The average pencil is seven inches long

Robert Brault once said: 'The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead.'

When I was growing up I was taught to believe that there is always a solution to everything. I still think this to be true. Today it is hard to be optimistic when all around you negativity is prevailing; prices, houses, food, oil, redundancy, costs, jobs, markets, investments, opportunities and so on. Everyday we wake up to new challenges, be they at work, the business world, financial or whatever. But there is always a solution. Sometimes it is not obvious and sometimes it is hard to see a way out. But it is there.

If you are looking at buying a house at present - prices are continuing to fall - now it is a question of timing: do you wait a little longer or plunge in now believing this to be an opportunity? If you would like to invest in the stock market, after one of the most horrendous weeks for some time, there are many buying opportunities at present, the financials and other stocks are rising, a little more confidence is coming back into the Irish market. Is this the right time? If you wish to invest in a pension, surely when the funds are at such a low is a good time?

Procrastinating in the financial markets, like in life, can cost you dearly, so trying to find a solution at present may involve changing your outlook, being more frugal, shrewder, but doing something. If we all do nothing, we will come to a standstill and I believe we have been standing still for some time now. Look for opportunities, because they still exist; the money has not all gone away you know.

Next week the Races are in Galway and along with it comes optimism hopefully, and the forecast is good, so let's stop standing still and get moving. Make some decisions, find some solutions and look at the optimism. I will leave you with a quote from Mark Twain, which is rather opportune for our coastal location.

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' - Mark Twain.

HC Financial Services, 20 years serving your financial needs. www.hcgroup.ie.

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