Leonesmoneymonitormonthly's Blog

By:   Edward Leone Jr. CFP RFC MBA DMD

Contact Information:    303-478-6793  edleonedds@gmail.com

We are short time into a new Presidential term. There is much speculation on what is likely to happen both positive and negative. On the economic front:

1. Will we be able to see moderation and control over ever-expanding Federal Debt?
2. Is unemployment truly improving? The January report say that 227,000 jobs were created, but the November and December reports were adjusted down by 39,000. Just how accurate are these numbers and what about labor force participation. Many potential workers are sitting on the sidelines.
3. Are US companies seeing increased profits or just using accounting variables and buy back of stock shares to make P/E ratios look better?
4. This business cycle is quite unusual and extended. When will we see investment market corrections at a significant level in the near future based on market supply and demand factors instead of QE?
5. Are reports on inflation accurate and representative of the increases in life style costs we are all experiencing and paying for at times with increases in personal debt?

Many of these issues will take time to unfold and factors such as tax and regulation reform will be significant factors in the direction of these issues along with the status of the global economy. EU, China, Japan and other economic players along with international trade dynamics will be important to monitor.

Political Leadership must find a way to put many political agendas aside and bring all players together to make positive progress.

Another area that should be of concern is the status of Social Security and Medicare. When these programs were introduced the economics worked in that the working class was paying for a very small elderly population of beneficiaries. The numbers of beneficiaries is increasing greatly along with the longevity factor and the number of working producers of tax support for these programs is shrinking. Adjustments will have to be made for these programs to continue into the future.

Those who are in the retirement phase of life along with those who are preparing and planning for this eventuality need to focus on the following factors of consideration:

1. Personal debt management
2. Longevity factors
3. Health care costs
4. Life style expense
5. Saving and investment strategies.

These factors are difficult to predict and plan for into the extended future. A strategy which recognizes these challenges with a disciplined approach to saving, investment, consideration of inflation and management of factors which can be influenced is the best approach to what may be termed as success. None of us know what the future holds so try to plan ahead and get professional help to avoid many of the personal emotional factors which tend to play into decisions over current and future success in life for the individual and the family unit.

Time will tell just where the current leadership in Washington goes to creat an environment where all of these issues can be managed in a safe and healthful environment.

For The Record:

DJIA            20,071.46

S&P 500       2,297.42

NASDAQ      5,666.77

Suggested Reading:  “The Laws of Wealth”  by Daniel Crosby

This entry was posted on February 5, 2017 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.