“Ooh, it looks pretty nasty getting through Sacramento.”
Nicole and I were on I-80 West driving back from North Tahoe.
We had gotten too late a start to miss the usual Sacramento traffic jam where I-50 meets up with I-80.
“I think I found a way around it,” Nicole said this as we passed a convertible BMW with a magnetic decal
attached to the side that was…umm… attention-grabbing.
It was a backhoe contractor service.
We had a good laugh as we exited I-80 to take Nicole’s shortcut around the traffic.
For the next 45 minutes we drove through every access road and side street around southwest
Sacramento.
When we were finally passed the red lines in Google Maps, we got back onto I-80 proud that we were
smart enough to avoid the traffic jam.
We continue on our way and about 45 minutes later, guess who we pass.
Yup.
The backhoe contractor.
Our “shortcut” had cost us 45 minutes.
Always stay on the highway.
That is a lesson we will never forget (until next time).
I’m sure you’ve got a similar story to tell. We’ve all tried to outsmart traffic jams, whether it’s a 45 minute
“longcut” or endlessly hopping lanes.
People who try to “outsmart” investment traffic jams end up with equally frustrating results.
They see a traffic jam up ahead – either real or imagined – and they get off the investment highway
hoping to find a shortcut around the traffic.
There’s an election up ahead and they convince themselves it’ll be bad news, so they get out and just wait
for it to pass.
Or COVID hits and the market actually DOES tank, so they get off the highway to get around it.
Meanwhile the election doesn’t do anything and the COVID downturn only lasted 60 days.
But then they’re too scared to get back in, so they miss out on one of the best one-year returns we’ve
ever seen.
The lesson with investing is the same as the lesson with traffic jams.
Stay on the highway,stay in your lane andyour patience will be rewarded.
