Who doesn’t love a good beard or mustache? I think you’d be hard pressed to find many people who don’t enjoy the look on us guys. Heck, Dan Boyce has been rocking a mustache since our firm came into existence almost 30 years ago! Over the last few years, November has become the month dedicated to growing out your facial hair, otherwise known as “MOVEMBER”. What many people don’t realize though, is that Movember is actually dedicated to raising money and spreading awareness for prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the United States. To find out more about the foundation that’s changing the face of men’s health, check out movember.com. I think it’s a fun thing to do each year, switch the look up a little bit and save some time and money with your shaving supplies while hopefully donating some of those savings to prostate cancer research.
Throwing down the Movember Gauntlet
This year, Matt Trujillo and I took the Movember challenge and have had an ongoing facial hair battle all month. You can check out our hairy progress on The Center’s Facebook page. When I decided to partake in Movember once again this year, I started thinking about the “skillset” that it takes to grow an amazing beard/mustache. When I really took a step back, I realized how much it had it common with investing -- as crazy as that may sound! Consider these hair-raising similarities to investing:
Patience – Not everyone has the genes for growing good facial hair – like me for example. I have what many deem as a “baby face” and have a hard time filling in the gaps in certain areas, but hey, I’ve seen way worse. Have you ever seen Justin Bieber’s attempt at a mustache? If not, take a look because it makes me feel better. But the one thing I do have in my favor is patience. I know it will take longer than most to get a decent beard/mustache going, but I’m in it for the long run.
Persistence – As every man can attest, you will come to a point where your facial hair drives you crazy. This is typically about 1½ – 2 weeks into the growing cycle and is when the itchiness and overall feel starts to really get to you. Although this growth period is tough to push through, persistence is essential and is necessary to prevail.
Consistency – You have to stick with it! If you want good facial hair, consistency is key. You have to know going in that the process won’t be easy. Being consistent and keeping up with the general maintenance of having facial hair, along with fighting the countless urges to shave that lip sweater off your face, is what separates the men from the boys.
Movember & Investing Parallels
Can you see how these three attributes required to growing facial hair can play into investing too? The most successful clients we’ve worked with started saving at a young age and did so over the course of their 30+ year working career. That required discipline and patience. They’ve seen the market go up and down along with their account balances; however, they’ve stayed the course and are now enjoying a very comfortable retirement. Investing with persistence, in my opinion, means staying true to your personal goals and maintaining a diversified portfolio. Instead of following “new” or “hot” investment crazes. Keeping it simple and using asset allocation has led to countless success stories for our clients. Finally reaching your goals takes consistency, which if you ask me, is the number one key to investor success. Consistent saving at a reasonable rate, no matter what the market is doing, can reap monumental dividends over the course of 40+ years.
Matt and I have had a lot of fun the past few weeks partaking in Movember and know the office has also enjoyed our evolution into our “business professional cave man” look. However, what we can’t forget is the true purpose of growing our facial hair– prostate cancer awareness. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer and if trends like Movember can help to ultimately fight the cancer battle, I’m all for it. Happy Movember, from everyone at The Center!
Nick Defenthaler, CFP® is a Certified Financial Planner™ at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Nick currently assists Center planners and clients, and is a contributor to Money Centered and Center Connections.
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