{"id":240535,"date":"2025-05-14T00:14:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/investing\/what-im-doing-with-my-money-the-barefoot-investor\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T00:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:14:34","slug":"what-im-doing-with-my-money-the-barefoot-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=240535","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m doing with my money \u2014 The Barefoot Investor"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s 5am.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m at the farm, sitting here at the kitchen table, staring at my screen \u2026\u00a0 and watching the US stock market get absolutely hammered. It has plummeted close to 5% since I went to bed last night, in response to Trump\u2019s \u2018Liberation Day\u2019 tariffs.<\/p>\n

Journalists and media pundits absolutely\u00a0live<\/em>\u00a0for days like this. There are so many \u2018bloodbath\u2019 headlines. So much clickbait casserole. So much \u2018breaking news\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And every article is saying pretty much the same thing: Trump\u2019s tariff plan is stupid. That it will plunge the US economy into a deep recession. That it will have devastating impacts around the world.<\/p>\n

Scared yet?<\/p>\n

Look, it makes total sense that you may be thinking to yourself:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really uncertain time to be investing. None of this sounds good. Maybe I should just sell my shares and move my super to cash until this clears up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, let\u2019s talk about that.<\/p>\n

I have a coffee in my hand. The kids are still asleep. It\u2019s just you and me. Today I\u2019m going to tell you what I plan on doing with my own money. But, before I do, let me give you my take on the Trump tariffs.<\/p>\n

First, this is\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0meant to be sound (or sane) economic policy \u2013 it\u2019s a negotiating strategy. Trump views the world in terms of winning and losing, and he wants every country on earth to lose, so that he (and America \u2026 but mostly he) wins.<\/p>\n

Second, and even more importantly, he\u2019s just told every American that the global system is rigged, and that America is being unfairly treated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true. In fact,\u00a0since World War II, free trade has lifted more people out of poverty than at any other time in history. Yet facts don\u2019t matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Besides, this line of argument gives Trump someone to blame when the economy tanks: he had the guts to stand up to the global bullies \u2013 it\u2019s their fault, not his.<\/p>\n

Third \u2014 and let\u2019s be honest, most predictably \u2014 he\u2019s keeping the world\u2019s attention glued to him like a toddler with a tambourine.<\/p>\n

So, back to you.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll hear people say that now is a very \u2018uncertain time\u2019 to be an investor.<\/p>\n

Yeah, nah.<\/p>\n

The truth is that it is\u00a0always<\/em>\u00a0an uncertain time to risk your money. If you think it\u2019s safe, you\u2019re simply not paying attention. However, what history teaches us is this: the price you pay for earning long-term life changing compound gains is having to stomach short-term uncertainty.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the thing about trying to protect yourself in the share market: you don\u2019t just have to be right once \u2013 you have to be right twice.\u00a0<\/strong>First, you\u2019ve got to guess when the market will fall further. Then you\u2019ve got to guess the exact moment to jump back in. And spoiler alert: no one rings a bell when it\u2019s safe to invest again. (Just ask the people still waiting to buy back in after the Covid crash.)<\/p>\n

So what should you do instead?<\/p>\n

Simple. My advice hasn\u2019t changed since I wrote\u00a0The Barefoot Investor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a home loan, focus on boosting your super contributions to 15% and pay off your mortgage like your future depends on it \u2013 because it does. That\u2019s the plan. Boring? Maybe. But it works.<\/p>\n

Then, in the final three years before you retire \u2013 whatever age that is for you \u2013 consider getting your super fund to invest your future employer contributions in cash. The goal is to build up a buffer of three to five years\u2019 worth of living expenses (after any pension payments you may receive), so when the market drops you don\u2019t have to stress or sell. You\u2019ve got time on your side.<\/p>\n

As for me? I\u2019ve paid off the home loan. So every month \u2013 rain, hail, or full-blown Trump tantrum \u2013 I throw money into three low-cost index funds. The louder the noise, the cheaper the shares.<\/p>\n

Tread Your Own Path!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 5am.\u00a0 I\u2019m at the farm, sitting here at the kitchen table, staring at my screen \u2026\u00a0 and watching the US stock market get absolutely hammered. It has plummeted close to 5% since I went to bed last night, in response to Trump\u2019s \u2018Liberation Day\u2019 tariffs. Journalists and media pundits absolutely\u00a0live\u00a0for days like this. There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[10055,13177,832],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-240535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-barefoot","tag-investor","tag-money"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat I\u2019m doing with my money \u2014 The Barefoot Investor - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=240535\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What I\u2019m doing with my money \u2014 The Barefoot Investor - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s 5am.\u00a0 I\u2019m at the farm, sitting here at the kitchen table, staring at my screen \u2026\u00a0 and watching the US stock market get absolutely hammered. 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