Essay On Inertia

We have all heard that ‘change is constant’. Yet, as January fades into February (along with our New Year’s resolutions), it is easy to fall back into the swing of regular habits and daily rituals while overlooking the daily opportunity to make a change. There is a word that describes this state of mind - inertia.

To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton’s law of inertia, an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an unbalanced force. In a vacuum, inertia doesn’t sound all that bad. However, if you miss out on planning opportunities today because you were either at rest or in motion (either way ignoring the need to plan), that same inertia will bite back hard when any number of ‘unbalanced forces’ come calling.

For example, if you are considering retirement in the next 3-5 years don’t get lulled to sleep by today’s market, now is the time to review your portfolio’s asset allocation and your initial retirement spending plan. (If you are considering retiring in the next 1-2 years and have not done this, then you need to act today.) Studies have shown that asset allocation accounts for about 90% of return variance in your investments. Most importantly, asset allocation is crucial to risk management and generating cash flow via

There may not ever be a ‘good’ time for hard conversations. Whether you are aging and need to speak with your children about finances, health care and estate planning, or you are the child and need to address these issues with your parents, it is imperative to break out of the inertia and start the conversation. We have heard the stories of celebrities, such as Prince and Robin Williams, passing with an old will, lost will, no will, unfunded trusts, old beneficiary designations, accidental disinheritance, etc., leaving a mess for their families. People from all walks of life make these mistakes – not just