September 2021 Financial Planning & Investment Newsletter

by Financial Design Studio, Inc. / September 30, 2021

Each month we cover Financial Planning & Investing topics that apply to you. We cover a variety of topics to point out timely information that applies to you. See what’s in our Financial Planning & Investing Newsletter September edition!

Investing:

Can The Fed Ever Normalize Policy Again?

Watching the Federal Reserve make monetary policy reminds me of the folktale, The Little Engine That Could, except in reverse. If you recall that tale, the Little Engine was trying to bring lots of good things – toys, dolls, and fruit – to kids on the other side of the mountain. But she didn’t think she was strong enough to get to the other side of the hill. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” After a lot of effort, the Little Engine was successful and everyone was happy!

The Federal Reserve is the “Grinch” version of this tale. They’re warning investors they’re going to take the punchbowl away that has propelled stock markets to one record high after another. But unlike the Little Engine, they’ve never been able to take ALL the goodies away before the next crisis hit. Not only have they not made it up the hill, but when they slide back to the bottom, they end up further away than they were before!

In this week’s newsletter, we discuss what the Federal Reserve means when it says it’s going to “taper” bond purchases. And we’ll lay out some reasons we think the Fed will once again fail to normalize monetary policy, and why the risks of a policy failure are higher than they’ve been in a long time.

Read the rest of the article here.

Open Enrollment – Deciding between Medical Insurance Plans [Video]

It’s open enrollment season again and time for those big bundles of paperwork with pages and terms that confuse more than they clarify. Now I am a financial nerd and I love going through information, but I recognize that not everyone does. That said, I do think it’s important that we touch on and review these benefits available to you specifically today. We are going to be talking about health insurance because making the right choice here could save you tens of thousands of dollars for you and your family. As we are going through health insurance, here are five things I want you to be mindful during open enrollment and when reviewing your employer health options.

Watch the video here!

The Calendar and the Checkbook Never Lie

Have you ever thought you were doing something only to find out you weren’t making the progress you thought you were? For example, you’ve just run a couple of miles and think you’re losing weight. But you get on the scale and there’s no difference. Or maybe you’re shopping and you have to spend more to save more for a discount. Did you really save anything? Two things that never lie are the calendar and the checkbook. These are two things you can analyze to see if you’re spending them where you desire.

Check out this video here!