Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets

The one constant in life is change.

It sounds cliché, but it’s very true. Almost everyone will have a moment where change will rock the typical steadiness of your life. A health scare. An unexpected job change. Divorce. A significant drop in the market (i.e., a bear market) as you’re on the verge of retirement. These shocking twists can make us want to scramble and take immediate action to right our suddenly turned around world.

However, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. When coping with physical imbalance, the key is to focus on a stationary point.1 This allows your brain to make adjustments to maintain your equilibrium. The same applies to other life changes. Fear and frustration may urge you to take some unexpected course of action to address sudden changes, and sometimes these knee-jerk reactions cause more harm than good. In those highly-charged moments, soliciting some professional council, like from a trusted financial advisor, can help us locate that stationary goal and work with us to identify any adjustments that need to be made.

Every time I meet with my clients, I remind them what we’re working towards. Yes, I want to be made aware of any changes they may have experienced, but I also want to remind them what all the decisions we’re making and actions we’re taking are working towards. We planned for the unexpected expenses by saving an emergency fund. For my younger clients, momentary dips in the market don’t necessarily derail us from our long-term goals. In fact, it actually provides purchasing opportunities. Additionally, markets go down, but they are always achieving new high’s long-term. For my clients on the cusp of retirement, these dips were prepared for by diversifying their savings and expanding their emergency fund. With the long-term goals in mind, it’s easier to see the horizon from within the storm.

The trick of it all is to stay focused on the long-term vision of the life you’re trying to create. I’ve learned that this applies not simply to your finances, but other aspects of your life like your career or your family as well. Changes will occur, and your world may get a little rocked, but as long as you take a breath and continue to focus on your long-term goals, you’ll find yourself on sturdy ground once again.

1. https://www.scienceabc.com/sports/why-focussing-on-something-helps-in-maintaining-balance.html

CryptoChameleon is a phishing-as-a-service kit that makes it easier than ever for cybercriminals to create convincing phishing campaigns. Criminals often use it to impersonate reputable companies to steal passwords, account information, and other sensitive data.

A recent scam using CryptoChameleon targets LastPass, a popular password manager. Scammers pretend to be from LastPass, starting with seemingly authentic support calls. They later send follow-up emails with links to fake login pages, designed to look like legitimate LastPass sites. Once victims enter their master passwords on these fraudulent pages, scammers can access their password vaults and potentially lock them out of their accounts.

Reputable companies will never ask for your master passwords through phone calls, emails, or text messages. To protect yourself from these scams, remember to:

• Hang up immediately if you receive a suspicious call claiming to be from LastPass or another reputable company.
• Do not press any options in automated messages or clicking on links in emails from unfamiliar sources.
• Report suspicious activity to the reputable company, including screenshots of suspect text messages and forwarded emails.