When is it going to get better?

“When is it going to get better?”  This is a question that I’ve been getting a lot less lately but I’m never quite certain how to interpret the decline of a question.  Have things gotten better, have people got tired of asking, or have people just given up?  I’m certainly not as wise as the news media so I don’t think I’ll give a definite answer today.  However, this last week end I got ask the question again but with a new twist; “Larry, in your opinion how accurate is the prediction of a recovery in 2014?”  I didn’t want to appear too uninformed so I simply said; “2014? What month?” to which everyone laughed.  My curiosity was touched and I had to result to the accuracy of Google to see what was going on.  I found definitive phrases such as “picking up speed, improving, volumes doubled, increasing, returning,” but nowhere did I find the term “better”.  There is no one who can guarantee a market or even a market trend but I can tell you how to get better.  My Granddad Starbuck used to tell us that there was one sure way to financial security: “Work hard, Spend less than you make, and Save.”  Unfortunately my Granddad and the thousands just like him never ran for public office but they didn’t deal in excuses either.  If we will dedicate ourselves everyday to working a little harder, spending a little less, and saving or investing wisely a little more then everyday we will be getting a little better.  It’s kind of like losing weight.  If we concentrate on making a little improvement everyday and don’t celebrate that improvement with a scope of ice cream then one day we wake up and realize we’ve obtained our goal.  Now that made me hungry, have a better day!

Tagged as: 2014, Better, save, spend, weight, work