Hello, everyone. My sincerest hope that this message finds you and your loved ones both safe and healthy.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as our world at least begins to progress towards somewhat of a more normal state, the question begs as to how this life-changing event has affected each of us, not only personally, but financially. In this way, how we plan to manage these situations for ourselves and our families moving forward is of the utmost importance.
For some, this may mean finding work after being laid-off by an employer. For others, this might involve taking a closer look at our own savings, credit, retirement plan investments and/or other instruments of debt/equity that we currently have to better manage them. Whatever the case, if the pandemic has taught us anything at all as a society, it’s made us focus on what is most important to us in our lives, and that the idea of ‘certainty’, in any regard, simply does not exist.
Due to the financial uncertainties that we’re all faced with, and with regard to questions/concerns we all have about our own personal finances, I wanted to write about where we can share these questions and concerns with one another in an attempt to help each other feel more secure in making efficient and effective financial decisions. What’s more, as an STCC alumnus (A.S. in Business Administration, Class of 1992), and also as a professor of personal finance here at STCC and as a financial planner myself, I have a deep commitment to helping all members of the STCC community navigate the muddy financial waters that present to us today. Accordingly, I seek your thoughts on the viability of using this blog to answer questions such as:
- Can the financial markets ever fully recover from these events? If so, will they?
- Should I consider adopting a different personal financial strategy based on these events (ex: more conservative)?
- How can I financially prepare myself ‘now’ should there be another pandemic surge ‘later’ that negatively impacts our economy?
These questions, like many others, weigh heavily on all of our minds. It is my sincere hope that, through this blog, answers can be provided and perspectives can be shared that help everyone to feel more confident as we all move forward.
I look forward to your feedback/suggestions.
Please feel free to email me at [email protected] or comment below.
*IMPORTANT: The information discussed within this forum is not intended in any way to offer specific tax and/or financial advice to anyone, and should not be construed as such. Therefore, we strongly urge you to speak with your accountant/tax advisor or financial planner before making any decisions related to these issues.
Hi everyone:
I hope this message finds everyone well!
As we continue efforts to move ourselves into what is now our ‘new norm’, you may be thinking about your finances and/or current financial situation and wondering “What do I do if this happens?” or “I wonder if I should consider doing this?”, or perhaps “Now that this has taken place, what options do I have for this?”…all good questions! It’s very natural to consider different scenarios as we look to garner financial security for ourselves, especially during such difficult times.
In this way, I would like to begin a monthly ‘blog’ starting today that will serve as an exchange of useful information for anyone and everyone wishing to participate that has financial questions they are contemplating. These questions could involve anything related to cash-flow/personal net worth, securing of credit, credit management, debt management, income taxes, investing, insurance, etc. My hope is that information discussed within this forum can be of some assistance in helping you manage yourself towards a better financial future.
Each month, I plan to pose a question or topic of interest that you can contemplate, and subsequently weigh-in on if you would like to (this might be an open question, or cited from a recent article). I will do my very best to provide feedback to the questions/responses received throughout the month. Likewise, if you would like to comment in response to the posts of others, please feel free to do that, as well. The point will always be the same: to inspire the free-flow of open dialogue in collaboration with one another to better our knowledge and ourselves with regard to financial literacy, planning and security.
Some preliminary ground rules for using this forum:
1. Please use this forum only for financially-related matters, as stated above
2. When commenting to another’s post, please remain respectful in doing so at all times
3. Please try to keep comments/questions to a maximum of 3-5 sentences in total
Lastly, and most importantly, please be mindful of the following:
*IMPORTANT: The information discussed within this forum is not intended in any way to offer ‘specific’ tax and/or financial advice to anyone, and should not be construed as such. Therefore, we strongly urge you to speak with your accountant/tax advisor or financial planner before making any decisions related to these issues.
Ready???
Then let’s go!!!
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Topic of interest for month of August, 2020: “What are your ‘top three’ financial concerns for the remainder of 2020?”
To kick things off, let’s think about what your 3 most important financial concerns are for the remainder of 2020. It’s hard to believe, but this year is already more than half over! These could be anything, from the performance of your investment portfolio, to job security, all the way down to what you will do for daycare if your children are learning remotely in the fall. These concerns affect just about everyone, they are important, and they need to be addressed if they are to be properly dealt with. What’s on your mind? Please share your questions/comments here: