I saw Johnny Bravo in real life.
Well, not really. I saw the idea of Johnny Bravo in real life.
I was at the gym the other day (literally one of the few places I go regularly), I noticed one particular regular at the gym. Although, I had seen him multiple times I never really paid attention. But for some reason he really caught my eye on this day (probably cause of the lime green shirt he was wearing). I noticed that the only exercises he ever did were either biceps or chest focused and then I looked at his legs. All I could think was “HOLY CRAP!! JOHNNY BRAVO!! In the Flesh.”
I've seen pictures of people who have a big upper body and skinny legs but it was different seeing it in person. It was rather SHOCKING. But then it got me thinking about balance in our finances. Ever heard the saying
Asset Rich, Cash Poor!
This refers to a situation where on our net worth statement it says we are doing well. But then we have no cash to cover an emergency situation. The most common version of this is being HOUSE POOR. People overpay for their homes and are only able to pay their mortgage and bills; however, cannot do anything besides that. The same happens with stocks, I read about founders who on paper are RICH RICH (Meek Mill Verse). But they still have to use credit card loans to get by because they have no access to those funds (Now this is an extremely special situation). For you and I, it is us seeing an investment opportunity we believe will be the next big thing, throw caution to the win and go all in.
The thing is I get it. Investing can be extremely addicting. Seeing your money going up and up and up. It's addicting to think
"IF I PUT MORE, I WOULD MAKE MORE!"
(The amount of times I call my sister to talk me off a ledge is too many to count).
But
We've been in an amazing bull market over the last 10+ years. And when we see market corrections it never lasts more than a few months (2015, 2018 2020).
So I don't blame anyone for forgetting that the stock market does regularly have years of negative returns. However; having all your money in something as volatile as the stock market (the old days when stocks were seen as a volatile asset class) or even worse crypto, is setting yourself up for disaster.
Reason for this is because usually when we need access to cash badly is also the same time things are going horribly wrong. It's when you need money that the market is going through a downturn. It might also be at the same time that the economy is in a recession. In other words, the ABSOLUTE WORST TIME to be taking money out of the market.
Just like in physical fitness, having strong legs is important because many movements are driven from the legs up. If your legs are not strong enough, you will plateau or worse you will start reversing. Plus with a weak base, you look like a little wind could blow you over.
It's the same in our finances. Having cash siting in a boring savings account is not exciting at all. Knowing inflation is eating away at it makes it even worse. However when you need it, you will thank God that you had that boring old savings account.
So remember:
Never Skip Leg Day!
Always have an Emergency FUND!
I hope you all have A WONDERFUL week. Go subscribe to Rambling Mind Podcast for more personal finance and investing thoughts. You can also catch me on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube everyday.
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Remember GENEROSITY > greed
God bless Each and Everyone of y’all
✌🏾
-Kelechi