Alexander Hamilton said, “I have thought it my duty to exhibit things as they are, not as they ought to be.” So often, we paint our perspective of past, current, and future events with what ought to be that we miss what *is*. Keeping a level head and focusing on the long-term is a surefire way to improve your outcomes.

It is at the tip of everyone’s tongue. It is the lead story every night on the news. Of course, I’m talking about a recession. Beyond the sensationalist headlines and the actual financial pain felt by millions of Americans lies the question: “What can I do about it?” A pragmatic approach shifts the focus from worrying to doing. These periods are never fun for anyone involved, but they are expected throughout history.

Most things in finance can be simplified into a simple supply versus demand equation. Without having to take an Economics 101 course, changing one or both sides of the equation will affect the price of the good or service in question. Think about the exorbitant prices people are willing to pay for popular sporting events or the hottest Christmas toy – a classic case of demand overwhelming the available supply. On the flip side, the discount bin at a department store represents oversupply related to current demand. Our present inflation predicament is a result of abnormalities in both supply and demand.

There are many vehicles for saving money, but few are as flexible as a Roth IRA. One can have retirement savings, emergency money, and college savings in one convenient place.

Those with a well-functioning crystal ball sold all their stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies at the beginning of this year. For everyone else, there haven’t been many places to hide. After last year’s tranquility, we are being reminded daily that investments can, in fact, decline in value. These periods can paralyze investors with fear, so it is a valuable exercise to step back and assess the situation objectively.

Death and taxes, as we all know, are the inevitabilities in life. We spend a lot of time and energy avoiding the former and almost as much mental capital trying to prevent the latter. But should we? As unpleasant as they are, taxes are born out of a successful endeavor where we earned or won money in some form. That being said, you should still be “tax-aware” with your finances to minimize the drag that taxes have on your bottom line. After all, we don’t want to line Uncle Sam’s pockets unnecessarily.