Author note – I’ve been blogging for 9+ years and it’s cool to look back at old posts. I actually did a similar post in 2017 (so 5 years) ago in which I shared many of the same insights. Funny that I can’t off the top of my head remember what was going on so negative in the financial news back then!

Each year I pick a word to serve as my word of the year and this year my word is FOCUS. I realized in years past I was really good at starting lots of things (a travel blog, a crypto blog, a F1 podcast) and dreaming about a lot of other things. I found that although I did most of these things; I didn’t necessarily do them well. So, for 2022 I decided to focus on fewer things. I would decide what’s important to me this year and try to focus on just those things. For 2022, I am focused on: this blog, buying 2 rental properties and my moonshot (err earthshot?) of sequestering carbon with green technologies. I wanted to focus on these things in these categories because: the blog is my side hustle and earns me a bit each month, I really wanted to focus on real estate and becoming a landlord again, and as I know myself and I love to dream, I focused on a wild idea of trying to save the earth. (I know…it’s crazy but hey that’s why I put it last and in my dreamer category).

It’s been going pretty well so far; I’ve achieved a few of them already and whenever I feel tempted to daydream or spend time on other things, I remind myself to FOCUS! However, I’ve noticed more and more especially in the past month that I’ve struggled to focus and have been listening more to the noise out there. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it but I’ve actually stopped reading most news daily, and do it less frequently. I don’t do a lot of social media and found that I was reading lots of news instead. I found myself in 2020 and 2021 basically doomscrolling, wasting so much time, getting so worked up and it was really taking a toll on me mentally. So, I just turned it off. I’m finding myself doing more of that in 2022 around the stock market – I do read a lot of CNBC and other financial news (the only news I read). I’m now thinking of taking a break from financial news, and here’s why I’m doing it.

How it’s creeping back in

In case you missed it, the stock market and overall economy has had quite a rough year. After basically the longest bull run (i.e. a period of growth/expansion), things appear to be slowing down. Inflation is something most of us are feeling, and interest rates are rising in an attempt to cool things down. Cooling things down means things slow down and that could very well result in a recession. There’s all sorts of headlines now around layoffs, hiring freezes and even job offers being rescinded (eek). I was pretty big into crypto twitter and you can imagine how brutal that’s been in the past few weeks. I realized that pretty much all the news I was consuming was negative and worrisome.

It’s proving to be a viscous cycle whereby the more worried I get about things the more reading/scrolling I do – perhaps to try to prove to myself that it’s not that bad or perhaps to figure out if it is so I can better prepare. I then worry about my own job security, our other investments and just the future overall. All that to say I’ve found my overall stress level rising, happiness decreasing and overall mental health not as good as I’d like it to be. So, I’m tempted now to turn it off!

What I’m trying to do instead

Well firstly, I’m actually trying to do more reading of actual books this year! I’ve set a goal to read 6 books this year (a mix of fiction and non-fiction) and I’ve read 3 so far. I’ve also been trying to get better at putting my phone down/away during family time. Easier said than done but I’m trying!

Secondly, I’m trying to remember that there are ups and there are downs in the economy, and looking back over history we’ve seen that. I think it’s just a bit new for many of us young professionals as for some of us, the 2008 financial crash was a faint memory. ‘Stocks only go up’ seemed to be our motto! I’m trying to remind myself that this is just a cycle in a journey that’s played out throughout history. I’m reminding myself that I don’t need most of that money anytime soon and I’m saving for the long-term via my house and my retirement fund. I’m trying to look at this scenario like I’m buying something I plan to own for a long time at a nice discount!

Thirdly, I’m trying to practice an attitude of gratitude (sorry if that’s too cliché) and be thankful and enjoy what I’ve got. COVID really taught me that it’s important not to take anything for granted and that I should treasure what I do have!

Have your principles and stick to them

I like to think of someone like Warren Buffet, the legendary investor that’s been an active investor for decades. He’s seen plenty of ups and downs. I wonder how he’s feeling during a time like this and what he’s doing. I don’t know for sure but can’t imagine seeing him on Twitter or CNBC non-stop, I don’t see him scrolling Reddit for stock tips and I actually don’t know if he’s worried or not.

I’m of course nowhere near Buffet mentality (and actually don’t know if he’s really like that), but I am trying to better stick to my principles. I’ve talked about how I plan to get rich slowly and how I’m just fixated on 8%. I try to avoid dumb debt (credit card etc) and focus on maintaining a reasonable amount of good debt (for me that’s mortgages right now). I save 30%+ of my income and have a well stocked emergency fund. I buy mostly index funds (low cost baskets of stock) and believe that in the long-run we’ll bounce back. If things don’t we’ll have bigger worries on our hands and that’s what I’ve got a zombie kit for! Through all this I’m trying to remember that I’m little by little making progress!

Why I don’t love the silence

I will say that sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t unplug so much, or more appropriately if I should find a better outlet to consume news. There is a lot going on in our world right now. I’m becoming convinced more and more that based on your own personal convictions that you should try to take action to positively affect the world around you. I’m tired of feeling helpless and have been trying to think of more ways that I can make a difference. Voting is a big, simple and easy one! I definitely don’t want to be a hermit and do want to remain connected, I think I just need to find a healthier way than getting it from click bait, doomscrolling and noise. Life is a journey!