What a strange summer it has been.  Shortened baseball season, basketball and hockey in August, limited to no travel, stay-at-home orders and a US stock market hitting record new highs, having wiped out the bear market of March and April. Go figure.

So, just where will we go from here? As we head into Fall, we can expect the Presidential Election and continued COVID-19 case numbers to likely dominate the news, but stocks seem to be looking past these and counting on a fairly swift economic recovery. However, the market volatility and good and bad news cycles are bound to continue in the months to come and with all the unknowns it’s impossible to predict the next 12 months. 

As we all navigate the days ahead, we propose these 3 responses:

1.    Don’t lose sight of your long-term goals and plans. Is God changing your goals this year? Whether big or small, allow Him to guide you. Your choice to trust and follow Him could bring unexpected blessings and will always bring glory to Him. When it comes to your investments, consider sticking with your strategy, staying diversified to potentially help mitigate some of the risk and focus on long-term success.

2.    Remain prudent and faithful with what you have. If you haven’t already, take another look at your spending plans (your budget) or how your spending money in 2020.  If needed make adjustments and commit to making sure you will have margin as a result of spending less than what is coming in.  You’re likely traveling less, look to allocate those resources elsewhere; perhaps increased giving, increased savings or paying down debt.  For those of you retired consider taking less of a monthly distribution from your retirement accounts.  At times like these having flexibility and appropriate reserves can make a bid difference.  Just remember we want to trust in God, not in our reserves.

3.    Avoid rushing into any decisions. Now is not the time to rush into any major decisions that might markedly impact the future, but that doesn’t mean the planning has to stop (as you can likely tell by the previous two points). If you were doing some serious retirement planning, you’ve likely experienced some additional anxiety and accepted that COVID-19 may have set your date back, have you taken the time to revisit your retirement plans and identify how you might adjust or perhaps where your trade offs might be. We know, it can be tempting to make decisions based on what’s happening today (we all want to have control and making changes may give you the sense of control) particularly as the uncertainty drags on or you see short-term market movement.  If you have any questions or concerns call your trusted advisor to talk it through, or perhaps explore any planning opportunities that might exist. In general, the longer your perspective, taking your eyes off the immediate and looking 5+ years out, the better your decisions and planning will be. Remember, God did provide us with a sound mind, in which we can seek wisdom to help us make wise decisions.

“We have daily opportunities to be salt and light in a lost world. Let's pay attention and trust Him in our daily actions and decisions.”