On August 24th, the Biden administration announced a student loan debt relief program. I’m all about optimizing finances and not about talking politics. If you, or someone you know, has outstanding student debt or paid it off since March 2020, you will likely qualify for some forgiveness. Learn more at the the Federal Student Aid website. This is definitely time sensitive information so pass it along to all those who may qualify.
In a related note, ChooseFI released a key episode with Travis Hornsby of The Student Loan Planner. This was released before the Biden announcement, but it keys in on some other time-sensitive loan topics. The biggest takeaways are the programs available for public servants for loan forgiveness. Travis walks through many of those concepts and attempts to explain who qualifies. It is a can’t miss episode for anyone who has student debt.
Federal Reserve Chairman Remains Hawkish
I’m fairly new to following the Federal Reserve and fiscal policy. I greatly enjoy the bird imagery. Currently, the Fed is like a hawk aggressively attacking its prey, inflation. Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole sent the market plummeting at the end of August. He reiterated that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates to ensure inflation slows to a normalized rate.
The tone from Powell continues to be aggressive which suggests the stock market and the economy is still in a fairly volatile state. Inflation needs to come down for a healthy economy and this could lead to some short-term pain economically due to the higher rates. Powell’s comments reaffirmed that the Federal Reserve is nowhere near being like a peaceful dove.
Patience as an investor here is key. Regular monthly investing will ride these waves and likely lead to great returns in the long-term. Inflation will keep things choppy for awhile. Another storm is growing in Europe with energy prices skyrocketing due to less supply from Russia, a major supplier. Is this unsettling? Certainly. As investors, the best course of action is to keep on chugging along. No one knows the future!
Finding Financial Help When You Need It
I’m typically all for managing your own finances including your investing decisions. I truly believe everyone can do it. In many cases, the management fees associated with working within the financial industry are far too high for the advice that is given. I’m also not so naive to assume that no one will ever need help. For example, as we get closer to retirement age, the decisions can become much more complex and costly. In this situation, I do encourage seeking counsel if you feel that you need it. My preference is finding a fee-only advisor rather than having one who works with assets under management. One place to start is https://www.feeonlynetwork.com.