“I want to move everything to cash! The market’s going to crash. What should I do?”
I heard this from a client when the stock market started dropping earlier this year. It’s a reaction I understand completely. When your financial security feels threatened, emotions naturally take over.
The truth is, money decisions are rarely just about numbers. They’re about your future, your security, and often, your identity. As someone who’s guided countless clients through financial crossroads, I’ve seen how finding the right balance between what you feel and what makes strategic sense can make all the difference.
The Emotional Side of Money Decisions
You might recognize yourself in some of these situations:
When your company stock is on a dramatic upswing, it feels almost impossible to diversify. “This stock is going sky high. I want to stay in!” Then when corrections happen: “I should have sold when it was higher.”
Or perhaps you’re considering retirement, wrestling with questions beyond just numbers: “What will I do with my time? What if I run out of money?”
During major life transitions like divorce or loss, wanting to keep the family home often stems from emotional security rather than financial logic.
Even decisions about cash reserves carry emotional weight. “I want five years of expenses in the bank.” That might feel comforting, but it could mean missing opportunities for growth.
Gaining Perspective When It Matters Most
When clients feel overwhelmed by market swings, I share this analogy: From an airplane at 30,000 feet, the ocean looks completely smooth. As you descend, waves start to appear. And if you were in a small boat on the water, those waves would seem massive, bobbing you up and down.
This is exactly what investing feels like. One month of performance looks entirely different than five or ten years’ worth of returns. When we step back together, you can see that despite short-term drops, you’re likely still ahead of where you were a few years ago.
I’ve learned that when people become deeply immersed in the constant flow of unsettling news and global challenges, it’s easy for that anxiety to take over their financial outlook. It’s a natural reaction, and when we redirect the focus to what you can control (i.e. “You have enough cash to cover two years of expenses, which takes us to 2027”). The perspective often shifts, and anxiety eases.
Transforming “What If?” into Clear Choices
When emotions are running high, concrete scenarios can provide much-needed clarity.
For clients with concentrated wealth, we walk through real numbers: “If your $5 million in company stock were to drop by half, could you still fund your early retirement and your children’s education? What if we diversified half now, protecting your core goals while still benefiting if the stock continues performing well?”
This approach helps transform vague anxieties into clear options with real implications you can see and evaluate.
Your Life, Your Choices, Your Trade-offs
I firmly believe that financial decisions are ultimately yours to make. My job isn’t to tell you what you can or cannot do; it’s to help you understand what different choices might mean for your future.
When a client was considering spending that might require selling their home later in life, we talked it through: “You might need to downsize in your mid-eighties, but you’ve shared how much joy comes from helping your grandchildren with college and taking those annual cruises. If that trade-off feels right to you, it’s a completely valid choice.”
Understanding these personal trade-offs helps you align your money with what truly matters in your life, not just what looks best on paper.
The Team Approach That Makes the Difference
At Team Hewins, you don’t work with just one advisor; you get a dedicated team of professionals bringing diverse knowledge to your specific situation. Whether you’re navigating a career transition, managing equity compensation, or planning for retirement, we have specialists who understand your challenges.
We know that financial discussions don’t have to happen in formal office settings to be effective. Some of our best conversations occur on hikes or over coffee when clients feel most comfortable. We’ve learned that money matters don’t have to be stuffy to be taken seriously.
What sets us apart is our belief that financial plans should be as individual as you are. We combine rigorous analysis with genuine understanding of your goals and concerns. The result is guidance that feels both strategically sound and personally right for you.
Ready to approach your next financial decision with both clarity and confidence? Schedule a call with us today. Learn more about who we serve here.
Team Hewins, LLC (“Team Hewins”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser; however, such registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training, and no inference to the contrary should be made. We provide this information with the understanding that we are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax services. We recommend that all investors seek out the services of competent professionals in any of the aforementioned areas. Certain information provided herein is based on third-party sources, which information, although believed to be accurate, has not been independently verified by Team Hewins. Team Hewins assumes no liability for errors and omissions in the information contained herein.