The housing market continues to be at the forefront of economic conversations. Prospective homebuyers are frustrated. Sellers are watching their homes fly off the market within days. It is a perplexing time in housing – supply is stubbornly low, demand is very high, and interest rates are rising. To fully grasp how the housing market Read More
Economic/market tug of war. The past six months have shown to be frustrating for lasting market returns. The S&P 500 seems to be marking time, range bound between 3700 on the low end and 4200 on the high end. Recent lows have been higher than previous ones and recent highs have likewise been higher – an Read More
Ever wondered about the mysterious backdoor Roth conversion? While seemingly complex, this retirement savings strategy can be quite useful if you fall into a specific bucket of savers. Let’s demystify the process. How does a backdoor Roth conversion work? The backdoor Roth conversion allows high earning individuals the opportunity to contribute to a Roth IRA, Read More
Banks, banks, banks. It has been quite a month, with fears over bank failures and potential systemic issues upsetting both fixed income and equity markets. We do not believe the problems plaguing banks will persist. The longer we go without another bank failure or deepening fears, the quicker this issue will resolve. The fear of a Read More
The appeal of small home living has really been catching on. Many people are shying away from buying super-sized homes and opting for a much littler footprint for their family, even though bigger, more expensive houses are a viable option. The reason? There’s a lot of financial benefit to keeping your housing costs down. One Read More
What’s going on? The markets are tumbling, and fear has begun to seep into most every corner of the investor mindset. “What if…” is the prevailing question as markets move aggressively in response to the recent Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses over the last week. “What if this spreads to other banks? What if this means Read More
Inflation battle. No one said it would be a smooth ride to reach the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2%. Elevated inflation numbers keep a tight hold on the markets, and the American consumer continues to spend. Slowing inflation from 7+% was the easy part. The low hanging fruit in the Fed’s inflation battle has already been harvested, Read More
There are plenty of moving pieces to a person’s financial picture, which makes saving for future goals an ever-evolving task. Remember that consistent saving is key to making any financial dream a reality. Earmarking funds for specific savings buckets is a great way to stay motivated. Two goals fall into the must-save-for-first category: retirement and Read More
Big earnings week. 4th quarter earnings are shaping up to be weaker than expected. This week is a big one as many of the mega cap names are scheduled to report. The underlying concern? If earnings continue to weaken with U.S. equity markets at already elevated valuations, it might lead to additional weakness in stock Read More
Today’s inflationary economy is putting the spotlight on an all-too-common issue: families often live at the very edge of their financial means. One unexpected expense can be all it takes to tip the household budget scales. As we have all learned over the past few years, there will always be external factors that impact our Read More
