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What A Year This Quarter Has Been
It has been a difficult quarter for investors. Major indexes entered bear territory (means down 20%). US treasuries, generally the safest of assets for when investors are scared, have had their worst year since the 70s (when interest rates go up, bonds go down). Commodities, which I generally say “they suck until they don’t,” have […]
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The Economy: How Did We Get Here and Where Is It Going?
Markets have been getting a lot of attention lately beyond the financial media. The S&P 500 is down 21%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 is off over 29%, and the smaller company-oriented Russell 2000 is down over 24% year to date. Investors have a lot of concerns over the economy right now: Investors are facing a […]
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How Much To Save for College
It’s no secret that college is expensive, and college education costs have only accelerated over the past decade. The staggering cost of college and its acceleration will be a significant challenge for millennial parents to meet. Parents want to know first: “How much do I need to save for college?” How Much Should I Be […]
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Beginners Guide to 529 College Savings Plans
A 529 plan is a savings plan is one of the best ways to save for tuition or college expenses. A 529 offers many tax benefits and designates an individual’s tuition and related education expenses. The two main 529 plans are prepaid tuition and more typical college savings plans. Prepaid tuition plans allow the account […]
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Technology Sector Continues Selloff as Stock Market Falls
Markets are down significantly to start the year. The most reliable producers of earnings growth have begun to falter. Indexes are experiencing a broad-based sell-off led by big tech companies. Amazon, one of the largest companies in the S&P 500, dropped 14% on Friday to the lowest level since June 2020. Amazon lost $206.2 billion […]
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Will Rising Mortgage Rates Cool Hot Housing Market?
The housing market is hot. It has been surging since the beginning of the pandemic. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to historic lows and began purchasing bonds and mortgage securities in an extraordinary effort to boost the economy. As a result, mortgage rates fell to historic lows and stayed there until very recently. Now, […]
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Politicians Can’t Do Much About High Oil Prices
The price of oil is surging, and so is the debate over what is causing the fastest runup in recent memory. As we approach the midterm elections, candidates and the broader media will continue to discuss gas prices and inflation. What has caused the surge in oil prices, and can policymakers do anything about it? […]
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401(k) Down? Blame Facebook
Facebook (I still refuse to call it Meta) has had a rough few months. Its stock has fallen over 40% since November. That is a phenomenal drop, especially for a company in the top ten of the S&P 500 Index. The size of Facebook and its plummet have helped drag the S&P 500 Index down […]
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Is It Better to Pay Down Debt or Invest?
One of the most common questions a financial advisor gets is paying off debt vs. investing. More specifically, is it better to pay down debt or invest? Should you delay retirement savings to pay down a mortgage or student loans? Should you pay off debt before starting an emergency fund? The simple answer is that […]
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What’s Going on in the Markets?
Markets are off to a pretty rough start this year. The slide started around the end of November. Markets began to run out of steam with the Federal Reserve’s looming policy shift. The S&P 500 is down over 6% from the beginning of November, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq is down over 12%. Some of the […]
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A Financial Wellness Guide for Millennials
We often think of wellness in terms of physical or mental health. Paying lots of attention to them, we often spend a lot of time, effort, and money trying to focus on them. To achieve a better quality of life, we focus on our mental and physical health. We rarely talk about money. It’s so […]
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Where to Put Money for Short-Term Savings
Short-Term Investments Matching your money to your short-term needs can help you squeak out some gains, even in a low-interest rate environment. A short-term investment can be converted by investors to cash now or soon, with relative ease and safety of principal. However, keeping a pile of money in cash can leave some earnings potential […]
