Josh Hoskin Smart Money [email protected]

Many of you will enjoy this time of the year because at some stage you will have the chance to stop and think.

You will have time to meet with loved ones and laugh like children do, without a care in the world. It is a time for our perspective to be realigned.

Last year was horrendous for the people of Christchurch, as well as many of our Kiwi fruit orchardists and many of the financial minds of the world.

Perspective is a wonderful gift and you would all have to agree the battle to rebuild Christchurch and the pain that the people have felt is far more important than the closed office meetings between European nations.

Humans need action and even more so in this world of instant gratification. News is much more readily available these days, however please keep your perspective people. Just because an issue is in the news does not necessarily mean it is urgent or important. These are turbulent times, however, I am not convinced they are any more volatile than other periods of our short history.

One thing, which in my view is more certain, is that advice is vital. Seek out your trusted advisers with real qualifications and together plot a course that is true to you and hold that line. While you have that time to think and gain perspective, remember what Einstein once said 'Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted”.

The article is based on personal opinion and may not be representative of the views of Goldridge Ltd. Josh Hoskin is an authorised financial adviser with Goldridge Wealth Management. A copy of his Disclosure Statement is available free on request. This article is not personalised advice under the Financial Advisers Act 2008. Readers should not act on any suggestions in this column without taking professional advice that takes into account their current circumstances and appetite for risk.