We’ve all done it. We respond to that unprovoked nasty email with equally forceful and emotional reply… and then smartly decide to not hit send for a couple hours.
And in a couple of hours after we’ve settled down, we thank our lucky stars that we didn’t fire it off.
By all means, write the email. It’s cathartic. Just wait to commit.
This is also a smart way to approach emotional financial decisions.
I’ve had it with my boss, so I rage quit. (Yes that’s a financial decision.)
The upcoming election has me in a frenzy, convinced we’re doomed, so I sell my portfolio and go to cash.
I feel like I’m behind on retirement savings, so I sell my steady-eddy, all-weather portfolio to buy tripled leveraged QQQ’s.
Those are all terrible, TERRIBLE financial decisions that are all but guaranteed to blow up in my face.
A good indication of an emotional financial decision is if your internal and/or external monologue starts with “I just feel”.
If those three words precede any thought regarding money or your finances, just stop.
Write the resignation letter, queue up your sell and buy orders… and then revisit in 2 hours/days/years.
Your future self will thank you.
