Look before you leap

Please switch off the power to the computer and then turn it on again. That's the time-tested advice that any computer-support tech gives on the phone if you tell them that you have a dead computer that will not come on. They do that not because this can fix the problem but because often the problem is simply that the power switch is off. If they tell users to check if the power is on, they might get offended at being told such an obvious thing. And then, they might just say that they have done it without actually having done so. If you think about it, much of what a good financial advisor should say boils down to this obvious advice in some new garb. The need for a new way of saying the same old things is unfortunate but necessary. The human mind needs something new, but good, sensible personal-financial advice rarely changes. Back in mid-2020, when coronavirus was at its peak, I wr