Do These Things To Improve Your Financial Wellness
Plus a couple charts for fun
In this week’s Tobin Report, I’ll cover four things:
Big week for markets - Inflation data, Fed rate announcement
6 tips for financial wellness
2 charts for fun
Speaking of opportunity - chart of a silver producer
1. BIG WEEK ahead for financial markets!
Tuesday: Inflation data released - will inflation come in lower?
Wednesday: Fed announces rate hike + press commentary - Powell’s words move markets more than the data itself!
S&P 500 chart are telling me broad markets can go either way. This week will tell!
This is the daily chart of the S&P 500 since the beginning of the current bear market.
The downtrend is still in tact.
Until it is broken above, my bias is lower. In fact, even if we break above, I believe it will be short lived before we go lower. That said, we are sitting on fair technical support at the time of this writing…but tomorrow and Wednesday will determine our path.
Okay folks, let’s step away from financial markets briefly and talk about financial wellness. And, yes, I just said “folks”. Deal with it. I’ll be turning 50 next year so I think I’ve earned the right to use that word. Ha!
Okay, financial wellness. For those of you struggling with money management or debt, I know the affects it can on your stress levels.
This article will not cure your stress over money but maybe it starts the conversation…
…maybe it gets you looking in the right direction.
After all, I’m just a guy who writes a newsletter about money, markets and charts. Question…do I use a comma when listing three or more items?? I was taught NOT to…but now I think it’s taught in school to do so…….so confusing.
I get annoyed, irritated, and bothered with all the grammar rule changes over the years. (See what I did there? lol)
So if you need a little boot to the ass as it relates to your financial well being, here are a few tips from a guy on the internet who writes a money newsletter called The Tobin Report:
2. 6 Tips For FINANCIAL WELLNESS
1. Do NOT Commit Future Income For Something Today
Simply put, resist funding something today with money you have not yet earned. Leave those mistakes to our federal government. You will thank your past self in the future. Done. Let’s move on.
2. Do NOT Take Your Income For Granted
You never know what will happen in the future. After all, we are entering a recession that will likely prove to be significant. LOTS of layoffs expected for 2023. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
3. Find a Money Friend
For some people, ignoring their financial disarray is easy to do. After all, it’s the path of least resistance. Ignoring the issue will not make it go away. Sometimes just talking about it is important to get the momentum started. Soooooo…I recommend having a money friend to talk to from time to time about money. 🤼 And old fashions. 🥃 And maybe baseball. ⚾ But mostly money. 💵
4. Reduce Unneeded Expenses
Yes, ‘unneeded’ is a word…I just looked it up! lol
You know the stuff you don’t need. If it’s a reward and you have a healthy savings and a good solid money plan…knock yourself out. If it’s a habit and you know you don’t really need it. Knock that shit off. You’d be surprised how much money you save. Now move that same amount of money saved into an investment. Boom. 💥 That just happened.
5. Sock It Away Consistently And Automatically
This can be in a retirement account, cash account, or college fund for your kids. I make automatic contributions to my retirement account every two weeks…but also, cash savings WEEKLY to my Acorns account. Every Friday…automatically from the Acorns app. This is my ‘emergency’ fund. Or my vacation fund. Or my whatevs fund. Yup, whatevs. So easy…so consistent…and it just keeps adding up. Just do it.
6. Have a Plan For Your Money - SYSTEMS
If you are stressed about money, it helps to bring clarity and certainty to your financial life. To do this, you must have a clear picture of where you currently are and where you want to be in the future.
I like to use a top-down approach…big picture to day to day activities.
Some ideas:
Create a net worth sheet - where are you now? What do you owe? What assets do you have? Are you upside down? NOW you have a starting point that you can track moving forward.
Create a budget - write down your expenses. I know it’s not fun…but it could be if you could uncover NEW money to save.
Prioritize all consumer debt - make a plan to pay off higher rates first. No more hidden credit cards from your spouse.
Start an emergency fund - Super easy…and fun to watch it grow. Make it somewhat difficult to access so you don’t use it for useless expenses.
Okay, there you have it. Just a few ideas to help get your financial wellness game on. Quick. Easy. Hopefully nothing you didn’t already know but maybe this boot to the ass will help.
3. Two Charts for Fun…
Sobering Chart
Fun Chart
Sobering Chart
It would appear that the typical American is under saved for retirement. Where do you stand?
Fun Chart
According to this chart that was made in 1875, we may be in for some tough times ahead in 2023…
…but with that comes GREAT opportunity!
4. Speaking of Opportunity…
Here is a very bullish chart of one of my favorite silver producers, First Majestic (AG). I’m a shareholder…looking to add (among many others) if we see a pullback.
For those of you new to charts…this…is…a…GREAT CHART!
big drawdown from over $14 to a low of below $7 (great entry point)
bottoming pattern where sellers no longer overpowered buyers
uptrend of buyers taking over
consolidation within a tight range
Add to the fact the Fed is potentially nearing the end of the tightening cycle and INTO a recession
First Majestic, in my opinion, IS going higher but the path it takes is the unknown. I’d be a buyer of it gets closer to $8. This week may give us that opportunity as silver is due for a pullback.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading everyone. Readership continues to grow. Please share this around as it would mean the world to me.
Next report…I will go over what sectors and investment vehicles have historically done well at the economic cycle we currently face.
Eric
The money friend tip is so true! I have one myself and we often call each other on days when the market has significantly declined (like today) to talk and ensure we don’t make emotional decisions... as you can imagine, we’ve talked a lot this year!