What You Need to Know!

Here you are — 20-something, just graduated and accepted your first “real” job. Your employer mentions the company’s competitive 401(k) plan and you already mentally write it off. With credit card bills, student loan debt, rising rents and low starting salaries, it seems obvious that saving or investing is the last thing on your mind. Multiple studies have shown that millennials/Gen Zs are “dramatically worse off financially” than older generations were at their age. According to a recent study released by Deloitte, comparing 2007 to 2017, millennials are spending 16 percent more on housing, 26 percent more on food costs, 21 percent more on healthcare costs, and 65 percent more on education. The struggle is real, but does that mean financial independence is unobtainable for our generation? Although the statistics may be true, millennials need to understand that what they have is TIME on their side. Investing is not just for...

This past December was one for the books — and not in a good way. On Christmas Eve, the S&P 500 index fell by 2.71 percent, making history as the biggest plunge to ever occur on the last trading day before Christmas. Did Santa Claus skip town? Now, talks of volatility in the stock market, federal interest rate hikes, U.S.-China trade negotiations and the U.S. government partial shutdown mark every headline. With all this noise, how is it possible to stay calm and carry on? If you are a long-term investor, the solution is exactly that: stay calm and stay the course. Market swings, or “corrections,” are normal and to be expected. If you don’t need to utilize the investment funds you have set aside for an immediate short-term goal, then experts agree that you should still invest in the stock market and avoid trying to “time” the market. Instead of...