I want to showcase some of my best posts from the last year – a TOP 10 list of sorts – a mix of the most popular posts per Google Analytics plus a few others that are newer that have been well received.
I encourage you to be cognizant of interest rates and how they impact your portfolio today in terms of 1) your emergency fund cash return, 2) your fixed income/bond/CD allocation, and 3) your ability to borrow.
If you don’t care about taxes and fees, you should. Besides spending too much money and maintaining a low savings rate, I believe the amount of fees you pay for your investments and the taxes you fail to plan for are two of the most detrimental aspects to building wealth long-term.
Your best option for cash in a crisis is obviously your Emergency Savings but having some flexibility in savings rate or expenses would be beneficial. After that, you could create liquidity from a taxable account or Roth IRA contributions, and lastly, hopefully you can locate some favorable borrowing options that aren’t plastic.
If the biggest change in your life is that you wash your hands a little more frequently and stand 6’ away from neighbors as you talk to them, now is a good time to take advantage of the markets, to reevaluate risk as a stock investor and consider optimizing your borrowing as part of your long-term Financial Plan.
If you don’t have a budget, you probably aren't maximizing your savings rate. If you don’t have enough money to invest, you need to at least have a Plan to get your budget going, boost your savings rate and establish some goals.
