I always enjoy rewatching Christmas movies and one of my favorites is John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Everyone can relate to stories of travel plans gone wrong. Even if they do not seem so humorous at the time, they often end up as the more lasting (and funny) memories.
Modes of travel can also be compared to financial planning and investing. Think about trying to travel from New York City to Los Angeles and along the way your plane hits turbulence. Would you land the plane and then jump on a bicycle to try to complete your journey? Obviously not. And yet many people attempt to do this when they desire to sell their investments (land the plane) and buy CD’s during market downturns (turbulence.)
The slower the vehicle you choose the more time it takes to get to your destination. And it seems to me riding a bike long distance would be rough in a different way!
I do have some clients who are daredevil pilots in their investing habits. And others with flying phobias where a train or car is the perfect vehicle to achieve their destination
Although I love driving back roads, longer distances require a plane flight, often coupled with a car rental after landing. This is like how people will begin with more aggressive investments and switch to other vehicles as they approach retirement. We often call this the retirement “glide path.”
Although we cannot predict snow storms and grounding of planes, proper planning may help prevent you sharing a hotel room with a shower-curtain-ring salesman.
