All this talk of it being tough economic times had not really affected me until recently when I received my quarterly statement from the company that I invest with. Thanks to my dad, I began investing a small amount of money about 12 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long! I wish I could say that these past twelve years have given me a greater appreciation and understanding of how the world of stocks and mutual funds work, or that my vocabularly has been enriched with words that are fiscal in nature, but that would be wrong: most of time when I meet with the financial advisor or planner (I don’t even know his correct title!), perhaps twice a year, I feign interest and stifle yawns while he tells me what has happened since our last meeting. I think part of the lack of interest in my part is because he always has bad news: I remember some years back it was the Asian market that had led to the dismal lack of increase in my investments; now it’s these tough economic times. However with a huge purchase looming, all of a sudden the value of my investments really matters. And when I saw the amount I had lost, money that had been earmarked towards the house, be it downpayment or furniture, I can’t deny I’m upset. I know that investments bounce back, and withdrawing the remaining money and stuffing it in a shoebox under my bed isn’t a decision that will allow me to recoup my losses, but I can’t deny that it’s tempting.

My investment profile is that of a moderate to low risk investor and I’m horrified to imagine what I would have lost if I had been a medium or high risk investor. All the same I’ve started the process to put a halt to my biweekly contributions to investments and will instead divert that money to my savings account. At least I know I’ll have that amount come moving day.

Filed under: Money by jummy