Paying for something that you can do yourself might bring about the question: “Do I really need this?”. In today’s world where you can “YouTube” just about anything, someone who is looking to save money might cut out the personal trainer or gym membership and opt to throw Richard Simmons on the Smart TV to get a quick workout in before work.

Over the past few months, every time I turn on the TV it seems the stock market is in the red for the day. A lot has been written about how to tread water in “volatile” market conditions, including what trade orders to use, which charts to read and what stocks to buy, but none of it tells me how to continue to build wealth in such an environment. As a financial planner at All-Pro Advisors, it is important that I continue to provide value to my clients during times when their investment portfolio isn’t generating a positive return. Here are a few of those ideas:

“Defense wins championships” is a common phrase used in the sports world. While high-powered offenses are “flashy” and can certainly carry teams to success, oftentimes the teams with the most stout, consistent, and opportunistic defenses reach championship levels. As I was reading the book, The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley, I found a lot of parallels to this sports truism and the world of personal finance.

Now that the holidays are over, the gyms are packed, the New Year’s diet begins, and budgeting apps are plentiful to try and start the year off on the right foot. I took about 10 days off from the gym to give my body a rest and enjoy the holidays, which was filled with travel, poor but delicious eating, and a bunch of unnecessary spending on presents, beer exchanges, you name it. Like many others, I set a bunch of goals, got back on my routine, and hit the gym full force on January 1.