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I have been writing about money for nearly 20 years and believe that personal finance is one of those subjects that is made complicated because it benefits a select few. Our aim is to help make it easier to understand so that regular folks can use what we teach to take control of their money and build wealth.
Good morning Reader! Moody's has an AI recession model that just said there's a 49% chance of a downturn. It's trained on 80 years of data and when the model hits 50%, there's been a recession within 12 months. And it's based on February data, which does not yet include the Iran war and its impact on oil prices. (and the two week ceasefire just announced yesterday night) That doesn't mean sell all of your stocks and hide. But it does mean it's time you should be playing defense in other areas...
Good morning Reader! You should watch this explanation of the Yen Carry trade and how its unwinding impacts our economy and your personal finances. As a long term investor, I am not adjusting my allocations or making any other significant changes. I will, however, make sure that my actual allocations match my targets. I believe in remaining informed, even if it doesn't affect my actions, because then I won't be surprised when something happens. The market is dominated so heavily by news...
Good morning Reader! Last week, a reader (Hi Gloria!) ask why I never list Vanguard's Cash Plus account in the interest rate roundup below. Here's my answer: I don't list the Vanguard Cash Plus Account because the yield is only 3.35% APY (that includes a 0.25% boost that they will remove on 4/30/26), which makes it lag behind most other banks. It's just not competitive. I love Vanguard though, I have most of our investments there, but the Cash Plus account isn't that great. Vanguard's Money...