It's true that most investing success happens over long periods of time. So it would stand to reason that you should stay focused on the long term.  But when you think about it, the "long term" is really just a bunch of short-term periods bunched together.  And those short-term stretches can sometimes be brutal.

With that in mind, what if the real key to long-term success isn’t patience at all, but short-term management? What if protecting the near-term (your cash flow, your flexibility, your psyche) is what actually allows the long term to work the way it’s supposed to? How do you design a plan that takes the short-term worry out of the equation? 

Learn all about it from podcast host Johnny Dean and Rick “The Professor” Plum, CFP® on this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future!