I can't control the weather, earthquakes, the financial system, or other cars on the highway.
I can take actions to protect / advance myself and my interests, particularly if I've got a deeper understanding of what's going on and why.
Don't buy or rent in flood zones, slide-prone hillsides, or fill. Keep my sleeping area free of objects that might fall on me. Drive sanely, buckle up, get a car with airbags, keep a defensive distance between myself and other vehicles, avoid vehicles that appear to be rolling risks (unsecured loads, generally poor maintenance, cell phone usage, erratic driving patterns). If stocks look to be at a long-term high and are at a period of decades of continuous growth (as they were in the late 1990s), odds are good that gross appreciation is going to be minimal (as it has been from ~1999 - 2011 ... and counting). If peak oil is true and its implications bear out, living closer to where your life happens (work, home, recreation, shopping) is going to be more sensible than having a 100 mile daily commute.
If a company consistently appears to base its actions on the interests of its OEMs and business partners, rather than its end-users, shun its products (Microsoft, among many others).
Sure, you could just not care. But applying some reasonable intelligence to the process offers benefits.
It's helpful to operate on the assumption that others don't care. Shouldn't mean that you should adopt that approach yourself.
I can't control the weather, earthquakes, the financial system, or other cars on the highway.
I can take actions to protect / advance myself and my interests, particularly if I've got a deeper understanding of what's going on and why.
Don't buy or rent in flood zones, slide-prone hillsides, or fill. Keep my sleeping area free of objects that might fall on me. Drive sanely, buckle up, get a car with airbags, keep a defensive distance between myself and other vehicles, avoid vehicles that appear to be rolling risks (unsecured loads, generally poor maintenance, cell phone usage, erratic driving patterns). If stocks look to be at a long-term high and are at a period of decades of continuous growth (as they were in the late 1990s), odds are good that gross appreciation is going to be minimal (as it has been from ~1999 - 2011 ... and counting). If peak oil is true and its implications bear out, living closer to where your life happens (work, home, recreation, shopping) is going to be more sensible than having a 100 mile daily commute.
If a company consistently appears to base its actions on the interests of its OEMs and business partners, rather than its end-users, shun its products (Microsoft, among many others).
Sure, you could just not care. But applying some reasonable intelligence to the process offers benefits.
It's helpful to operate on the assumption that others don't care. Shouldn't mean that you should adopt that approach yourself.