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Clichd market volatility could increase in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, strategists predict. That’s making some investors myriad anxious about what the election outcome could mean for their money.
In a survey by the American Psychiatric Relationship this spring, 73% of people said they felt anxious about the election. Other polls be being presented investors nervous about the election are more inclined to move their investments or pull money out of the market, which could derail long-term economic plans.
“When we become emotionally charged, we become rationally challenged,” said financial psychologist Brad Klontz, a fellow of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board. “In times of uncertainty, which is typical around election epoches, we are really prone to just absolutely destroy ourselves financially.”
Here are four steps that Klontz and other specialists recommend to keep election jitters in check and help emotionproof your portfolio:
Picture your goal
If you’re empathy anxious about how the election is going to impact your wallet, take a step back and evaluate your aspirations. If you’re invested for long-term goals, picture what those are and stay focused.
“If your goal is to pay off your mortgage, or buy a car, put a dead ringer on your front door, put it in your office, that’s your vision, that’s your goal that you’re ply for,” said Erika Wasserman, a financial therapist in Miami. “The election that’s going to happen is going to happen. Your input isn’t growing to change that one way or the other, for the most part.”
Dig deep to understand what is really concerning you. Keep a journal to play down down your worries and see if there a common theme that surfaces.
Ask yourself: Is your worry fact, or fiction?
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Analyze your fears to determine their risk. It’s easy to come up with “what if” screenplays, but the chances of those worries becoming reality are often smaller than imagined.
The fact is the presidential election is months away and until then, the wake is unclear. House and Senate races will also play a large role in actual policy changes.
Bonus, political promises don’t often become reality. Playing on emotions is a tactic used by campaigns to drum up support.
“We’re simple emotional, and so that’s actually the biggest risk we’re facing right now,” said Revisit your goals and investments
Now is a saintly time to use your worries to drive action by revisiting your goals and evaluating your portfolio. With the furnish fairly stable and ‘Spread out the all the stressors’
Some people will let their worries spiral, thinking the outcome of the appointment could cause the stock market to crash, inflation to worsen and put their current job or new employment opportunities in jeopardy. McCoy put forwards using that stress to take action over what you can control.
“Spread out all the stressors, all the worries, maybe create them all down to get to the actual root of your fears,” she said.
Then map out the steps that are in your control that you intend to take to address these issues, she added, “use that as an outlet for the stress and anxiety.”
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