Welcome to a new week and a new theme here on the One Minute Retirement Tip! Conornavirus! Holy Cow..what is going on! Masks are selling out in NYC. Websites that sell emergency food supplies are shutting down...I know because my husband tried to order from 2 different sites a couple weeks ago and you couldn’t even put in an order. 

This week, I’m talking about the coronavirus and its potential impact on your portfolio. If I’m being honest, I’m a little bit freaked out about the coronavirus - hence the ordering of emergency food supplies. And it’s not because of the potential damage it can do to our economy, and investors and their portfolios. It remains to be seen how widespread the coronavirus will be, so it’s hard to say, but if history is any indication, the impact of the coronavirus, especially if it can be contained, will not have any long-term or devastating consequences for the economy and the stock market, and the big drops that we’ve seen in recent weeks are likely to be short-lived. 

After all, the current devastation and death toll is still nothing compared to the common flu, which according to wikipedia is responsible for 650,000 deaths every year around the world. That’s a big number, 650,000. 

I guess what has me concerned is the uncertainty of it all. Not knowing if a viable treatment will be found or if the spread of the disease can be contained, or if in just a few short weeks schools and offices here in the US will be shut down because of outbreaks. I have 2 young children, ages 2 & 5, so I am also acutely aware that they are more vulnerable than most, and as a mother I worry about my precious babies. 

But that uncertainty about what’s in store with this pandemic - that’s what’s got the stock market spooked as well. The stock market hates uncertainty and always reacts badly to it. As I write this week’s tips, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has had 6 straight days of losses and is down 12% just in the last week. 

So this week, I’m going to stop and take a few deep breaths, even if I have to do that with a medical mask on, and discuss the big picture when it comes to your retirement portfolio and how to best handle curveballs like this. It’s tempting to sell and get out while you still can, so my goal this week is to share some perspective and to help you answer one very important question - what should you do now?

That’s it for today. Before you go, though, if you haven’t already left a review in Amazon or iTunes for the One Minute Retirement Tip, can I ask a favor of you to go do that right now? It just takes a few seconds and it helps to spread the word, and raises visibility of this podcast to help others find it. And thank you to all of you who have taken the time to write a review. 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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