Bertolt Brecht, the East German playwright and seminal figure of twentieth century literature, is said to have quipped ‘what is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?’. His point seemed especially prescient during the global economic crisis of the last decade. It is still a point of contention as to whether any of the people responsible for the financial crimes that led to the recession should be held more responsible. Donald Trump, the newly elected 45th President of the United States, has vowed to reduce banking regulations that he sees as being prohibitive to profits. This has obviously spurred stocks in banks to greater heights with KBW NASDAQ Bank Index. BKX, rising 13.6% in the four days following last year’s election. The regulations about which Trump is pontificating were codified in law in 2010 and are known as the Dodd-Frank act. The effects that these changes will have on the American economy remain to be seen.
However, irrespective of where you stand politically, the fact remains that the economy is improving. In the years since the recession, the American people have slowly become confident in the banking industry. Since the start of the year, unemployment has fallen, and general economic confidence is on the rise too. Whatever you may think of the current economic climate, there is more to be happy about than concerned. That is not to say though that a degree of caution is not unwarranted. If you are worried about which direction to take when it comes to your personal finances, here are a few ideas:
Modern life is demanding. Just to keep pace, you have to ensure that you have enough to provide for your family. That includes ensuring that there is enough food in the fridge, a safe house to live in and a car to drive. If you do not currently have the means to purchase a car outright, or if your credit rating is not quite as good as it could be, check out https://www.approvenow.com/bad-credit-auto-loan/. Otherwise, if there was one upside to the misery of the economic crisis, it is that interest rates on mortgages are lower now than they have been for a long time.
Just as with your work obligations, taking care of your personal finances takes discipline and organization. If you like to make impulse purchases or regularly spend beyond what you should, it is a good idea to clearly set out for yourself exactly where you stand. One way of doing this is to calculate your net worth (subtracting your debts from your assets). To help you plan for where you want to be financially, consider making a budget for yourself and sticking to it.
A difficult aspect of modern consumerism is that one’s relationship with money is so psychological. One tip for saving money is forcing yourself to only spend cash and not use your card. Seeing the money leave your hand (rather than a number on the ATM) will make your spending seem more real. A cash only spending regime works: to learn more, check out https://www.learnvest.com/2014/03/cash-only-diet/.
The national economy is tumultuous but if you make smart decisions, you will have a much better chance of weathering any future storms.
