Stock market declines; what you need to know

Wall Street is off to a lousy start this year.

Thursday the Dow Jones wrapped up its worst four-day annual start on record.

A lot of fingers are pointing at China as trading was suspended for the second time in four days.

Despite this decline a local financial adviser said there’s still some positive to take away from the dropping stock prices.

People getting ready to retire should not be exposed to the current risks on Wall Street.

However, it’s a good time for those who are not retiring in the near future to buy in.

“You should only put a certain amount of control in Wall Street’s hands,” said financial adviser David Schofield.

He said it’s easy to freak out when stock prices drop, but you still have the power.

“You can control your outcome financial over somebody on wall street can, right?” said Schofield.

He said planning is very important when it comes to your finances.

“We don’t know what the markets are going to do, but we do know when we need the money,” Schofield said.

He recommends position your money based on a time frame.

“If somebody has a short-term need, they’re going to be more conservative. If it’s in a midterm like a two-to-five year time frame, then we can be a little more aggressive. Those that are out five to 10 years, then we can be more aggressive in those accounts,” said Schofield.

People tend to become emotional when it comes to money and that’s not a good idea.

“Rather than making an emotional decision that will actually wipe out those accounts, cause until you actually sell a position, you haven’t lost the money,” Schofield said.

He recommends speaking with a financial adviser about your investments.

“Young people need to start saving for sure. It’s always comforting when I sit down with someone and they have the means to retire,” said Schofield.