I have a saying I use at home: “down with stuff.” I am certainly neither a minimalist nor a follower of organization expert Marie Kondo, but I have been using the extra time at home I’ve had this year to reduce what I own. Among things I’ve tossed is a manual for a Palm Pilot. Why did I still have it after who knows how many years? It was stuck in a folder located in the back of a filing cabinet. (The filing cabinet was tossed as well.)

The focus of the Retired Investor column in this month’s issue is creating a plan for your tangible assets. You may think of such assets as being your house, precious metals or perhaps other physical assets (e.g., farmland, fine jewelry, original art from well-known artists, etc.). Likely there are tangible items with sentimental value to either you or your heirs.

Regardless of their value (sentimental, monetary or otherwise), eventually all of our physical items are going to either find new homes or be thrown out. Since October is National Financial Planning Month and the temperatures are going to start dropping in many areas of the country, now may be a good time to review your estate plans and think about where your physical possessions will go and who will receive them. Doing so will help avoid disputes among your heirs, as Julie Hall (aka “The Estate Lady”) explains here.

For those of you who are older, there’s another reason to start thinking about your physical assets: space. Should you need to move from your house to an independent or assisted-living facility, you could be looking at a significantly smaller living space. While looking for numbers to share with you, I came across the Michigan Senior Housing Market Study. It lists one- and two-bedroom independent living units as ranging from 625 square feet to 850 square feet. Assisted-living studio and one-bedroom units have between 300 square feet and 525 square feet.

Depending on where the facility is located and how it is designed, the square footage may vary. Some have cottages or more spacious floorplans. In general, expect a big drop in your personal living space.

You will also find other articles tied to October’s financial planning theme. Our research staff provides an overview of budgeting apps here. We realize that many of you either already have a budget or know where your money goes. These apps simplify some of the processes. If you don’t need them, perhaps you have a child or a grandchild who could benefit from budgeting tools. Share the article with them. And while you’re at it, consider gifting them a membership. You can do so by writing to members@aaii.com or calling 312-676-4300.

This month’s InvestoGraphic is a worksheet for helping you define your portfolio management preferences. There are no right or wrong answers to the questionnaire, just suggestions to help you clarify which approach fits your investing persona.

The worksheet is part of our Individual Investor Wealth-Building Process. You may be more familiar with the project by its previous code name “The AAII Way.” A downloadable copy of the worksheet and all of the other worksheets and commentary we’ve created so far are available at www.aaii.com/AAIIWay.

While you are filling out the worksheet, give some thought to how comfortable you are with holding a portfolio purposely designed to be different than the broad market. This is what is required if you want to beat the market.

Given two portfolios, portfolio A and portfolio B, most people would choose the second portfolio if told it has historically led to greater long-term wealth. Their decision might differ if they knew portfolio B endured lengthy periods of underperformance before its long-term advantage was realized.

This is exactly what happens when an investor tilts their portfolio toward value, as AAII contributing editor Chris Pedersen explains here. The long-term reward for sticking with the strategy is greater, but the ride is bumpy and frustrating. Some investors attempting to follow such an approach may start to second-guess their decision. Yet, if they can stick with the strategy and if the historical trends hold, their long-term wealth will be greater.

Chris does a great job of explaining why understanding and conviction are important to investing differently. I’ll direct you toward the article versus attempting to summarize it here. What I will tell you is that investing differently from the market is not for everyone. Your decision on whether to be different does not have to be binary. There are varying degrees of how much you tilt your portfolio away from simply matching the market’s return. The choice depends on your comfort level and ability to stick with a given strategy.

Wishing you prosperity and good health,