Here’s How to Keep Your Portfolio Healthy

If you have a medical appointment this week, you might want to wish your nurse a happy National Nurses Week. This annual event is designed to celebrate the important role nurses play in health care.

Of course, while nurses and doctors can help you in many ways, you can do a lot of good for yourself by adopting healthy living habits, such as eating right, exercising frequently, and so on. But you can also do much to help your financial health.

Here are a few suggestions:

Stay invested. During times of market volatility, it can be temping to head to the investment “sidelines” until things “cool off.” Going to the sidelines can mean a few different things – you could simply not invest anything for a while, or you could move a substantial portion of your portfolio to “cash” instruments, which are safe in the sense of preserving your principal but offer almost nothing in the way of return or protecting against inflation. If you’re not investing during a market downturn, or if you’ve moved heavily into cash, you might well miss out on the beginning of the next market rally.

Rebalance your portfolio. It’s a good idea to periodically rebalance your portfolio to make sure it still reflects your goals and your comfort level with risk. Over time, and without any effort on your part, your portfolio can become unbalanced. For example, following a long “bull” market, the value of your stocks could have risen to the point where they make up a greater percentage of your portfolio than you had intended. When that happens, you may need to rebalance by adding bonds and other fixed-income vehicles.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.