Thanks for reading Finesssing Finance. Your support is recognized for fueling my journey to help people with free, accessible personal finance content.
What I’ve Been Up To
I wanted to start this blog off by discussing my latest expenditures. A couple of weeks ago, my car door handle ripped right off the door on a normal day. We attempted to replace the door handle by removing the outer shell of the door frame which actually knocked the window out of alignment.
Long story short, it’s okay to immediately take a car to a mechanic if you don’t know what you’re doing. I thought it would be a simple fix (it’s a door handle) but I ended up creating an even greater problem.
That’s an expense of nearly $300 for labor and parts ordered off of Amazon (which I recommend).
This year has been rough on my 2011 Nissan Rogue and it seems that the end is near. I plan to continue servicing the vehicle but I am beginning to question the tradeoff of another used car, especially in today’s marketplace.
Back to Interest Rates
Interest rates are on the rise again. On September 21st, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, and currently, the U.S. is sitting at 3%-3.25% range since the September meeting.
As interests rates edge higher, Elizabeth and I have noticed a few things happening:
Our High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA) is continuing to offer a higher APY after each of these meetings.
The news is speaking of how the cost of homes is slightly lowering (with an inflated interest rate of course)
The stock market continues to nose dive with this past month seeing a 9% decrease
Hunkering Down
This season has taught me to hunker down financially. We’re beginning to see a period of savers being rewarded more than borrowers. For the last two bullet points specifically, I’ve been having conversations with close friends to stay the course.
If you’ve found the dream home, the best advice I’ve received is to continue through the purchase regardless of interest rates. There’s no better time than the present. If you’re capable of paying off the monthly mortgage, nothing should stop you from purchasing the house of your dreams. You may seem skeptical but like investing, there’s no better time than the present.
Speaking of investing, my portfolio has tanked within the past few months. Do you know what I’m doing about it? I’m actually investing more. I see this period as a time of cost-efficient securities to hedge my portfolio.
Am I scared about investing while I’m down? Absolutely. But I’m keeping on the path with my 401K, Roth IRA, and brokerage account. In fact, one study showed that 80% of women are continuing to regularly invest during this turbulent time compared to half that rate for men. Investing during bad times is a good thing in the long run.
JFK’s Father and the Great Depression
One of my finance stories comes from The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. The story goes like this:
When President John F. Kennedy was interviewed about his childhood during the Great Depression, the president responded with the equivalent of, “There was a depression? I didn’t know!”
This got me thinking about how someone from a wealthy background felt no effects during that time. In fact, JFK went on to say that his family traveled more and hired on extra workers around the house.
A long story short, JFK’s father had continued to invest during this turbulent time regardless, continuing to build on their family’s wealth. Think like the rich and continue trudging through these tough times.
Here’s the link to an article on Medium if you’d like to continue reading about JFK’s wealth.
Have a great week,
Jordan