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See Money’s Top Lenders

Last newsletter I mentioned that several statistics measuring the economy would be released. Well, the results are in. Now we clearly know that inflation is ehhhhh.

The stats on inflation reported prices have rose a 2.4% in the last year, which is actually pretty good. Now before you yell at me that that price of eggs or your favorite extra gooey cinnamon rolls are through the roof, let me explain.

Prices of goods that are able to be stockpiled, such as toilet paper, have remained relatively stable. But prices on produce and appliances among other categories have gone up.

So as predicted, economists are still uncertain. It's practically their job. But there are some inflationary red flags.

Grocery bills may be getting pricier. And if "your friend" broke your toilet recently you might want to replace that sooner rather than later. However toilet replacement should probably be expedited even without inflationary pressure.

That said, all this data tends to make the stock market squirrelly. So let's...

If you've ever heard, "The Dow rose 20 points on the PPI news," and your eyes glazed over and you wondered why the world is such a cruel place you're not alone! Let's decipher that.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, lovingly referred to as "the Dow" is a stock index, or a group of stocks. Similar to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, these indexes are often used as metrics for how the overall US economy is doing.

But the different indexes track different things.

So when you hear news about how these indexes are being affected, you are being told how the economy is doing, and then you can interpret how that affects you.

And "points" is just jargon for a dollar. 

So the Dow rising "20 points" means that the price of the index went up by $20. Which means the stocks in the Dow, and the economy overall, are probably doing well.

Because you will hear noise about stocks "rocketing upwards" or the S&P crashing. That said, investing is often meant to be a long term game.

So while you shouldn't ignore news about the economy being up or down (because that informs budgeting and saving, not just investing), you should really pay more attention to the broader trends.

Now if one of the indexes goes up or down more than 10% in a day, that is notable and should be paid attention to!

But typically you should focus on if the economy has been up or down for a few weeks or months. That is notable. The day-by-day can sometimes get clickbaity.

You can actually buy pieces of the indexes mentioned above and others using index funds or ETFs. These are groups of stocks that you can invest in by just purchasing the fund itself. People often compare them to baskets of stocks, but that comparison has never resonated with me.

There are pros and cons to investing in an index fund or ETF:

A popular index fund includes Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO). You can probably tell it tracks the S&P 500 index, and it has a low expense ratio. But remember, there are many options out there.

Also, quick reminder I am not sponsored by any tool in the leverage section. They’re just tools I have used that I think are worth sharing.

Open your investment brokerage app (or Google) and explore any one index/ETF that catches your eye.

Whether it's S&P 500 (like VOO), a Dow-based fund, a Nasdaq tracker, or something else entirely.

Don't get distracted by sexy returns over the course of a day or week. Look at how the index has grown over a long period of time.

Also, look at what the expense ratio is. Higher expense ratios mean the ETF is more costly to hold, which reduces your investment growth.

If you want help searching for investments, reply to this email!

I'm happy to help ;).

Thank you so much for being a part of this newsletter. I am grateful to write to you weekly and I hope this helps you feel more confident with your finances.

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