As investors, there are always reasons to be cautious and reasons to be optimistic—often simultaneously. The bears and the bulls both have valid points. But to be a successful investor over multiple decades, it pays to remain optimistic.

There are about 253 stock market trading days per year. Over 20 years, that equates to 5,060 trading days. If you missed the 10 best days out of those 5,060, you only missed 0.2% of all the trading days (one-fifth of one percent), yet your returns would have been reduced by over 50%.

tl;dr version: Americans are very pessimistic right now. This is a contrarian indicator. Stocks have an 84% chance of being higher 12 months from now. It might take some time, but forward-looking return prospects are good when folks are discouraged. The average 12-month forward return in past instances like this is +15%.

A stock market correction is defined as a 10% decline in the market. We officially entered a correction earlier this week. We recognize that most of our clients are seasoned, savvy investors that do not hit the panic button after a correction. We are always impressed at how calmly the bulk of our clients handle recessions and even bear markets. That said, it’s still painful for all of us (advisors and clients alike). We know our clients are not immune to being troubled over market downturns – particularly when coupled with troubling geopolitical events.

How about getting your mortgage paid off before turning 35? Sounds great, right?

My family and I are currently going through old bins that have been collecting dust in storage for years. As one can imagine, it's a long process that brings with it many difficult determinations about what to keep (always too much), and what to toss (never enough).

Everyone knows you should start investing as young as possible. But not many people actually start investing at a young age. So how can we get this message into the minds and hearts of our children and grandchildren? My oldest is just 6, so I'll have to report back to you in about 15 years on whether our family has any success in this arena.

Am I concerned about rising inflation, absurdly low interest rates, money-printing on steroids across the developed world, a US political agenda favoring higher tax rates, relatively high stock valuations (compared to the past), and increasing political polarization in the US? Yes, I am concerned about those things. But those things don’t have anything to do with my family’s financial goals, so I won’t adjust my investment portfolio based on those concerns.

Mortgage rates are once again at their lowest point in US history. What is a homeowner to do? Still aim to own your home free-and-clear, or keep a mortgage at 2.5% for the next three decades?

We’re starting to hear the “I-word” mentioned more often as of late. Inflation is on the rise. The Federal government’s money printing machines have been on overdrive, and the US economy has taken note. Prices have begun to tick up across the economy – most notably in residential real estate. The counterpoint (as made by the Fed) is the inflation we are seeing today is merely temporary, a hangover from the COVID shutdowns.

One of our primary goals as financial advisors is to help our clients put good financial behaviors into place in their lives. Some of the most commonly-used phrases about finance and investing are so generic as to be ignored or met with a yawn by most of us. So, how can we make them specific – to apply them to your own personal financial situation?

When investing in US stocks, the longer your time horizon, the better your odds of success. Most of us know that intuitively, but following through on head knowledge with actual life choices is another matter.