My oldest son, age 27, has a grandfather who taught him about cars as he was growing up. As a result of this, when he was a young teenager, I would have to limit him when he would go to the library to no more than ten car magazines at any one time.  I did not do this because I wanted to limit his interest, but to keep the chaos in his room to a minimum. Unlike most young people who “ooh and ahh” over the pictures, he read these magazines cover to cover.

A few months ago, he was in town with his wife for some family events. One of the evenings he was in town, he called me from his cell phone and asked me to step outside my front door. When I opened the door, he was sitting in a beautiful white convertible Jaguar F-Type. Although I don't appreciate cars like my son, I have to say it was gorgeous.

He took me for a joy-ride to enjoy a few minutes with his dad on a windy back-country road to introduce me to the value of a luxury sports car. During our drive, I was in awe of the quality and luxury.  I was also nervous about the speed he took on the curves and corners as we ventured through these back roads.

 After the ride, I got to thinking of how this experience must feel to others as it relates to their investments.

My experience is that most people don't understand nor value the benefits of the stock market. Many of us take other people's word for it and follow along. We get nervous when our investments are volatile, similar to the back-country road.

My observation is that most of us want the long-term benefits of stocks and investing in the market, like the speed and rush of a convertible sports car, but get nervous at the moment.

Not all people want or need a Jaguar like my son. The purpose of him renting this car was the exhilaration of having a luxury sports car for a few days. If he and his wife had wanted to go camping, this car would not have been a good choice. He would have needed a more appropriate vehicle for the occasion, such as a truck or SUV.

Investments might be compared to vehicles. I don't believe there is one best vehicle. No one car can provide what could be needed at all times. Yes, there could be one best truck or one best SUV, however before that decision is made, we should determine what the vehicle is being used for, given our specific situation.

Similar to how there is no one best car, there is no one best investment. Is a stock best? If so, what kind of stock? A stable blue-chip? A tech stock? Would something international be best? Or would something more conservative investment be best, such as a short term bond or treasury bond? My experience is that most people don't know. They simply know they want their money to grow over time.

Financial Planning is the process of determining if we can accomplish our goal based on the current $ we have and at our current savings rate.

 What's the takeaway? Do our investments match our goals and temperament? Do we need an allocation that is closer to a Jaguar? Do we need something closer to a Truck an SUV or possibly something else?