Well here it is folks, the stock market drop we all knew would eventually come. U.S. stocks are down around 12% this week, while global stocks aren’t doing much better. But in times of market turmoil, it’s essential to keep perspective. Here’s why to stay calm and stick to the plan, along with some practical steps (and non-steps) to take when the market tanks.
Employee Stock Compensation 101
Stock options. The words still conjure images of dark-suited executives in mahogany-paneled board rooms. But these days all sorts of people receive equity compensation, from c-suite officers down to new hires at tech companies. And that means there are more and more employees being paid in a form that can be difficult to understand and even harder to manage. That may include you. And so today we’ll go through the basics of employee stock compensation and how to best leverage it to reach your financial goals.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Investing (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Investing is kind of like sex: everyone’s doing it, but no one’s talking about the basics. Instead, it’s the sensational aspects that get all the airplay. The result is an essential topic that’s often misunderstood and over-sensationalized. Here we’ll look beyond the facade to tackle the nitty-gritty essentials of investing and provide some practical perspective on key questions.
A Little Margin Goes a Long Way
Margin is that space between your normal and your maximum capacity. It’s that cushion in your life between your everyday responsibilities and your absolute limits. It’s that Saturday morning when you sleep in, or your 35-minute daily workout, or your few minutes alone with your cup of coffee in the morning before your kids wake up. Tapping into that margin when needed is fine (and inevitable), but the closer to your limits you live, the bigger the risk of hitting a breaking point. This applies to time, career, and of course money.
How to Stick to Your Budget
We recently took a dive into the how and why of creating a budget. Now we’ll look at how to actually stick to that shiny new budget. Here’s the secret: it all begins with spending awareness. You can’t master your spending unless you first understand how you’re actually spending. The more aware you are of your spending, the more control you’ll have over your money.
The market: What goes up must come down
It’s official: the U.S. stock market has entered the longest bull market in its history. Since the stock market hit bottom in March 2009 during the financial crisis, U.S. stocks are up well over 300%. What does this mean for you? What goes up must come down. It’s inevitable the stock market will experience a downturn, and plenty of economists are predicting sooner rather than later. Here are three things you can be doing now to prepare for the next bear market.