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I can’t help it. I look at the world differently from many people, and because of that the obvious often eludes me. Sometimes this is not a good thing.

For example, this year I funded my IRA for 2006 and 2007. I committed to reaching that goal, and I did it. But…for most of the year, I’ve had to literally talk myself into sending the money in each month. It just feels really scary to me to be sending what is a very large amount of money (to me) to a place where it could all disappear, poof, in the blink of an eye. I mean, I’m the kind of person who has actually considered putting money under the mattress. (I didn’t do it, but it did cross my mind.)

The fund that my IRA is in hasn’t been performing the way that I’d like. It’s all over the place. Up one day, down the next. Fast forward to last week, when my husband explained that he’d called our broker to ask about his options for moving a 401(k). That’s when it hit me: Duh, I don’t have to continue sending my money to a fund that I’m not super comfortable with.

I want a fund with a pretty chart, not one that’s more suited to day traders hoping to make a quick buck. Now I won’t be moving my existing IRA money to a different fund (because that would mean buying high and selling low) but I think I will switch to a different fund for 2008.

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