Does practice make…perfect? “What if you practice wrong?” asked Coach Creston. “Perfect practice makes perfect, is the answer,” he said. Coach ‘C’ was a wonderful and uplifting basketball coach who was a great influence at 12 years old.
He had an acronym for the perfect jump shot – LAGS – legs, alignment, grip, and stay. It was simple and it improved everyone’s jump shot. The same can be applied to finances.
Practice LAGS for Finances
The acronym in financial planning is a little different – LAGSSS – lower taxes, abandon the apps, give the cold shoulder, spending, solid portfolio, and self-serving investments.
Let’s break down the LAGSSS into two different areas for you to develop sound finances. There are three important items and three everyday tiny tweaks. These are not only good for perfect practice, but also for playing in the game.
The grand ideas are:
- Lower your taxes
- Don’t spend more than you make
- Have a solid portfolio
Here’s a fitting article that covers these three habits in depth.
Tiny Tweaks
There are smaller every day habits to adopt:
- Abandon the apps
- Give the cold shoulder to self-proclaimed experts
- Investments serve you
There are many apps to track your investment performance. It’s a rush to check your app and see how much money you made. But it’s a real buzzkill when your investments are down on the day.
You can make some hasty decisions that will harm you. Stop incessant checking of financial apps. Better yet, delete them from your phone.
Don’t listen to talking heads who are “Wall Street” experts. These individuals get paid for you to watch their highly polished videos, not for what advice they dispense. Your interests and their interests are not aligned. This is a great example of “you get what you pay for.”
Your investments are there to serve you and those in your life. It’s not the other way around. Invest in a solid portfolio that fits your needs. You change your portfolio as your needs change in life – every few months, every year – not everyday. Continually chasing the hottest investment is dangerous.
These tiny tweaks are a way for you to make practice perfect, although we are not practicing. We are in the game.
Repetition is Important
It won’t be easy. These tips are simple but hard. It’s like using LAGS over the course of millions of jump shots or LAGSSS over the course of many financial decisions – to earn you millions.