We have been trained to think that our investing benchmarks should be connected to the stock market indices/benchmarks. Many investment professionals will even tell you about a magic formula for beating these arbitrary and irrelevant benchmarks. Before I digress further, let me come back to the key question – what should be your real benchmark(s)?

The most important investing benchmark is your financial life – your goals…your needs…your lifestyle…protection of purchasing power…your liabilities…your liquidity needs…your family’s security and financial well-being…your longevity…your legacy and so on.

These are the new and real benchmarks that you need to focus on…Anything else is merely a distraction.