Editor’s Note: I published this article on April 9, about 45 minutes before President Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs, sending the market **rocketing** skyward. I’ll be surprised if this is the last of the tariff tantrum, and I stand by every question below. Happy reading!

I want to float these punchy, Socratic questions out there and let them sit. I want you to pause and think.

I don’t want to tell you any of my answers or any “best practice” answers. Those answers don’t matter. Your answers matter.

It’s a bit like Therapy. It’s not about me. It’s about you, and it’s important that you come to your own conclusions.

1. Is Mr. Market being manic or depressive right now? 
2. Did your goals change in the past week? 
3. …Did your timelines change?
4. What does your financial plan require you to do right now?
5. If the stock market closed for the next five years, would you be comfortable with what you own today?
6. If the political party flipped, but the other facts stayed the same…would you still feel the same way?
7. Are your current decisions driven by evidence and analysis?
8. What does “long-term” mean to you?
9. What will happen if you do nothing at all right now?
10. Are you chasing certainty in an uncertain world?
11. Is discomfort a reason to act or part of the ride you signed up for?
12. What are your expectations of a “worst-case scenario” in your portfolio? Are we there?
13. If you sell now, what’s your plan for buying back in?
14. Have you rewritten your personal investment philosophy?
15. If you weren’t already in the market, would you choose to invest today?

If you want to chat, drop me an email –> Jesse [at] BestInterest.blog

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On that note, our podcast “Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors” is by far outpacing this written blog. Tune in and check it out.

-Jesse

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Jesse Cramer Writer & Financial Planner

Jesse Cramer is the writer of The Best Interest blog, the voice behind The Best Interest Podcast, and works full-time as a fiduciary financial planner for Cobblestone Capital Advisors in Rochester, NY.