One of the easiest things to do in life is get stuck.
Stuck in bad habits. Embedded in the same negative communication patterns. Glued to a seemingly endless recycling of an unchanging situation day after day. Inaction has a way of breeding inaction.
This can happen a lot in financial investment decisions. There are many reasons for this, but here are three.
Information overload. We can get stuck in financial indecision because there are so many opinions out there. Social media touts ideas. Financial television offers a political narrative or a money story shaped by countless advertisements. Politics fires us up emotionally, fragments us relationally, and can be destructive to portfolios. Many investment firms put out investment outlooks each and every year and even midyear, offering different perspectives and forecasts on the economy, interest rates, and stocks. Who do you trust?
Choice fatigue. When you are ready to finally make an investment decision, you can get overwhelmed by the options. Should I go with this financial advisor or the other seven in town or thousands across the nation? Should I try to squeeze out a higher interest rate by looking at two banks or 400? Which investment fund should I pick out of the thousands? Is it too late to buy? Too early? What about annuities: variable, fixed, or fixed index? What about life insurance: term or whole? Should I be 60/40, 80/20, 90/10, or some other ratio of stocks and bonds? Gold, silver, or crypto? What about investing according to my conscience: political affiliation, religious conviction, environmental concerns, or other ethical reasons? All four at the same time? Which financial author should I follow: Suze Orman or Benjamin Graham or Dave Ramsey or Ramit Sethi or Robert Kiyosaki or John Bogle? This is making my head hurt. Forget it.
Postponement. Let’s wait. Not today. I’ll do it tomorrow. Maybe next quarter. We can do it when we get raises. Let’s pause until the kids get older. We have too many other things going on in this season. There is never going to be a perfect time. Sometimes it’s just procrastination.
I’ve heard it said that your actions express your priorities. Therefore, financial inaction may mean finances are not a priority in your life. Not yet anyway.
They can be, though.
What is the solution? Start somewhere. Act!
Even if it’s small. And then be consistent.
But did you know that not all stuckness is bad? If you “stayed stuck” in your 60/40 investment portfolio, too afraid to do anything despite the ups and downs of the last few decades, you are likely happy you did. According to JPMorgan Asset Management, that inaction outperformed moving to cash 99% of the time over any five-year period.1
While the odds are against being stuck in cash being the right decision, the odds have been in favor of being stuck in a 60/40 portfolio being the right decision.
If you are going to be stuck in life, get stuck in the right things.
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Source:
1. “Guide to the Markets” (June 30, 2025). Accessed online: https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/insights/market-insights/guide-to-the-markets/