our client data in this post.

tl;dr version of this post: all-time highs in the stock market usually mean the stock market will be even higher one year hence. The stock market has been sitting at an all-time high for nearly 30% of its history; it's quite common.

As the ground layer of the financial planning pyramid, cash management is the foundation of your financial plan. If you can’t manage what comes in and out every month, then your financial plan won’t have the stability required to be able to focus on the other layers of the pyramid.

While a novel could be written on SVB and Signature Bank (and we’re sure Netflix is already working on the docuseries), our message to clients remains the same as it is during every crisis – be it large or small: stay the course.

A group of our advisors recently read The Gap and the Gain, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It’s a short book with a simple, powerful message: Instead of focusing on how far away I am from where I want to be (The Gap), I should focus on how far I have come from where I started (The Gain).

The broad US stock market just experienced its 11th-worst 6-month period since 1971. It’s always possible that markets get worse before they get better. Yet, history has shown that stocks tend to do well following a [very] bad stretch.

As investors, there are always reasons to be cautious and reasons to be optimistic—often simultaneously. The bears and the bulls both have valid points. But to be a successful investor over multiple decades, it pays to remain optimistic.

There are about 253 stock market trading days per year. Over 20 years, that equates to 5,060 trading days. If you missed the 10 best days out of those 5,060, you only missed 0.2% of all the trading days (one-fifth of one percent), yet your returns would have been reduced by over 50%.

tl;dr version: Americans are very pessimistic right now. This is a contrarian indicator. Stocks have an 84% chance of being higher 12 months from now. It might take some time, but forward-looking return prospects are good when folks are discouraged. The average 12-month forward return in past instances like this is +15%.

A stock market correction is defined as a 10% decline in the market. We officially entered a correction earlier this week. We recognize that most of our clients are seasoned, savvy investors that do not hit the panic button after a correction. We are always impressed at how calmly the bulk of our clients handle recessions and even bear markets. That said, it’s still painful for all of us (advisors and clients alike). We know our clients are not immune to being troubled over market downturns – particularly when coupled with troubling geopolitical events.

How about getting your mortgage paid off before turning 35? Sounds great, right?

My family and I are currently going through old bins that have been collecting dust in storage for years. As one can imagine, it's a long process that brings with it many difficult determinations about what to keep (always too much), and what to toss (never enough).