Our daughter at the University of Florida continues to have one of the coolest college jobs we can imagine. She works as a photographer at UF sporting events, covering everything from football to basketball and more. This week, she was shooting a women’s basketball game and casually found herself meeting Shaquille O’Neal, and yes, he is every bit as enormous in person as you’d expect. She even got some great photos. It’s hard not to smile watching her build real skills, have unforgettable experiences, and somehow make it all look effortless.
Every Friday night has quietly turned into a standing tradition at our house. Our oldest son has two of his best friends over, and the three of them settle in to play cards for hours. Jesse, my 13-year-old, absolutely loves it and always joins right in. Pizza is ordered, cards are dealt, and by the time I wander out later in the evening, there are usually a few McDonald’s bags on the counter too. I always tell them you can’t order two separate meals in one night, and they completely ignore me. Honestly, I don’t even mind. There’s just something really good about seeing guys together like that. It brings me right back to when I was their age.
My wife has two more radiation treatments, and then all cancer treatments will be done! (besides a pill she needs to take each day) Scans look great!
If you’ve heard me say some version of this before, you’re right, you have.
And I’m going to keep saying it, because it’s one of the most important ideas in investing.
People worry a lot about market downturns. That’s understandable. But in my experience, the bigger long-term risk for most people isn’t market drops, it’s becoming too conservative for too long.
Let me explain what I mean, in plain English.
Stocks and bonds do very different jobs
Stocks and bonds aren’t "good" or "bad." They just do different things.
Stocks are what grow purchasing power over time. They represent ownership in real companies that raise prices, grow earnings, and adapt to a changing world. Over the long term, this is what allows your money to keep up with, and outpace, inflation.
Bonds, on the other hand, aren’t about growth. They’re about stability and time. Their job isn’t to make you rich. Their job is to keep you from being forced into bad decisions when markets temporarily fall. In bad markets, you can live off the bonds until the stocks recover. This is the whole point of a diversified portfolio.
I often see people approach investing as if they’ll only live another 10 years, even though there’s a very real chance they’ll live 25 or 30.
When that happens, portfolios slowly drift toward:
- too little growth
- too much "safety."
The result usually isn’t dramatic. It’s quiet.
Over time:
- inflation keeps rising
- spending power slowly erodes
- and people wake up years later, wondering why their money doesn’t go as far as they expected. People start to run out of money because they're being cautious, trying not to run out.
That’s not because markets failed.
It’s because growth was sacrificed for comfort.
Long-term investing works best when:
- Stocks are allowed to do the heavy lifting over time
- Bonds are used as support, not the main engine
- and the plan assumes markets will occasionally be uncomfortable
Markets have always gone through rough stretches. They always will. What matters is being positioned so those periods don’t force you to abandon a good long-term plan.
That’s why I keep repeating this message.
Same message you’ve heard before.
Still true.
Still worth repeating.
Be Blessed,
Dave