Covenant Wealth Strategies Blog (April 2022 - September 2022)

It’s been a rough few weeks for the stock market.  It is important to remember that good investment decisions see beyond the current circumstances.

The CRPC^® is a professional financial planning designation that recognizes financial advisors as specialists in helping clients prepare for retirement.

Medicare open enrollment is from October 15^th - December 7^th this year for Medicare coverage in 2023. 

While the market drop was one of the  worst days for the Dow since June 2020, the drop only erased 5 days of recent gains, pulling the S&P 500 back toward its Sept. 6^th close of 3,908.

Our office will be closed on Monday, September 5^th. We will resume normal operations on Tuesday, September 6^th.

A college education is a financial equation of two halves: the cost of the investment to attend and the potential income related to the degree earned.

The Inflation Reduction Act was recently signed into law. This new legislation outlines the most significant changes to Medicare in almost two decades. 

Ward joined a select group of LPL Financial advisors invited to present at the conference, which was held this year in Denver, Colorado.

There are some important financial lessons that even the most challenging class curriculums don't teach. 

A key characteristic of a well designed financial plan is the consideration of market volatility - and for a good reason.

For the past year, supply-related problems contributed more to inflation than demand-related imbalances, however that may be changing soon. There are at least three factors that could change the course of inflation.

The first announcement for GDP data came out during the last week of July and was negative. This appears to be the definition of a recession - 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP data. Are we in a recession and why has a recession not been called? 

If the U.S. can add some economic growth in the second half of the year as inflation begins to taper off, we would expect valuations to get a nice lift by year-end.

Market turbulence cannot be avoided, however it also need not deter us from making progress toward our financial goals.

While market optimists are scarce these days, there are several historical patterns that provide reasons for optimism as the second half of 2022 gets underway.

Bold strips, bright stars and brave hearts, the Fourth of July is an opportunity for us to freely gather and celebrate what makes America special.

One of the bigger stories from the past couple of weeks is the historic move in interest rates.

Inflation data continues to run hot. We saw an increase in market volatility after the recent release of May's CPI data. The S&P 500 Index officially moved to a bear market last week.

Please help us welcome Pat Morocco to our team!

Please help us welcome Anthony "A.J." Pietruszka!

Headline inflation in May rose 8.6% from a year ago, accelerating from April’s 8.3% to the highest year-over-year growth rate.

Employment in May grew by 390,000. Job growth does not exist in an economy that has a high chance of going into a recession. 

The savings rate in April fell to 4.4% from 5.0% in March, the lowest rate since 2008.

Graduation is a time to celebrate! What comes next?

In observation of Memorial Day, our office and the markets will be closed on Monday, May 30^th.

According to multiple news outlets, the stock market is off to its worst start for the year since 1939 (thru April 2022).

Many investors forget that double-digit declines during a year are actually normal.

The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are currently very strong. So why are Wall Street and some economists suddenly worried about a recession?

This is the team's second year being recognized by Forbes.

Mortgage rates made a steep climb recently as markets reacted.

Doing some financial housekeeping before purchasing a home can pay dividends in the long run, especially if you’re attempting to buy in a competitive market.

From TVs to thermostats to light bulbs, more and more devices have Wi-Fi capability. Are they vulnerable to hacking?

As expected, the FOMC voted to increase the fed funds rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) and signaled further rate increases are appropriate. 

Inflation hit a new 40-year high in February. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed to 7.9% year over year and 0.8% month over month from January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.