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Personal Savings, Record Credit Card Debt & Their Effect on the Economy
About two weeks ago, we were all hit with the clickbait headline, "credit card balances hit $1 trillion". Immediately, people used this...
John-Mark Young
Sep 2, 20236 min read
159


WHAT THE HOPE OF A SOFT LANDING MEANS FOR THE FED AND INVESTORS
Hopefully, you'll excuse my two-week hiatus from "What We Learned in the Markets." I'll be back next week and better than ever when I...
John-Mark Young
Jul 23, 20235 min read
181


WHY COLLEGE PLANNING IS A CORE PART OF ANY FINANCIAL PLAN
Activate Baby Step 5. Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to create financial independence for yourself by saving 15% of your...
John-Mark Young
Jul 15, 20235 min read
168


2023 WHITTIE AWARDS & HOW THE MARKET RALLY AND INTEREST RATES IMPACT VALUATIONS
A few highlights to hit before we dig into "market stuff" over the following few paragraphs. This last Friday, the Whitaker-Myers Wealth...
John-Mark Young
Jul 9, 20235 min read
185


MONTHLY COLLEGE PLANNING UPDATE: JULY 2023
That's right! For those of you with kids that are nearing college or college planning has been in your mind lately - it's a two-for July!...
John-Mark Young
Jul 9, 20237 min read
175


MONTHLY COLLEGE PLANNING UPDATE: WHITAKER-MYERS WEALTH MANAGERS
The months of June and July are primarily known for: Weddings The First Day of Summer Vacations Graduations By now, for those students...
John-Mark Young
Jul 4, 20234 min read
179


7 MARKET & ECONOMIC INSIGHTS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2023
Major stock market indices made significant gains in the first half of the year due to improving inflation, slowing Fed rate hikes, the...
John-Mark Young
Jul 4, 20237 min read
158


15% OF MY INCOME: BEFORE OR AFTER MY EMPLOYER MATCH?
Things like a savings rate for retirement seem so trivial in the grand scheme of life, right? I’m reminded of that as I watched my...
John-Mark Young
Jul 2, 20236 min read
176


CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL PLAN FROM A CFP PROFESSIONAL
Lately I’ve been engrossed in the world of watching my LinkedIn feed. Now remember LinkedIn is supposed to be the anti-Facebook social...
John-Mark Young
Jul 1, 20236 min read
190


LOOKING TO RETIRE - LOOK AT THE LONE STAR STATE, TEXAS
It’s a rainy Sunday, and there’s not much to do – no swimming, no basketball with my son, and we just enjoyed a wonderful lunch at The...
John-Mark Young
Jun 11, 20235 min read
168


What the Looming Debt Ceiling Deadline Means for Investors
Let me start out by saying if Dave Ramsey would do a solid for his country and run for President, we wouldn't be in this mess. With...
John-Mark Young
May 22, 20235 min read
178


HOW THE FAILURE OF FIRST REPUBLIC IMPACTS THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
"This part of the crisis is over. Everyone should just take a deep breath." - JP Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon On the morning of...
John-Mark Young
May 5, 20236 min read
118


WHY THE U.S. DOLLAR IS STILL THE LEADING GLOBAL CURRENCY
On April 6th, 2023, Chris from Dallas, Texas (one of the SmartVestor Pro Markets Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers serves) called Dave to...
John-Mark Young
Apr 21, 20237 min read
180


COLLEGE ED XPRESS: APRIL 2023 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
If The Financial Aid Awards Are Lacking In April, parents of high school seniors are looking at their financial aid letters. It's a...
Lindsey Curry
Apr 10, 20236 min read
164


THE STOCK MARKET: BACK TO THE BASICS
Stock Market projections. I can bet that at least once a day, I will hear someone tell me why the stock market will crash and never return.
John-Mark Young
Mar 26, 20236 min read
187


RECENT BANK FAILURES: BONDS, BAD RISK MANAGEMENT & BOOMTOWN INDUSTRIES
The recent failure of three U.S. banks has raised concerns over the economy and financial system.
John-Mark Young
Mar 19, 20237 min read
165


INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE: AVOIDING CAPITAL GAIN TAXES ON THE SALE - 1031 Exchange DST
My friend Dave Ramsey invests in two things: mutual funds with long track records of success and paid-for real estate. He loves real...
John-Mark Young
Mar 19, 20234 min read
194


MARCH 2023 MARKET UPDATE: WHY INVESTORS ARE FEELING DEJA VU AROUND THE FED AND INFLATION
With the February market reaction for investors, it may feel like déjà vu all over again as inflation and the Fed dominate market headlines.
John-Mark Young
Mar 5, 20235 min read
160


CORPORATE EARNINGS: IT'S WHAT YOU'RE BUYING!
Why do you invest? Ok I get it... you probably invest because you're trying to retire at some point in your life or you'd like to make...
John-Mark Young
Feb 15, 20236 min read
169


5 Key Insights to Guide Investors in 2023
2022 was a challenging year for investors. Markets fell into bear market territory and experienced the worst annual performance since...
John-Mark Young
Jan 31, 20235 min read
188
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