The HealthAsset

Have you been looking for some saving strategies for the holidays? ⠀
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Christmas is typically a peak selling season for most retailers in many nations across the world. You may have heard that the stock market generally performs well in December, and it is not a coincidence since many publicly traded companies on Main Street report stronger sales during this month. ⠀
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However, many people become indebted and tend to overspend during these times. Holiday retail sales in the U.S are expected to be in the ballpark of $750 billion dollars, an increase of $25 billion from the year before. ⠀
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These are some strategies one can use to help save them some money during the holidays and as we approach Christmas. Having a budget is possibly the most important strategy on this list. It can be easy to be swayed by others to overspend on gifts especially if others are doing so. However, it will serve more economically viable in ones own interest to plan a shopping budget and have limits on how much one can spend during the holiday season. ⠀
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In contrast, one can also resort to making homemade gifts without spending money, or spending less. Others may appreciate the thought and care that is derived from making these homemade gifts, and it often provides more long-term sentimental value. ⠀
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What would you add to this list?⠀
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As we approach the end of a tumultuous year, we look ahead to another year. It is important to set goals, whether they are in ones career or finances. Here is some ideas for personal finance goals one can look to accomplish in 2021.⠀
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Every individual faces a different and unique situation, so some of these may be harder for some than others. What 2020 has certainly showed us is the need to have an emergency fund in case of an unexpected “black swan” event such as this, or another emergency taking place. Those that had an emergency fund generally were able to weather the storm with a stronger financial foundation. ⠀
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As well, economic uncertainty tightened bank lending guidelines, so those with an great credit score were able to have access to borrowed funds, that those with a low credit score were not able to. Many people had also refinanced instalment loan rates with their creditors. ⠀
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The last point outlined is investing 10% of income. Those that invested when the market had bottomed in March of 2020 were able to see significant gains on their returns, and this invested capital continues to work for investors. Everyday, 24/7! ⠀
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Are you planning to get vaccinated?⠀
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The vaccine market for 2021 is looking to generate some big numbers. Here are three drug makers that have set themselves up well for mass distribution of vaccines.⠀
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Novavax is projected to generate sales of $3.8 billion from its vaccine. The stock itself has jumped 3000% in 2020! Compared to the other drug makers however, Novavax is much smaller.⠀
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Moderna is estimated to generate sales of $11 billion. A lot of these future projected estimates have already seemed to be price into the current market value of the stock. It’s performance may slow down somewhat. ⠀
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Pfizer, with its partner, BioNTech are looking to generate the largest sales from the vaccine market. This number is projected to be around $14.3 billion. The revenue will be split between both companies. ⠀
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Are you looking to pay off debt? ⠀
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Here are some strategies that often go under looked. ⠀
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1)Track income & expenses. When we do this, we become consciously aware of the inflow and outflow of where our money is going. One way to do this would be to use an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The program offers basic templates that make it easy to track our own personal income statement. ⠀
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2)Paying off highest APR (Annual Percentage Rate) first. Once we know where our money is going, we can look to see which loan/line of credit charges the highest interest rate in the expenses column. It is more cost-effective to pay off these first, as they can allow debt to compound easily and worsen ones financial situation. It is an risk-free return on our money.⠀
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3)Moving into an more affordable home. This is a more circumstantial strategy for homeowners. However, as a mortgage is often the average borrower’s largest loan, it is often also the one they pay the most interest on. It can be a more ideal situation to downsize and move into an more affordable home that may have a lower mortgage rate. This can especially benefit those that are struggling to make their monthly payments. ⠀
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What do you do when you receive a paycheck?⠀⠀
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The majority of people will spend the majority of their paycheck and give their hard-earned money to other companies instead of investing into themselves, literally and metaphorically. ⠀⠀
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And then one wonders, where has my money gone for the month. A common action-plan is to automate a portion of the paycheck towards savings and investing. This way, they will not be inclined to spend it all. Even with the money spent, it is important to ask if it was a positive return on investment. Is the value of the product/service equal to the cost?⠀⠀
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Monthly contributions to savings and investing may seem insignificant and small initially, but can add up to a large sum. This is especially true with the concept of compound interest relative to investing. ⠀⠀
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Our financial habits make up who we are.⠀⠀
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Here are a few common examples of habits we should avoid if we aren’t already. Certain conditions usually come with some of these habits, such as paid phone apps. ⠀⠀
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As an example, if an paid phone app increases productivity, or is needed to help with forming other good habits, it may no longer be considered a wallet/purse drainer.⠀⠀
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$5 coffee may be acceptable once in a while, especially using the concept of positive reinforcement where certain beneficial actions being accomplished leads to rewards, but normally is a wallet/purse drainer being consumed everyday. If an individual buys a Starbucks coffee everyday for a year, it will cost them $1825. It can be a better alternative purchasing a coffee machine. Although it will have a large up-front cost, it will be more economically viable in the long run. ⠀⠀
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Bottled water is another that is not worth the price point. It is much more environmentally friendly as well as economically friendly for a person to use tap water. ⠀⠀
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Let’s breakdown these common misconceptions!⠀⠀
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1)Is investing risky? No. Our money loses value every year because of inflation leading to the purchasing power of each individual dollar decreasing. It is inherently more risky not to invest, than to invest. The best way to invest with less risk is to be well diversified through index funds. Do keep in mind that it is better to pay off high interest debt before investing.⠀⠀
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2)Do you need a lot of money? No. Compounding interest is very powerful when it comes to investing, so starting with a very small amount at an early age can still yield great returns later on. ⠀⠀
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3)Is it complicated? This can depend on the type of an investor you are. For active investors, being knowledgeable of certain financial terms in order to read an company’s financial statement is very helpful ! However, for the passive investor, it is a simple process to buy and hold index funds for the long term.⠀⠀
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4)Are stocks the only option? In addition to stocks, one can also invest into ETFs, REITs, mutual funds, commodities, cryptocurrency, fixed income securities, and money market accounts. ⠀⠀
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Although this year might be different, Christmas is still looking to tell a jolly economic story.⠀⠀
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Traffic and sales at tree outlets this year have been spectacular, with merchants reporting a big season for Christmas tree sales. Tree sales are up 29% so far in 2020, and people are also getting larger trees and buying more home decorations. ⠀⠀
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This has helped paint an more optimistic narrative in contrast to the pessimism from Wall Street forecasters of economic growth until mass distribution of an vaccine. ⠀⠀
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28.2 million trees were sold in each of the last two years of the Great Recession, and the projection for this upcoming year appears to be between 25 million to 30 million real trees with another 10 million to 20 million artificial ones, according to Statista. ⠀⠀
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Can you guess the first publicly traded U.S company to reach $2 trillion market cap(valuation)?⠀
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If you guessed Apple, you are correct! In fact, it doubled its value in just over two years. Apple is a household tech name in North America, and here is a breakdown of its revenue during Q2 of 2020.⠀
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Half of all revenue generated from Apple sales is from it’s iPhones. The latest flagship iPhone was released this past October, and with every subsequent year, the sales continue to grow. It was reported this past week that iPhone 12 Pro Max beat all iPhone launches over the past 3 years⠀
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Service sales have also began to exponentially increase, making up 22% of all revenue. These include everything from the App Store to licensing deals, and other bundled subscriptions. CEO, Tim Cook stated that Apple was on track to double its services business from 2016 to 2020. ⠀
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For the foreseeable future, it looks like Apple will continue to assert it’s dominance as a top tech company, although it will likely look to venture into other markets to maintain innovation and relevance.⠀
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Does this surprise you ?⠀⠀
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Of course, this is an hypothetical extreme example. Most individuals typically won’t finance an product just to pay the bare minimum, but there are still those who do!!⠀⠀
And as you can see, not only is Randy paying more in interest than the entire principal payment of $1000, he is also missing out on the opportunity cost of investing that extra $1145. It will take him 9 years to pay off that debt. ⠀
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Over a thirty year period, an investment of $1145 could have grown to almost $10,000 considering an average market return of 7%. ⠀⠀
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More so, we don’t even finance certain products to fulfill an internal desire or accomplish a goal that will lead to self-improvement but rather to impress others. ⠀⠀
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Looking “rich” is what the majority resort to with the availability of credit, but being “wealthy” starts with a shift in one thing: our mindset. ⠀⠀
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Do you use reward apps?⠀⠀
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This week, shopping rewards app Ibotta and Walmart teamed up to provide free dinners during Thanksgiving!⠀⠀
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Ibotta has also donated to Feeding America, a charity that provides food across its network of 200 food banks and 60,000 pantries in the United States and Puerto Rico.⠀⠀
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In a time where millions of Americans are lining up at food banks to put food on the table, and the economic uncertainty going forward, this was a kind gesture on the part of Walmart and Ibotta.⠀⠀
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Do you know what Warren Buffet means with this quote? ⠀
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It might appear hypocritical for Warren Buffett to say this when he himself lost $23 billion during the financial crisis of 2008!⠀
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However, he is referring to the mindset of the sensible investor. Don’t be frivolous, don’t gamble, and don’t speculate on investments just because everyone else is. Preparing to go into an investment expecting to lose is the wrong mindset. Always practice due diligence and thoroughly understand an investment before taking a position. ⠀
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Buffet himself believed that the most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. Being able to emotionally withstand sharp swings in the market and staying focussed on personal investing goals will lead to massive rewards in the long run. ⠀
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