I'm a financial planner — I'm doing 5 things with my own money so that I'm prepared for whatever changes tariffs bring

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• I'm a financial planner, and while I can't control the market, I'm taking steps to respond to it.
• I had been considering buying a new car — I'm forgoing those plans and assessing my priorities.
• I'm sticking to my long-term investing strategy, but I'm also building up my emergency fund.

Global stock markets fell sharply after the Trump administration's April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs. The market drop demolished $5 trillion worth of value in just 2 days.

None of us can individually change the current macroeconomic situation (as much as we might like to). We can, however, focus on what we can control and directly influence as we try to navigate this period of extreme uncertainty about what comes next.

As a financial planner, here are five ways my wife and I are adjusting our personal money management in light of current financial market conditions and the potential longer-term economic fallout of recent policy changes.

1. Changing our car-buying plans

My wife and I recently considered replacing our 2019 Mazda CX-5. Our poor vehicle has incurred a lot of exterior wear and tear from hard Northeast winters and the reality of living in Boston — hello, dinged bumpers and scratches on the side panels from other drivers jockeying for hard-to-find street parking!

But other than cosmetic imperfections, we really like our car. It's extremely practical for our family with relatively low mileage, and we paid for it with cash so we don't have a car payment.

So we're shelving our idea to buy something new and will take our existing vehicle to the body shop for an exterior refresh instead. Rather than shell out $60,000 or more for the car we want next, we'll spend a few thousand dollars to fix our current car's cosmetic imperfections.

2. Reviewing our spending to align with our values

Paying a body shop to work on our car is still money spent. You could argue it's unnecessary, given it doesn't impact the actual function of the car.

But it (a) aligns with my personal values and (b) is far less expensive than an alternative option of buying a newer vehicle.

This is one example of how I'm also following some two-part spending advice I'm giving our wealth management clients right now:

• Delay purchases where you can
• Tighten up or eliminate spending that does not align with your values

My wife and I also have a "money date" on the calendar this month to review our household budget to home in on what is most important to us. That includes activities we can do as a family, even if they are pricey (like buying tickets to a Bruins game) or things that save us time (like having groceries delivered).

Simultaneously, we'll work to identify what's low on the priority list so we can free up cash flow for what better aligns with our values. We plan to cut back on shopping that's purely for fun but not necessary (like buying new clothes or miscellaneous Amazon purchases that add up both in terms of dollars and household clutter).

Don't put your life on hold, but if you're spending purely discretionary money on a want rather than a need, it may be worth setting aside for now or looking for a less costly alternative solution.

3. Refinancing our higher-interest rate mortgage

One silver lining to the recent market chaos could be a drop in interest rates. For those who bought in recent years after rates skyrocketed, even a small drop could yield some savings opportunities.

We bought our Boston condo in 2023 and have a 6.25% interest rate. We set our homebuying budget on the assumption that rates would not drop to offer a refinancing opportunity, but if we get the chance, we'll take advantage of it — we plan to refinance if mortgage rates go under 5.75% in the coming weeks.

If your mortgage rate is over 5%, remain on the lookout for the chance to refinance. To prepare, talk to lenders now to understand their process, know what documents they'll need, and what options for rate locks look like.

I've submitted all required documents to our lender so that if rates do another quick drop, we'll be ready to capitalize.

4. Continuing to build our cash position

In the past, I managed my cash very aggressively — meaning, I didn't leave a lot of it lying around. I kept a sparse emergency fund and only wanted just enough cash in the bank to cover normal expenses.

I wasn't living paycheck to paycheck and overspending. Rather, I wanted every dollar possible in the market, invested, working to earn a return.

But after a decade of managing money this way, my wife and I recently agreed it would be wise to have more liquidity on hand (especially as both our personal and professional lives have grown and developed; we're responsible for our family and for our employees, too).

We started building up larger cash reserves over the last few years and will work on continuing to build our cash position as we move into this period of extreme economic uncertainty.

5. Continuing with a set long-term investment strategy

Saving up a little extra cash is not done to the detriment of my investment contributions.

While I don't necessarily think it's wise to try to "buy the dip" given that no one knows when we've hit the bottom until after the fact, buying into the market when prices drop is an opportunity for long-term investors.

This is essentially a chance to buy stocks at a discount, and I don't want to miss that sale.

Historically, long-term investors who can ride out market storms like this one have been rewarded over time. I'll continue to make my usual investment contributions as I stick to my long-term investment strategy.