Written by North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner
My office, and all the items in it, have a story to tell. I sit at former Treasurer Harlan Boyles’ desk – it reminds me of the legacy of stewardship of our state’s finances that I must live up to. On my wall is an antique map of North Carolina from the 1890s, before there were even 100 counties in our state (fun fact, there were only 96 back then), which reminds me of how this state continues to evolve for the better. We also have many historical stock and bond certificates from great North Carolina companies that adorn the walls, a nod to all the amazing banks, industrial companies, railroads, counties and towns who comprise so many of the employers still today in this state.
And then there is the one item on my shelf that everyone notices… the small plaque that just reads: “I Suck at Investing.” I’ve spent my career building companies and teams focused on investing, so people generally find it a bit ironic. But to me it’s an important memory – a memento from a stock-picking contest where I finished in last place in 2020. In my defense, I didn’t see Covid or the extreme response to it coming in December 2019… but it doesn’t really matter my excuses, the reality is that I wasn’t very good at my job that day.
I keep it in my office not only to remind me of the friends I competed with, but also to remind me that sometimes I do actually suck at investing. And so do we all, when it comes to matters requiring consistency and discipline – perhaps most notably in the area of personal finance. While it is better not to have bad days, or bad weeks/months, the truth is we all have them. The trick to success is in recovering from those tough times. How do you pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes and be a little better next time? Of course it’s embarrassing to perform poorly, or overspend or overindulge. But it does happen, particularly when we are celebrating special occasions like Christmas or New Years.
For January, challenge yourself to get back on track. We talked to a lot folks for the newsletter this month to help guide you through the new year reset. See if you can make some small progress today in correcting where you may have veered off course over the holidays. For me, I’m going to try and go all of January without buying coffee at a coffee shop. And I’ll use that money to build my retirement savings. If I can make some good investments with that money this time, then my golden years will be that much more golden!
Brad Briner was elected North Carolina Treasurer in 2024 after working as the co-chief investment officer for Willett Advisors and has held positions at Morgan Creek Capital, the UNC Management Company, ArcLight Capital and Goldman Sachs. He started writing “Bottom Line with Brad” as a way to educate North Carolinians on complicated financial matters in the Department of State Treasurer’s monthly “Finance Fridays” newsletter. The column is published in partnership with Chapelboro and is not a sponsored series.
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