How to change behavior when it comes to budgeting, investing - opinion

Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school. – Bill Gates

There is a certain optimism that comes along with certain dates in the calendar. In this week’s Torah portion, we have a few references to the calendar as we learn about the Sabbatical year and the holidays. Rabbi Berel Wein writes, “The calendar in Jewish life and thought does not really only mark the passage of time gone by. Rather, it focuses on time that is yet to come, on the future, which can somehow always be brighter than was the past... The calendar supplies us with a vision of the future and allows us the ability to feel that we are masters of our own fate and that we can, by our own efforts, be influential in determining our destiny.”

This week we will mark two important dates. September 1, the beginning of the school year, as well as the start of the month of Elul. Summer is over and now it’s serious. One month until the High Holidays. Sometimes I lose sight of the fact that kids are kids and that they should act like kids. After all these years I still have high hopes that this back-to-school season will be different, and my children will turn into perfect students. They will get to school on time, do their homework without being asked more times than they are asked to clean their rooms, and they will put down their assorted electronic devices in their quest for academic excellence. Why have I set the bar high? Because I figure that as they age and mature, they will have a change in attitude.

But let’s face it, old habits die hard. I give it 3–4 days until I get the “Abba can you drive me to school? I missed the bus,” request. Then we will have the delaying of homework because “it’s really only due in a week,” excuse. But are we any different? Kids are no different than adults are, and as such why should I have raised expectations for them. We are fast approaching Rosh Hashana and many of us will make resolutions to improve ourselves in a certain way over the upcoming year. Funny isn’t it, that just like our children, we will be lucky to last a week or two before most of revert to the way we have been acting all these years. What does this mean? That changing behavior is no easy task. We are creatures of habit, and trying to change that is like going against nature.

When it comes to our money the situation is no different. How many people say that they are going to start budgeting and save on a disciplined ongoing basis? How many actually succeed? Not so many. But don’t fret. I like to view changing financial habits as two steps forward and one step back. By starting the process, a certain awareness is created and that awareness is vital. It maybe that for a month or two you steadfastly are able to stick to a budget, but in month three, you are hit with a few unexpected expenses which cause you to blow through your budget. The fact that you achieved some small successes initially stay with you and help you get back on track in month four.

The same goes with investing. Too often I see investors make the cardinal sin of selling after a market drop, instead of staying the course. Earlier this week I was sitting with a client and reviewing their account. She was nervous over the upcoming US elections and the ramifications for the stock market. I mentioned that statistically it doesn’t really matter who is in the White House. In fact, I reminded her that in 2016 when Former President Trump won, the markets dropped significantly and then rebounded. She remembered and said that she never panicked and stayed the course. Since then, we have had multiple large market drops and are still trading at near record levels. She told me “That’s investing. I had a good run over the last few years, and we had one bad year in 2022. Nu. It happens. But you see, we have already made up the loss of that year and then some.” How correct she was, and may I add how surprised and thrilled I was to hear her say that!

Long-term perspective 

Investors really need understand that hitting the panic button is a surefire way not to grow wealth. It’s certainly no fun to lose money, but if you keep a long-term perspective you understand that markets go up and they can also drop. Always remember that time is your ally, and that over the long-term stock market investing has shown to be a very powerful approach to wealth building.

Whether it’s improving academically, trying to perfect character traits, or trying to have a secure financial future, don’t get frustrated if you hit some bumps in the road. Remember: two steps forward, one step back.

The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.

Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing. www.gpsinvestor.com; aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.