Once again it is time for your monthly dose of wisdom and witticisms, which begs the question: What, pray tell, are you doing here talkin’ to me? If you read the rhetorical question a few times, I begin to sound like Travis Bickle. This may not be the optimum role model one wishes for in a financial advisor, friend, taxi driver, or co-habitant of the planet, but as we have discussed many times, I am a work in progress.
Since I usually digress somewhere along the way in these diatribes I share with you, I thought it best to get that out of the way right out of the chute. Surely you agree, but as our friend Gary always says, “Don’t call me Shirley.” He’s a movie buff, our friend Gary.
It has been an enjoyable eleven months in the stock markets through the end of November, with the S&P 500 index up about 27%.
I just read an article on Yahoo Finance reporting the ‘big boys’ on Wall Street are painting a rosy outlook for the stock markets in 2025, but I remain cautious. It’s always risky predicting the future, and by my recollection the “big boys” were all wine and roses in August of 2008. Most of us have not forgotten those ensuing 8 months. I’m a little nervous with the policy notes I heard from the president-elect as well as the sometimes head-scratching cast of characters nominated for cabinet posts, but I have confidence the Republic will weather the storms of politics as it has for going on 250 years.
My note to Washington: Get the budget and debt under control, don’t do stupid stuff on taxes, tariffs or anything else, and fer crying out loud: address the coming shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare before the checks bounce. One hopes pontificating is not always directly related to policy.
As to personal investing, I remain steadfast in my commitment to planning for the long run, staying balanced according to individual needs and risk tolerance, having some cash on the side for surprises, remaining cautiously optimistic, and wearing suspenders plus a belt.
In reviewing other numbers, I discovered this is my 100th blog for the Allen & Company website. There were about 50 more columns that ran in print media before our website’s birthing. If my calculation is correct, that totals somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 months of missives to you, my faithful readers. Let’s see, 150 divided by twelve is about 12 & a half years of Bice’s Bewildering Balderdash. Thanks for staying with me over the long haul. I’m shooting for another 50% to add to the previous output; expect the retreading of old ground and old jokes to get worse, not better.
But enough about numbers, markets and money, I’m here to talk about the year in review, Christmas, family, hope and joy.
I may have told you that in September I bought the house next door to mine. I really like my house. It’s on Lake Pierce, and I have lots of birds and other critters that I often visit. I am starting to get the backyard “garden” to the point I want, but it’s an ongoing battle with my wife as what gets planted where. She has retired and is home every day, so she has taken the high ground in this battle…come to think of it, she has the low ground and mid-level ground too, as it turns out.
My house, as opposed to the backyard, has some issues that make it less than ideal, but I am not one to spend a jillion bucks renovating my house – been there & done that two decades ago, and I have zero desire to once again open my roof and pour non-stop money into a bottomless pit. We have all (probably) enjoyed this journey at least once in life.
The biggest issue with my house is that it’s a two-story layout. Neither my wife nor I have problems climbing the stairs (other than the carrying too many things in one trip and not paying attention to what I’m doing issue) but that day will likely come. On that day, we will likely move to the one-story I just bought and retain access to my current lakeside backyard.
In the meantime, my daughter and her family have moved in next door.
I am hoping for joy, but predicting family dynamics is akin to predicting stock market returns or hurricane paths. My grandson is 6, so the hurricane reference is particularly apt. As I like to say, we shall see what tomorrow brings.
Now that I have family, hope, and joy discussions out of the way, I can move on to Christmas and the holiday season.
All my silliness aside, my fervent wish is for your home to be filled with joy and hope this holiday season. I can’t imagine living without joy and hope; we’ve both known people that do and it’s heartbreaking to witness. In my mind, living with the view the glass is half-empty is not a life; it’s a waste of life. To wit, I am grateful for the basic gifts we have that I often overlook when we are counting blessings – the gifts of gratitude, hope and joy.
I am certainly grateful for our business relationship that pays the bills, but moreover I cherish our friendship, yours and mine, that will last, I trust, throughout eternity.
My prayer for you and yours is that your home is filled with the love of family and friends, and that life shines for you with the bright lights of hope and joy. Christmas means that joy has come and is yours now and forever, so celebrate with all your being, and enjoy each day.
Thanks for sharing the journey with me.
December 2024
