And the Oscar For Best Investing Guru IS….

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……YOU! I surely wish we had a Money & Investing Oscars for our everyday gurus. If we actually celebrated the achievements of everyday people for making great investing moves, that would be something. [Side note – I LOVED the movie Moonlight – if that doesn’t represent an investment in bringing to life the stories of everyday people, I don’t know what does.]

In the interim, I am going to continue to celebrate members of the Charisse Says community who make bold moves. Last week, Danielle B., one of our members said:

“Charisse – You would be so proud of me because I paid off a big chunk of my student loan debt. I now know what it feels like to have a mindset around wealth building.”

I believe that having a mindset around wealth building means that you must:

  • Actively plan to build wealth, and preserve it. By taking action on the plan, you will be ahead of the game;
  • Continue to educate yourself and others on wealth creation and preservation  strategies;
  • Become involved in some form of business ownership, one of the main drivers of wealth creation; and
  • Invest over the long-run in a diversified portfolio can aid in the wealth creation process

If you have other wealth facets that you want to contribute, leave a comment on the blog.

How to Link A Wealth Building Mindset to Actions Today: 

I read several articles over the last few weeks that really highlight the importance of having a wealth mindset today.

I was shocked by an Employee Benefit Research Institute analysis that said that people in the U.S. ages 65 to 74 hold more than 5x the borrowing obligations Americans their age held two decades ago. I found this info cited in a WSJ article, “With $15 Left in the Bank, a Baby Boomer Makes Peace With Less.” If you are a Baby Boomer, leave a comment on my blog and let me know what you are doing to build wealth amidst a more debt-burdened environment. And if you are a child of Baby Boomer, like me, it will be important for you to understand what your parents are dealing with as it will have implications on the overall family wealth transfer.

Simultaneously in the last two decades, “assets in ETFs have expanded to more than $2.5 trillion in the United States alone, making them one of the fastest-growing investment products in history.” The Atlantic’s “Wall Street Diversifies Itself,” reminds that ETFs are an efficient way to invest because they have low fees and give you access to the market’s returns. If you’re unfamiliar with ETFs, please check out my webseries on how ETFs work and what they can do for you – you’ll laugh and stay informed. One of the best actions you can take now is to consider adding ETFs to your investment strategy. Again, continue to educate yourself and you too will be on your way to winning the wealth game.

 

Just to keep it real, everyone WILL have investment blunders. While it may not be as horrifying as what we witnessed on Sunday night, it’s par for the course. In order to claim your Money & Investing Oscar, you’ll have to embrace it all.