How To Recognize Your Own Voice of Greed & Fight Against It

When it comes to your money, you might have several different voices in your head—maybe the voice of greed, or the voice of fear, and sometimes the voice of wisdom. Let’s look at some things we might hear from the voice of greed so you know how to recognize it when you hear it.

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Transcript Of Today's Show:

Speaker 1: Back here for more of Plan With The Tax Man. Thanks for tuning into this edition of the podcast. We are into the middle of March. Hope that you're having a good spring is on its way. So hopefully you're having a good March already, and there's a lot going on in the world. A lot of things happening that certainly have our attention, but this week on the podcast, we're going to talk about the fact of how to recognize the voice of greed, our own voice of greed, and maybe how to fight against it. Maybe the world's helping us Tony with this because over the last few years, it's been easy to be greedy because the markets have been very nice.

 

Tony Mauro: Yes.

 

Speaker 1: The last two or three years. But lately the start this year, obviously been quite choppy. So we're going to get into some of that, but first how you doing my friend?

 

Tony Mauro: I've been doing good.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: Been getting ready for spring, turning the clocks forward and looking for that more daylight.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Well you are fully in the throat of tax season now, right?

 

Tony Mauro: Yes.

 

Speaker 1: Mid-March.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah, we are.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah. And it's back to other than on the IRS side somewhat normalcy as far as the due dates. The last couple years have been crazy.

 

Speaker 1: True. Yeah. Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: With moving the due dates all over the place, but yeah.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Have you been seeing some of this a little bit because people are coming in with returns, 21 was a good year for the market. Right. So they're coming in, they're doing their 21 taxes and greed, it's easy to get greedy when markets are good.

 

Tony Mauro: And they've been good for a long time and everybody now with the current events that are going on, are wondering with this choppiness in the markets especially, is this the time? But I have seen a lot of what I would call greed on people's minds over the last probably four or five years for sure.

 

Speaker 1: Okay.

 

Tony Mauro: Which is interesting.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I mean, again, good markets are easy to do that with. Right. And then we kind of get lulled to sleep. We really enjoy those returns. And then when something happens, like we're experiencing now here in 22, we get really panicky a lot easier because we're thinking, oh man what's, and this market's been that way. Right. We've been talking to Tony for a while on the podcast, by the way, this is number 62.

 

Tony Mauro: Wow.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. So it's eligible to file for social security.

 

Tony Mauro: That's right.

 

Speaker 1: But anyway, we've been talking about various different things for a while, but this market has been pretty durable, right. For 12 plus years, we're talking about this bull run and then we kind of get lulled to sleep a little bit and we kind of get, it's easy to get greedy because you're like, Hey, I want to keep getting these good returns. So now we're starting to get a wake up call a little bit. But anyway, let's talk about how to recognize that I've got some statements here that might come from that kind of greedy aspect. Maybe you find yourself folks feeling like this, or you said this yourself, maybe it's good to reevaluate. Reach out to an advisor and say, Hey, am I doing the right things? Am I maybe taking too much risk? Whatever the case might be. So I got a couple of them here for you, Tony. We'll just talk through them.

 

Tony Mauro: Okay.

 

Speaker 1: Number one, the market is doing great right now. Well, okay. Not right now, but it was. Right. So this was something you were certainly hearing from last year. It's a good time to invest a little more aggressively so you can take advantage of that growth. And I think a lot of people, it's a smart move maybe if your situation allows for it to try to take advantage, but at the same time you also want, if you're going to be a savvy investor, Tony, while it's down, it's a good time to think about growth too. Right. You're getting in while it's low versus high.

 

Tony Mauro: It is. And I would say, and you hit it on the head when you were talking earlier, is all of these statements revolve around, you probably should check with your advisor before.

 

Speaker 1: Oh for sure.

 

Tony Mauro: Doing anything, because we hear a lot of that, I've heard over and over the last four or five years is people want to be more aggressive. The market's doing great and - 

 

Speaker 1: Right.

 

Tony Mauro: We try to remind them that hey, the plan is this. We stick to the plan and because markets obviously go up and they go down and nobody really knows what and when. I mean, every other day something's on the news and lately it's been Russia with Ukraine and oil and everything else, inflation and they move the market short term. So you can't get lulled into that. And if you're not an aggressive type of investor, and if you're on plan, it may not make sense to maybe take advantage of that. But on the other hand, depending again, age and your factors and situation, maybe it is time.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: But key there is to sit back and really analyze that before you just go out and do something which could end up hurting you.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. So what happens is we wind up getting a little greedy because we're enjoying them. We're seeing these higher numbers. We want to get on it. It's that fear of missing out, that FOMO.

 

Tony Mauro: Yep.

 

Speaker 1: And then of course, if you're doing that over the last couple years, you're buying when it's high. Right. So you're going against, those emotions are creeping in and you're going against the strategy of buying lower and selling higher. You're actually kind of buying high. So you got to be able to look at the opportunities sometimes when we are having some of these downturns. Yes. It's no fun to see, but if you've got a good portfolio and a good structure and a good plan, a lot of times that's your later money. And so you're not getting beat up when we're seeing some of these dips and maybe you do take advantage of that again, by talking with your advisor to make sure it's the right move for you. All right. So another voice of greed we might hear is the big talking heads, not the little talking heads like us, but like the big talking heads, that guy on blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, knows what he is talking about over there on MSNBC or whatever it is that you watch. And maybe I should jump on this before it takes off.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah. I have CNBC on every day in my office.

 

Speaker 1: Okay.

 

Tony Mauro: Just for the markets. However, it's always on mute because I can't take what they're saying. Every probably 20 minutes somebody new is on there talking about something new, generally it's about a different type of investment or a company generally is what it is.

 

Speaker 1: Yep.

 

Tony Mauro: And I think that it would be out of all of these things, probably one of the worst things to do is to watch too much of that, get sucked into what's happening because that's all current and short term type stuff in my mind. And you'd be best to make sure that that really fits with your goals before you go out and do that because these people on there, I mean, you got to take at least my opinion news, all types of news with a little bit of grain of salt and what they're trying to do with that.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: And...

 

Speaker 1: Well, and lately it's crypto. Right. Let's be honest.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah. It really is. It's crypto.

 

Speaker 1: And just about everything on there is going on about crypto this, crypto that, and it certainly gets people interested and enticed, but it's like, is it the right fit for you? A lot of times for retirees and pre-retirees maybe not, at least it hasn't been yet anyway. And it's definitely, if you're interested, that's something Tony, as the advisor, as the professional, as the CFP, come to you and say, Hey Tony, I'd like to get into some crypto, what's a smart way to go about it? And that's when you can then work that out.

 

Tony Mauro: Yes. Yeah. Because just doing it just because you heard it on TV, especially that kind of thing, which is complex is a recipe for some potential disaster. And more and more people, even tax clients, you only see once a year asking about, well, maybe I should do that. It seems like people are making money and.

 

Speaker 1: Sure.

 

Tony Mauro: And again, they just see it or hear and fear, well, why not get in on it? Again, it goes back to that a little bit of a greed thing.

 

Speaker 1: A little FOMO.

 

Tony Mauro: You don't want to miss out. Yeah. Yeah. So I think you just got to be careful with that. Very, very, very careful. And if it fits in your plan, great. If not, I would stay away.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's hard to do Tony, when you see things like today at the time we're taping this, it's up 274 bucks. And so it's at 43,000, Bitcoin, I'm talking about Bitcoin.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah, Bitcoin.

 

Speaker 1: It's up about a half a percent today when the market itself is not doing so great today, right?

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: So it's easy to see this kind of stuff, but you got to think just what three months ago it was over 60, then it fell to 30. It was in the 30 range just a month or so or two ago. And then it's up, now it's up in the mid 40, like it's all over the place, right?

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: There's wild swings there. And again, if your portfolio and your stomach can handle that and your plan says that you can invest in some crypto, well then talk to your advisor, but don't do anything until you do. Don't just wing it. Don't listen to that little, remember those cartoons, little devil on one shoulder.

 

Tony Mauro: Oh yeah.

 

Speaker 1: Angel on the other, that kind of thing. All right. So let's keep moving along here. Maybe you find yourself feeling greedy because you are seeing what's happening with your loved ones or neighbor or something like that. A lot of us get in that situation where we're chatting with someone we know or next door folks or whatever the case is, and you realize, maybe they're in better shape than you. So you feel like you got to take some of those chances, kind of leads back to the prior conversation of pushing too hard in the market when it's maybe not the right time for you and your life. Maybe you're 60 and you're a couple years away from your retirement plans call date of hitting it, let's say 66 or 67. And we do have a big downturn. Like you handled it in 08, 09 when you were 50 or 48, but are you going to handle it now when you're 60?

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah. And I think this is when everybody falls victim to at some point or another, it's just human nature. You look at your neighbor or your family and they have things, whether it's the guy next door has a boat and you're scratching your head saying, how does he do it? I'm smarter than -

 

Speaker 1: Yeah, I want a boat.

 

Tony Mauro: Him or her. And that's not fair, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so it is and that goes on all the time. And you do have to really watch yourself, that you're not just going to go out, especially when you're doing retirement. And again, take more aggressive chances. So especially if you're behind, you feel like you got to catch up. I mean, you got to work with your advisor, stick to your plan. And if you need to adjust that plan, if your goals, let's say you want to change your goals. Well, then that's good, as long as you work through your plan and do that. But if you saw something next door and thought, well, just like we were just talking about, I'm going to go out and invest in some crypto.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah.

 

Tony Mauro: Because I think I can hit it big in 12 months. And then the next thing you know the bottom falls out briefly, but at the wrong time for you.

 

Speaker 1: Sure.

 

Tony Mauro: And then it's just spells a lot of pain for you so.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Your neighbor rolls up with a brand new, $100,000 RV, don't run out and get one. And sometimes I think people hear that. They say, well, I shouldn't have to check with my advisor for permission. You're not checking with them for permission. You're checking to make sure that you're own retirement can sustain it. Right. Tony, your kind of like the, I don't know, your kind of like the librarian, right? You can kind of say, Hey, here's the numbers, here's the information. You could check this out, but it might not be the best idea. You could take the 100,000 out and go buy the RV, but here's what might happen if you do.

 

Tony Mauro: I just had a client this week, actually was late last week. He called, he was moving back here.

 

Speaker 1: Okay.

 

Tony Mauro: He wanted to take $1.3 million out of his account and to pay cash for a house and then put it back in when he sold his other house. And so he was at least, I don't want to say asking permission, but I was serving as that role. And I said, no, don't do that.

 

Speaker 1: That sound board.

 

Tony Mauro: Just put in, I mean, and I told him why. And I said, I mean, you can. At the end of the day, you're the captain of the ship but -

 

Speaker 1: Sure. Yeah. There you go.

 

Tony Mauro: Here's what could potentially happen. You're going to sell some securities. You're going to take a loss. You're going to, then when you put it back, who knows where we're at, if securities are up, we're going to have gains to pay it. Just do a subject two or work with the realtor or just borrow, and then we'll do something else. But yeah. So it's good that he asked, he did the right thing. And it's not for my benefit that he doesn't do it. It's really to help him.

 

Speaker 1: Exactly, exactly.

 

Tony Mauro: Avoid a huge mistake.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. And I like your metaphor better. They're the captain of the ship. I don't know. Maybe you're the navigator or the first mate.

 

Tony Mauro: Well, right. Right.

 

Speaker 1: Versus my terrible librarian one.

 

Tony Mauro: At the end of the day I'm going to do what you're telling me. Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: Right. Exactly.

 

Tony Mauro: But.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. The navigator can say, here's the path we should take as a navigator. And the captain can either choose to take it or go his own way.

 

Tony Mauro: Just go his own way. And I tell him to tell the clients is you're paying me for the advice and this is what I see. Here's the goods, here's the bads and here's what, if you want me to tell you what I would do, then I will, but if you don't, then at the end of the day, you got to make the decision.

 

Speaker 1: There you go. And that brings me to my final one, really, which is, that voice of greed saying, Hey, I can do this all on my own and save some extra money by not pay an advisor to help me with that. And again, the last few years, market doing well, pick an index, you probably did okay. The DIYers, it makes a lot of sense until you start really looking at how all the components work together for and into retirement. Growing the money is one thing, hanging on to it and spreading it out over retirement and doing all the little nuances is a totally different one.

 

Tony Mauro: It's totally different. And I would add to that keeping you on track for the goals you want and helping monitor it, but I agree. I mean, with all the products and things out there today, you certainly can go out and pick an ETF or a variety of mutual funds, whatever you want within reason. And the saving and investing is not the hard part. It's like you say, it's keeping, what are my goals? Am I on track? Will I with set amount of nest egg run out of money if I live 20 years? All those things that you might need somebody else's assistance with is where the value of the advisor comes in. And yes, you're going to pay them, whether it's asset based, fee only, or some other way. They're no different than anybody else, they're no different than me acting as an accountant, an attorney, whatever, but I think it's worthwhile if you really are serious about having a goal and feeling like you got somebody on your side.

 

Speaker 1: No, I agree with you. And I think if nothing else, what we just talked about with that prior client example is the sounding board value is just, to me, it just it's worth its weight right there, because it's-

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: I've got these things. I'm thinking about doing something, but I'm just unsure. Let me check with my guy or gal, let me check with Tony and see how this is going to rock the boat. And if it's going to make things a little too choppy, then maybe it's not the best idea, but if not, then hey, or we could strategize for it. You could come back and say, Hey, that's a great idea. Let's see what we can do. I think we can make that happen over this time period. Or we adjust a little here. We're going to be okay there. So on and so forth. Right.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: So to me, that's where a good chunk of value can certainly come in. Just helping us not be our own worst enemy.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah.

 

Speaker 1: By giving-

 

Tony Mauro: And many times, that's it.

 

Speaker 1: That's it.

 

Tony Mauro: Yeah. It really is.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. Because you've got the knowledge, you've got the you're in it every day kind of thing. Whereas most of us, are just occasionally dipping in or doing the DIY thing or kind of on the outer skirts. And it's like, I've got this great idea and you might find it's not that great idea or it really is. And that's some value that an advisor can bring. So how to recognize the voice of greed, I think that's the biggest step. Just being able to say, okay, maybe I need some checks and balances in this. And if you've got some questions, you need some checks and balances, reach out to Tony and have a conversation. Before you take any action you should always check with a qualified professional anyway, like Tony, who is a CFP, a certified financial planner, as well as an EA.

 

Speaker 1: He's been doing this for 20 plus years in the industry. And you can find all the information you need at his website, yourplanningpros.com. That's yourplanningpros.com. Stop by the website, get on the calendar, check him out. Lot of good tools, tips, and resources. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever app you like using Apple, Google, Spotify, so on and so forth. And if you got questions, you can always call him at Tax Doctor Inc at (844) 707-7381. Tony, thanks for hanging out. I'll let you get back to it today. And I will talk to you in April.

 

Tony Mauro: In April. It'll be spring, in the middle of it. I can't wait.

 

Speaker 1: Yeah. And you'll really be rocking and rolling with the taxes at that point so.

 

Tony Mauro: That's right.

 

Speaker 1: We'll see you then my friend. Have a good one. And we'll talk to you next time folks right here on Plan With The Tax Man with Tony Mauro.

 

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