Vanguard Group founder John Bogle put it best.
"If you're not worried today," Bogle told Marketplace Money's Tess Vigeland in an interview, "you are really not paying much attention."
But there's a big difference between being understandably concerned about your finances and being paralyzed by fear. While some folks are hunkering down, reducing their risk and stuffing money in mattresses, others are making bold, life-changing moves.
Why roll the dice now? Lots of reasons, including:
- Falling prices. Simply put, you can get deals, such as on a new home, or if you're in business, on commercial rent, supplies and labor.
- Less competition. When others are pulling back out of fear, you may have more room to pounce on opportunities.
- Lower opportunity costs. Opportunity cost is what you give up in order to have something else. If you've already lost your job, for example, the opportunity cost of going back to school may be lower since you're not giving up a big salary.
- Life goes on. Postponing a big move may seem prudent, but avoiding all risk is impossible, and trying to live a "safe" life may leave you with a boring one.
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Read on for stories of people taking a chance despite, and sometimes even because of, tough economic times.
Take a sabbatical
Business coach Tracy Beckes encourages her clients, who are typically financial planners, to take extended time off from work to assess their lives, pursue a passion or simply have time to think."It's one of the most important things we can do as adults," said Beckes, of La Conner, Wash. "It's strategic. If you use the time wisely, you can propel your life to a whole new level."
Beckes follows her own advice: She's taken two yearlong sabbaticals and schedules six to seven weeks off every summer. Each time, she's discovered more about how she wants to live her life and figured out ways to arrange her business to suit that life.
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Getting others to consider a break from the working world is tough, Beckes said, and isn't getting any easier with the recession. Still, one client who took her advice is glad she did.
Donna Skeels Cygan of Albuquerque, N.M., had no intention of selling her planning business when a national financial-services company first called. A self-described workaholic, Cygan had built up the firm over 10 years and loved working with clients.
But with growth came more hassles, including managing six employees. Her attempts to spend more time with her children, now 14 and 16, were constantly thwarted by the demands of the business.
Cygan decided to sell. But instead of jumping back into the work world, she's taking a year off to spend more time with family, work on a book and figure out what she wants to do next.
Clearly, Cygan is in a better financial position than most to take time off. The proceeds from the sale of her business, plus her husband's steady income as a geochemist, mean there's no financial pressure for Cygan to go back to work right away.
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But even people who can afford to take the time -- or who could afford to, with a little planning -- resist the suggestion that they take a break, Beckes said.
"It's cultural," she explained. Working long hours is considered a virtue in the U.S., while taking time off for reflection and assessment of our lives is not.
Based on her own results, Beckes wishes more of us would try it. Even a few days of reflective retreat to think about what we really want in life, and how to get it, can benefit someone enormously.
"It's really amazing what can happen," Beckes said. "I'm better able to engineer and design my life."
My take: Keep your nose to the grindstone too long, and you'll wind up missing your life. If you can't take a year or a month or even a week off, consider a weekend retreat or a session with a career coach to review your life and your goals.
See also "Quit work for a year: 7 steps to do it right."
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