Finance 15. Exercise, eat right and get enough sleep Hang on – isn’t this an article about your finances? You bet it is. And that’s exactly why you need to think about your health. As you age, health care will likely become one of your most significant expenses. One way to take control over that spending is to invest in your health as early and as regularly as you can. So, go for a walk. Take a yoga class. Hit the gym. Make it a nightly goal to get your full eight hours. Take a pass on the French fries and order the salad instead. Over time, these simple tips can have a dramatic effect on your health – both physical and financial. 13. Take control of your portfolio part 1: think simple When it comes to their portfolios, a lot of retirees are “collectors,” not investors. On the surface, they own assets that seem diversified but, when you take a closer look at their holdings, they don’t really differ all that much from each another. The result is a portfolio that’s full of overlap, clutter and excessive fees. If you’re looking to simplify, a good place to start is by getting back to basics with your portfolio. Streamline it by finding out which funds, ETFs and pooled holdings duplicate each other. Identify complicated investments − stocks which you don’t understand, funds with highly specialized strategies, and the like − and move out of them. Take a hard look at any investment charging you an above-average fee, and decide if you’re overpaying for something that simply mirrors the performance of a comparable index (or worse, underperforms it). By taking a “keep it simple” approach to your portfolio, and trimming down or selling positions that you don’t really need, you’ll feel a lot more in control of your holdings − not least because you’ll be able to understand them. 14. Take control of your portfolio part 2: think quality The best way to get out of financial trouble: avoid getting into it in the first place. Such advice might sound trite, but it bears repeating. Far too many retirees experience far too much volatility because they take on too much risk by chasing “hot tips” and “can’t miss” ideas such as bitcoin, marijuana stocks or whatever the next big thing is coming out of Silicon Valley. If you’re looking to feel in control of your portfolio, stick to quality. A collection of bluechip dividend stocks, coupled with a well-diversified portfolio of low-risk government bonds, fits the bill for most snowbirds most of the time. It will certainly help you sleep at night – and that’s a very good way to put yourself back in the driver’s seat when it comes to your money. Sure, if you wanted to, you could make more money – if you took on more risk. And yes, there will be times when such a conservative, blue-chip dividend portfolio will underperform the market as a whole, or force you to miss out on the next big thing. But it will also help you avoid the next big blow-up that can leave you feeling out of control. 30 | www.snowbirds.org
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