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Waiting on the Bubble to Burst

I sold at the wrong time. TWICE.

In the early days of 2020, I was joint owner on two properties. Well, my life experienced a couple of changes, and I sold both of those properties. The property sales took place about six months apart, and I put my equity (which was in the form of cash) into a low-risk mutual fund. And, while that fund has done pretty well over the last two years, it hasn’t kept up with the rate of inflation.

Let me be dramatic. If I could buy one of said properties for what I paid for it ten years ago, I could buy two of them. Now I’d be lucky to buy two-thirds. Don’t worry, I do have a plan. Everybody mail just $10 to…just kidding.

But I digress. Today, we are talking about inflation. Let Google define it for you:  in·fla·tion; /inˈflāSH(ə)n/; a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. Mmaaaaann, have we seen a huge amount of inflation in the last year! And experts don’t anticipate it getting any better any time soon. Who’s at fault? Well, I have my opinions, and they might not agree with yours. But, because this is NOT a political blog but a financial one let’s talk about what we can do to combat it instead of playing the blame game.

Allow me to share some ideas with you from one of the wealthiest men in the country, Warren Buffet. In this summary are a few ideas that might be over your head; I would certainly have to talk to my financial-guru friends to understand all of them! But, there was one tip that we can all get behind–“Limit your wants.”

We all know the difference between wants and needs. Now is NOT the time to be extravagant and make large purchases. Instead, get creative with your budget. Trim costs. Discontinue some subscriptions. Try new hobbies that have very little or no cost.

Hey, it’s spring, and talking a walk or hike won’t cost you a thing. There’s free yoga on YouTube. The exercise will do you good, and the mindfulness practice will help reduce the stress that certainly comes with higher prices.

I can’t be the only one feeling it, can I? Didn’t think so.

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