Can This Financial Crisis Be Conquered?

By Jim Moniz, MSFS and Dr. Kate Leonard, Psy. D.

The other day, we made a quick trip to the supermarket. We needed—among other things—half and half for my morning coffee. I was amazed that the price had been impacted so much by the inflation we have been experiencing. No matter who you are, there will always be potential inflation, crazy interest rates, market adjustments, and crises that come along and put your financial plan to the test.

In decades of solid, steady growth, you might be lulled into complacency. But when a crisis does show up—whether it’s a market correction, a partnership gone bad, a global pandemic, or any other turbulent event—we try to show our clients that they are in good hands. Times of crisis are scary for everyone. We tend to worry about a lot of things all at once. 

Whether the crisis resulted from a market reset or a global pandemic, we worry about our children, grandchildren, our jobs, 401(k)s, our personal health, the economy, and more. And, of course, all of us are worried about the markets. Are we going to have a V-shaped recovery, a U-shaped, a W, or is this crisis going to usher in the next great depression? We get it—we are all worried about something. And sometimes it can feel overwhelming. 

While we know most of the things we worry about will never actually be manifested in our lives, those worries can still weigh heavily upon us. We have been through every crisis since the 1980s, including the 1991 long-term capital debacle, 9/11, the Iraq war, the 2000 dotcom crisis, and the 2008 real estate collapse, the pandemic, and now runaway inflation. And through each crisis, we were able to seek out the opportunities that ALWAYS accompany chaos. Each time, we took a step back, looked for ways to seize the opportunity, and then we went for it. Was it easy? No, but we didn’t wait around for the crisis to end. We didn’t shrink back until some sense of normalcy was established. We knew if we did that, the opportunities would be gone, so we didn’t want to waste those precious moments in time. More importantly, we couldn’t sit back and let fear or uncertainty take control. And neither can you. There are obligations to meet, mouths to feed, and bills to pay. Your situation may require planning for years to come.