pwn-08-25-14

Pinewood News August 25, 201419Financial FocusWork to Become a Better InvestorNOTICE OF CALL OF ELECTIONTHE PINEWOOD FIRE DISTRICT HEREBY NOTIFIESTHE REGISTERED VOTERS OF ALL PRECINCTSWITHIN THE PINEWOOD FIRE DISTRICT THATVACANCIES WILL OCCUR ON THE PINEWOOD FIREDISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT THE GENERALELECTION ON NOVEMBER 4, 2014.THE LAST DATE FOR CANDIDATES TO FILEPETITIONS FOR THESE POSITIONS IS AUGUST 6,2014 AT 5:00 PM AT THE COCNINO COUNTYELECTIONS DEPARTMENT, 110 EAST CHERRYAVENUE, FLAGSTAFF, AZ 86001.On Sept. 1, we observe Labor Day — acelebration of the American worker. Ofcourse, you work hard at your own job,but, when you think of it, every worthwhileendeavor in life requires significant effort— and that’s certainly the case with investing.The harder you work at it, the morelikely you are to make progress towardyour goals.So as you think about investing, considerthe following areas in which you willneed to apply yourself:• Work to identify your goals. It’s importantthat you know just why you’re investing.Do you want to send your children (orgrandchildren) to college? Do you want toretire early? What sort of retirementlifestyle do you envision? What kind oflegacy do you want to leave? Identifyingyour financial goals is the necessary firststep toward achieving them.• Work to know your own risk tolerance.It’s essential that you know your owninvestment personality — that is, howmuch risk you can comfortably handle. Ifyou think you can handle a relatively highlevel of risk, but you find yourself worryingexcessively over every drop in the market,you may need to re-evaluate your risktolerance and adjust your investmenthabits. Conversely, if you believe yourselfto be highly risk-avoidant, but you findyourself frustrated over the relatively lowreturns you get from conservative investments,you may need to revise your thinking— and your actions.efforts to predict market highs and lows aredoomed to fail — because no one canaccurately forecast those points. You willwant to be especially diligent about learningto look past the headlines and beyondshort-term price movements in the financialmarkets — because too many peopleoverreact to these events. If you can avoidthese bad investment habits, you’ll bedoing yourself a favor.• Work to follow a consistent investmentstrategy. If you invest over the courseof several decades, you are going to see alot of ups and downs in the financial markets.And when the markets get choppy,you may be tempted to take a “time out”from investing. But if you do this repeatedly,you will certainly interrupt the progressyou need to make toward your financialgoals. If you can develop the discipline tofollow a consistent investment strategy andto keep investing in all types of markets,you have a pretty good chance of “smoothingout” the effects of market volatilityover time. And, as a bonus, you’ll be farless likely to concern yourself over day-todayprice fluctuations.• Work to review your progress. Alongwith your financial advisor, consistentlyreview your progress toward your goals.Your investment professional should establishyour portfolio review frequency andmeet with you to discuss your investmentsat least once a year.So, there you have it — some ideas onhow you can work to be a better investor.THIS ELECTION IS NON-PARTISAN. THE LAST DAYTO REGISTER TO VOTE IS OCTOBER 4, 2014.CONTACT THE COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENTFOR ANY PARTICULARS CONCERNING THISELECTION.FOR THE BOARD:LEN FRIEDLUNDClerk of the Board• Work to avoid bad habits. Manyinvestors chase after “hot” stocks or try to“time” the market. However, hot stocks cancool off quickly, whileThis article was written by Edward Jones foruse by your local Edward Jones FinancialAdvisor.Here are the numbers you always need to contactif your wallet has been stolen:1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-62852.) Experian (formerly TRW):1-888-397-37423.) Trans Union : 1-800-680-72894.) Social Security Administration(fraud line):1-800-269-0271