Did you hear that loud noise coming from across the pond after the Brexit vote?
Like the culturally iconic Woodstock concert of the 60s, this event likely portends a summer of lots of background noise full of love for clash, trash and even cash for everyone within earshot.

Time to “clash” : Just when you thought fomenting issues like a shrinking middle class, income inequality, anti-globalism and crony capitalism (which spawned a populist revolt visa vie the rise of candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump) were limited to Americans, here comes the Brits onto the world stage voicing a similar clash of cultures and a shake up of the status quo. Like Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, the UK people told the EU “hey you, get off of my cloud”. And like Jimmy Hendrix we are all now feeling the “Purple Haze” economically and politically as a result. But all is not lost….we all should just take a “chill pill” this summer until this all blows over. If history is any guide, this “crises de jour” will present new opportunities and toxic overreactions should be avoided. After all, even most Woodstock attendees survived right?

Now lets talk “trash”: Have you ever seen such vitriol and finger pointing among those that disagree with the course of our political and economic futures? Pundits are predicting both the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer will usher in a new low of mud slinging and “trash talking” the likes of which we’ve never seen. But again history can serve as a guide here. If you’ve watched the recent HBO special “All the Way” about former President LBJ, you know how the TV commercial in the 1964 election cycle showing the little girl picking a daisy with a backdrop of a nuclear mushroom cloud scared the electorate away from republican nominee Barry Goldwater. Then in the next election cycle we saw the 1968 riots at the Democratic National Convention which lead to Richard Nixon’s Republican party victory. The point is that we’ve been in this trash dumpster before and somehow we came out the other side smelling like a …well maybe not like a rose but also not like the hippie who didn’t shower for days at Woodstock!

And as for “cash:” There is an old axiom in the investment world that says “cash is trash”. The rationale goes that because purchasing power is lost over time to inflation and rising prices, keeping money in a mattress actually loses money and thus really “stinks” if left sitting around. But this summer could well be an exception to the rule here but not because of what you may initially think. History is pretty clear here about the negative consequences of keeping too much cash uninvested for too long. But this summer is a reminder that having a love for an emergency stash of cash to bail you out of trouble or take advantage of opportunities makes a lot of sense. Most Americans are spread so thin financially that a summer of love for cash could just be what the financial doctor ordered. Are you saving enough regularly to cover unexpected emergencies? Do you have at least 5 or 10% of your investment portfolio in cash to take advantage of summer bargains created by this Brexit or Presidential election year uncertainties?

Do yourself and your family a favor and enjoy your summer in spite of all the political and economic news headlines. Remember a pearl of wisdom former President Bill Clinton famously shared with us back in the roaring 90s and whatever you do, make sure many years from now you can look back on this summer and plausibly claim “I didn’t inhale”.