BLOG
As the ball drops and calendar pages turn, we naturally look forward. And while 2021 was an arguably tough year, there’s hope in the possibilities that come with the future. It’s why so many of us use this time to reinvent ourselves and dream of where we’ll be a year from now. But resolutions have become a bit of a trope. With a 19% success rate, is there even a point?
businesses should be seeing – or soon will be experiencing – some recovery in their operations. Having said that, we do not anticipate a “full” recovery until mid-2021. There are numerous risks that could derail the recovery. Most notably, of course, a second wave of COVID-19 that causes governors and other governments to shut down their economies again.
The moral of this story is to take your retirement savings with you as your career evolves. Many 401(k) plans allow for you to “rollover” your old employer’s plan into your new ones’. If they do not, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are also available for you to independently keep those monies invested and working for you until your retirement days.
It’s a scary time. The novel coronavirus. Government ordered shut down of schools and businesses. Massive unemployment. Social unrest. Remote everything. Change is in the air. It’s not the kind of change that is happening to someone else, it is personal, shifting your daily life in numerous ways.
Change creates uncertainty. It can feel like the ground beneath your feet is moving. Where to you go to find certainty? Stability? Peace?
Inside.
There are two possibilities for where we are today. You are in the tomb. You are being buried and this is the end. You are in the womb, ready to be born anew.
What you believe about where you are is a choice. From that choice, womb, or tomb, you will walk through your life. This choice will give you one of two very opposite world views. Choose wisely.
From the darkness of the tomb, to escape the fear you shut down, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or maybe even physically. From the womb, you can seize the fear of the dark, convert it to the energy of rebirth and enter a time of extraordinary creativity, opportunity, and expansion in your life.
I choose the womb. I ask you to consider coming with me.
The path of rebirth calls us to look into our hearts and live inside out. I feel like I have been preparing for this time all my life. My heart, your heart, our hearts, hold our inner and collective wisdom. Our inner knowing is our strength. It is a guidance system that never breaks down and is never confused. Now more than ever, we are called to find it and follow it.
My heart calls for a greener, less polluted, and more conscious relationship with my home, our home, this beautiful earth. To nurture her as she nurtures me. That plays out in my life as:
local food, so local in fact, that is it in my backyard
solar panels providing 100% of my energy
investing in companies that are moving to a carbon neutral footprint
purchasing green products
all the basics of recycling, reusing, tree planting, avoiding pesticides ,composting and more
As the business owner of the companies, MACKEY, and The Prosperity People, it means our team will continue to help business owners and individuals find their hearts calling. To help you find your own, very personal, way of walking through the world inside out and to live that in your business, in your life and with your money.
Right now, ask yourself, what is your heart’s calling? What will you choose?
I’d love to have a dialog with you about your choices. Post your thoughts here, and/or email me at Mackey@MackeyAdvisors.com
The year 2020 has been marked by extremes. Through January 2020, the bull market, supported by strong corporate fundamentals, continued to move higher and investors appeared focused on record low unemployment and strong economic growth. In mid-February, the major U.S. market indices hit all time highs. But then, within just a matter of weeks, lost over one-third their values as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Business closure and shelter in place orders rocketed through the nation causing unemployment claims to skyrocket to their highest levels in history. The economy went into a recession within a very, very short time period.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event, and the duration and full extent of the economic impact is unknow. At this time, confirmed COVID-19 cases are rising steeply and many states are rethinking their plans to reopen. But, when you look at past financial, political, and health crises with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, history has demonstrated that our economy and financial markets have always rebounded and recovered … eventually. The economic recovery will be gradual and uneven, with full economic recovery likely not to be seen until 2022. The possibility for a double-dip recession is not out of the question yet.
The U.S. Government is utilizing both monetary and fiscal policy to a capacity never seen before. Washington passed the largest economic stimulus package in history, providing $2.2 trillion to help business and individuals, and they stand at the ready to stimulate more. The Federal Reserve has cut short-term interest rates to zero and has implemented its largest and most comprehensive asset purchasing program ever. Modern medicine and human ingenuity will likely help save many lives and eventually find a vaccine.
Historically, large stock selloffs as recently experience have presented buying opportunities for serious long-term investors. Because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and the closing/opening/re-closing a variety of business sectors, the equity market selloffs will continue – there will be plenty of opportunities to buy back into the market over the next several months.
Ask yourself what you wish you had done differently at the bottom of the 2015-16 cycle, the 2008-09 Great Recession cycle, or, if your firm was around, the 2001-02 or early-1990s cycles. While the drivers of recessions may differ, the fact that the US economy will ultimately recuperate, and rise remains the same. Do not fall victim to the pessimism of the moment and fail to position yourself for the future macroeconomic growth trend.
Over the past decade and a half, the financial markets have been on a thrilling (more likely gut wrenching) roller coaster ride. During these times, daily interjections of bad news and cataclysmic market meltdown predictions make it seem like the end of times is near. It can spark anxiety, fuel uncertainty and trigger far-reaching decisions in even the most seasoned investors fall prey to.
In February 2020, the jobless touched a 50 year low of 3.5% as the US economy added 173,000 jobs. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the February Job Openings showed the number of job openings in February to be 6.9 million. At that time, there were more job openings than there were people looking for jobs. Additionally, wage growth at 3.7% was outstripping inflation at 2.3%, partly due to the tough competition in attracting and retaining qualified workers. As a result, Consumer Spending was increasing since Consumer Spending accounts for roughly two thirds of GDP, this rise was strongly supportive for the US macro-economy.
Fraudsters and scam artists are always looking for new ways to prey on consumers. Now they are using the same tactics to take advantage of consumers' heightened financial and health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Federal, state, and local law enforcement have begun issuing warnings on the surge of coronavirus scams and how consumers can protect themselves. Here are some of the more prevalent coronavirus scams that consumers need to watch out for.
History tells us this will be a short-lived event that will have painful but short-term economic implications. From a long-term perspective, it will be a blip on the timeline of economic history. As we have reported over the past several quarters, the economic trends that we track are rising and we believe they will continue to rise.
