Published on June 8th, 2022 When you invest money, you are putting it at risk — all investments can lose money. The key is to gauge your risk, and to not put more money at risk than you are willing to lose.   This is a relative concept. If you have only $10,000 to invest, then putting $9,000 in a high-risk investment means you could lose almost all of your savings. However, if you have a million-dollar portfolio, putting $10k in a high-risk investment would not be considered all that risky, because a loss of $10k wouldn’t obliterate your portfolio.1…

Published on June 1st, 2022 In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, more than 80% of American adults said they were feeling increased financial stress due to:   Higher inflation (87%) Ongoing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic (81%) Global uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine (81%)   Furthermore, hardships related to the pandemic — including poor health, loss of loved ones, difficult work and family situations, isolation and inconvenience — have affected the entire nation and the world. In the U.S., 63% of respondents said COVID-19 has changed their life forever.1   A 2021 Employee…

Published on May 18th, 2021 As with any major global conflict, we learn things. The pandemic taught the U.S. the importance of reshoring manufacturing jobs, so we aren’t beholden to other nations, like China, for many of our consumer goods, from medicines to electronics.1   One of the key lessons emerging from the Russia-Ukraine conflict is self-reliance for energy sources, such as oil and gas. Fortunately, the U.S. is the top oil-producing country, accounting for 20% of the world’s supply.2 And yet, although we are not reliant on Russia for our oil supply, crude oil prices — even here in…

Published on May 11th, 2021 Retirement planning was historically a little easier. For instance, the average life expectancy in 1950 was 68 years old.1If you retired at age 62, your retirement plan might need only six years of retirement income. Additionally, with the decline of defined benefit pension plans, only 14% of private industry employees receive a pension today.2   Since more people are responsible for deciding how much income to set aside for retirement and how to invest that money, they are falling short compared to the days of employer-sponsored retirement income and shorter life expectancies. In fact, recent…

Published on May 4th, 2021 One of the biggest economic stories of the first quarter was the rising rate of inflation, as consumer prices reached a 39-year high by the end of 2021. In the first quarter, the inflation rate floated around 7%.   Higher prices tend to hurt low-income families the most since the majority of their spending is on necessary consumables. This is especially true now that child tax credits – representing $300 to $360 payments per child per month – have come to an end. That money was largely used for food, clothes, school supplies and other…

Published on April 27th, 2021 The U.S. housing market is still suffering from low inventory: too few houses available for the numbers of home-seeking buyers. Naturally, the capitalist principals of supply and demand kick in, meaning that prices inevitably rise when there are too few products available to purchase.   The problem may have become exacerbated in recent years, but the root of the issue started in 2008 during the financial crisis and housing market crash. While home values rebounded and the sales market grew robust, the homebuilding industry never fully recovered. According to the National Association of Realtors, the…