MONEY THOUGHTS: Make sense of the insanity
I WAS speaking recently with a longtime friend about the uncertainties we see all around us nowadays — pertaining, for instance, to our internal Malaysian political scene, the rising death toll on our roads, the seemingly “forever war” with Iran that the United States is embroiled in, the fresh global surges in inflation caused directly by asinine tariffs and war mongering moves by Washington DC,…
In recent times, the world seems to be grappling with an increasing number of challenges and uncertainties. These range from political instability in Malaysia, to the rising death toll on our roads, to the seemingly endless war with Iran, to global surges in inflation driven by tariffs and aggressive actions by the United States.
The list of concerns seems to be growing with each passing day. This writer faced this reality while speaking to a close friend about these issues, and he ended up using the word "discombobulated" to describe their shared feelings. The term, which entered the US lexicon in the 1820s or 1830s, essentially means to be emotionally or mentally thrown off balance, confused or upset by certain circumstances.
The writer believes that this condition is valid, given the list of woes mentioned earlier. But he does propose a cure: good leadership, better money management, and strategic investment strategies. As for leadership, he believes that we need national and international leaders of the highest calibre who can chart a steady course for the countries and people they lead.
Despite the current turbulent times, he suggests that the pendulum swing of human affairs will eventually bring calmer, better times. For managing personal finances in these tough times, he recommends four steps: building liquidity, compounding money safely, identifying fast-forming shortages, and rebalancing geographically. The writer also suggests building liquidity, or having a stash of cash on hand, as Warren Buffett has increased his own cash pile.
The liquidity can provide ballast in tough times and allow flexibility to capitalize on opportunities when markets fall. Then, he advises investing in globally diversified value-based funds with a history of oscillating but upward price trajectories to compound money safely. Another strategy is to identify areas where resources such as metals, energy, and potable water are in short supply, as these can provide strong portfolio updrafts.
Lastly, he recommends rebalancing investments geographically, investing beyond Malaysia to areas like China and focusing a portion of investments back home due to strong GDP growth, low inflation, a thriving semiconductor sector, and surging palm oil prices. By following these steps, the writer believes that individuals can become less discombobulated as they face new disruptions.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
