Watching the waves come in – February 2016

Have you ever been standing on the beach watching the waves get bigger and bigger and hear the wind starting to howl and feel the rain start to pour? Financially speaking, I believe that is where we are today in this economic cycle.

I remember January of 2008 like it happened yesterday. The slowing economic cycle had already started a few months before and by January, news organizations began to circulate reports that a financial storm was beginning to brew. Many people at the time thought it would blow over and be a gentle economic change and wouldn’t last long. By April of 2008, mild concern had turned into serious concern and by July 2008, serious concern had turned into anxiety..By September 2008, real economic fear was from Wall Street to Main Street. That financial cycle saw many companies close their doors, people laid off and a wave of home foreclosures not seen since the great depression.

Today, I feel like I am standing on a similar beach (metaphor) watching the waves get bigger and hoping that all I need is a light rain jacket to weather the storm. Many of the financial indicators in 2008 are present today like the stock market, interest rates, oil and a new election year. I honestly believe that this next economic cycle will not be as deep and long as the last but at the same time we should all be aware and prepared.

When I am asked, “what should we do?” I think the answer is to stay the course and be conscious of the financial aspects of your life. You can’t change the US economic but you can choose to save more and borrow less. For those of you in sales like us, I say put your selling shoes on and do your best work on every sales call. While I hope the financial ripples will subside and be gentle, we should all be alert that a financial slow down seems to be brewing. KT

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