My Thoughts During House Arrest

It’s Movement Control Order (MCO) but it certainly feels like a house arrest, especially during the weekend. The furthest I can travel in a day is from my room to the kitchen. Most of my time is spent in my room, either facing the walls or my room fan. The longer I stare at them, it feels like they are closing on me.

Overall, it’s not that bad compared to others but I must admit, limited human interaction and social activities are slowly affecting me. My thoughts have the tendency to run wild while sitting idle. I can’t say if they are good or bad thoughts but I do ponder about them from time to time.

I’m taking the liberty to share some of them here, so welcome to my mind.

Thoughts – Am I Mentally Prepared for Retirement?

Most retirement planning conversation revolves around the financial aspect. We plan and decide the retirement target, how much to save and where to invest. This is all good, but I don’t think I’ve mentally pictured how my life would be during retirement.

As of now, I’m lucky to have a job that allows me to work from home. On weekdays, most of my time is spent on my office laptop. If I were to take away this laptop and assuming I no longer a job, what would I do? How will I kill time?

This MCO period somehow feels like a training ground, allowing me to partially experience the life of a retiree. I can’t say I fully enjoy the free time while being stuck at home. If I were to retire tomorrow, I doubt I’m mentally prepared for retirement.

I came across the following article last year and it touches upon this subject. Do have a read, some good points being shared on how to mentally prepare yourself for retirement.

Thoughts – We Are All Irrational!

What we are facing now is pandemic. As expected, global economies and markets will decline due to lesser demand worldwide. Since this is a health issue and not a typical textbook recession, no one can say for sure what to expect in the near future.

During this uncertainty period, I have come across three different types of investors.

1. The first type sees this period as a buying opportunity. They rely mostly on past records.

2. The second type is those ready to jump ship and liquidate their position. This group of investors relies on their emotions.

3. And finally, the third type is those willing to wait and ride out the storm.     

So, who is rational and who is irrational? In the eye of each group, the others will always look as irrational and this is why no one can ever predict the direction of the market. I’m personally in the third group, and to be honest, I disagree with the other two groups, but I must acknowledge the fact that I need both the buyers and the sellers for the market to work as intended.

I guess I must embrace the irrationality of all because no one really knows what the future holds and that is OK. I reckon at any given time, there will be winners and losers. No one gets to win or be right all the time.

Thoughts – A Prediction

This is simply a prediction I have. Before I share it, as a reminder I’m sharing the below image I stumbled upon on Twitter.

Source: The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

So here goes my prediction. If and when this pandemic is over, looking at all the stimulus package around the world, plus with a low-interest rate, massive inflation is bound to occur in financial assets and properties. Debts will rise in tandem with this. This is quite similar to what happened during the 2008 financial crisis. Financial assets and properties around the world, including Malaysia, didn’t go up because of more demand from public, it went up because of all these extra monies circulating in the economy.

I understand the stimulus package is required for liquidity reasons but the after effect can affect individuals negatively if they are not prepared. I foresee household debts to grow further. It’s a stressful and depressing game but a game we are all in. Embrace it or be left behind.

“I don’t resent the system; it is the system. Don’t hate the game, love the game because you are in it mate. So, own the game, accept the rules and move on into the rules.“

Guy Ritchie

Now, I’ll have to wait and see if my prediction age wells.

Last Thought

If you are a Guy Ritchie fan, do watch the below Joe Rogan podcast. There is something eloquent the way Guy Ritchie speaks. Rest assured you will find some wisdom from it and will make you ponder on some stuff during this MCO.