What should we do with this stock market that lately seems to be more down than up? The answer to that question I have found in the least likely of places, far from any talk of stocks and bonds.
Our daughter owns a small family farm in Enterprise, Utah. For the purposes of this column, it’s important to mention that she calls it the “Iron Rod Farm” as a reminder to her family to always stay on course. On her farm she raises chickens, pigs, goats, quail and various other animals. She also maintains a pretty nice garden. I’ve never quite understood the farm life. I appreciate the solitude and beauty but it’s the sweat and the tears and demanding physical labor that I have never felt attracted to. Even under perfect circumstances, farm life is a hard life, but conditions are rarely perfect. Storms, freezes, coyotes, sickness, drought and a hundred other surprises stand ready to destroy part or all of a season’s long hours of labor. Yet, like others who love the land, its crops and animals, our daughter shakes off her boots, cleans up the mess and moves forward. It is a form of life once common in America, but increasingly less so.
Our daughter loves her animals, and so she was very emotional when she called to inform us that one of her best breeding goats had just lost all three of her newborn kids. Death on the farm is a part of everyday life, and Randi understands that, but it doesn’t make it any easier. She reminded us that the loss of these three babies went beyond an emotional price. There will also be an inevitable financial loss. As Randi comforted the mourning mother, (only an animal person can truly understand this) she thought of the immediate needs for her farm. On Randi’s farm she produces the most amazing, natural soaps and lotions from the milk of her carefully raised goats. The arrival of that mother goat’s milk, without her babies to start nursing, was at risk. Without it, Randi would be short the milk she needs to supply product for her lotion business. So, as she always does, rather than whine or complain, she put herself on a schedule to try and milk the goat every four hours, night and day to try and get the milk to come.
Thinking about Randi’s current challenge, which is only one in a long list of ongoing challenges on a farm, got me thinking about my own career. I often tell people that investing is part money management and part investor management. The money side is more mathematical and scientific while the human side is emotion driven and thus, often less predictable. When markets get volatile as they are today, humans get emotional and that can lead to snap decisions and often bad mistakes. Some even get out of investing completely, as if it has suddenly become a bad idea.
As I listened to Randi tell what was just one more in a long line of difficult “Life on the Farm” stories about her goats, I wondered how nice it would be if all investors had as calm an attitude towards challenges as she always does. Randi knows that despite its problems, things always have a way of working out. I have watched Randi go through so many difficult times on her little farm, yet there she is, still standing, still producing wonderful products, still providing for her family, and despite all the sorrow and work, still loving it.
I have learned the same thing about investing, that despite the occasional panics that go through the markets, things always have a way of working out. Sometimes in our high-tech life we assume things should always run according to our pre-defined schedule, but that just isn’t the way life is. It might provide a useful life lesson to an investor, next time a falling market has you in a panic, to visit a local farm for a few days and learn from those who routinely face very difficult struggles and yet still end each day with a smile on their face and faith in their future. It is that attitude that allows them to be patient during the storms and tragedies of life while staying on course towards their more dependable long-term plans. Investors should do the same.
Dan Wyson, CFP® is a long running national financial columnist, author of several books and CEO/Founder of Wyson Financial/Wealth Management 375 E. Riverside Dr. St. George, UT 84790 – 435-986-9525 Securities and Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network™, member FINRA/SIPC, a registered investment advisor.