Don't Listen To The Serpent

In the Book of Genesis, God gives Adam and Eve authority over the earth, forbidding them of only one thing. They are forbidden from tasting the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And for a few moments, their innocence is perfect.

Then it happens. They taste the fruit and commit the original transgression. And after that, everything bad and wrong with earthly life suddenly enters the world: sin, shame, struggle, sickness and death. They only made one little mistake, but it was the only mistake they couldn't afford to make.

Successful investing in retirement, or investing in general, is very similar. When it's done right, goal-focused, long-term investing aligns perfectly with your retirement goals. There is a perfect integrity and innocence about goal-focused, long-term investing. And as long as the portfolio remains in service of the plan, the innocence remains.

But then, as humans often do, watching stock prices rise for years and years, we begin to hear the serpent whisper to us saying things such as, "You can beat the market. You don't need to be tied down to old school economic principles, like asset allocation and diversification. You're smarter than most. You should buy more crypto currency or that new start up company you're brother n law told you about. You know exactly where the action is. You can outperform the market."

Then we bite into the apple. We shift our attention away from our retirement financial goals and turn to the market and commit the original investment sin. And every classic investing disaster eventually comes rushing into our financial lives.

The serpent's name is outperformance and he promises the illusion of consistently superior stock selection and timing of the markets. And he has come into your garden to destroy you.

You need a plan

If you're interested in "beating the market" or finding the next "hot stock" we can't help you.

If you're interested in creating a goal-focused, long-term plan to ensure you don't run out of money in retirement we can help you.

We create and manage retirement income and investment plans for electric cooperative retirees to ensure the money you have saved lasts the duration of a 20-30 year retirement and beyond.

We work to ensure the money you need in the early years of retirement is safe and not subject to temporary market fluctuations, while at the same time putting the money you'll need in the later years of retirement in a position to receive the permanent market returns necessary to provide an income that increases and outpaces inflation.

For more articles about retirement planning and investing click here.

Brian Coleman/Electric Cooperative Retirement Specialist

80/20 Financial Services is an Independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registered in the state of Missouri (CRD# 300772). We help electric cooperative employees in Missouri and throughout the United States transition into retirement. Being independent allows us to work exclusively for YOU.

Photo by Meg Jerrard on Unsplash