My hope is that you’ve had a joyous July 4th holiday, filled with family, friends, and food galore! I’m sure your mind was far from the thoughts of a looming recession, inflation, rising interest rates, a sluggish stock market, and a still depressed cryptocurrency market. 

Now that you’re back to reality, however, I encourage you to think about strategies that you can take over the next six months to handle the changing macroenvironment. If you need a refresher on how the current economic climate, especially rising rates and a looming recession, affect everyday consumers like you and me, check out this New York Times The Daily Podcast, The Claws of a Bear Market, as it provides an economics 101 primer. In short, inflation causes our Fed to exercise one of its main jobs - to curb inflation - and in the process, consumers’ propensity to buy big things that need financing, like cars and houses, might wane.  

Here are three questions that you should ask yourself: 

1. Should I tap into the equity in my home? Since Americans have more equity in their homes than ever before, increasing to $27.8 trillion at the end of the first quarter, it seems reasonable that you may want to tap into your home equity. Given higher interest rates, however, it’s more expensive to get a home equity line of credit now than last year. That said, you probably have more home equity than you did a few years ago, and it may make sense to consider using the line for home improvements. Remember, with home-equity lines, you will pay interest on the amount of credit you use. This is different from cash-out refinance, which was popular when rates were lower, wherein the cash taken out of your home gets added to the outstanding mortgage, and a new rate is applied to a higher mortgage balance. 

2. Do I need to make a major shift in my asset allocation strategy now? Should I put more (or less) of my money in stocks (since they are much lower in value now than they were a year ago), real estate, bonds, entrepreneurial ventures, or plain ole cash?  Talk to your financial advisor about what might be best for your portfolio and where you might have exposure to the changing macro environment. 

3. What should I keep my eye on now so that I can take advantage of an opportunity later? You’ve heard the saying - “chance favors the prepared mind”. I want you to begin plotting what your next big move might be. Do you want to save up for some career coaching sessions that you’ve been wanting to invest in? Are you waiting for the stock you’ve had your eye on for months to drop to a certain level, and need to put some cash aside to buy it? Whatever it is that you want, plan ahead and try to go get it.  

A Wealthy Girl Corner

If you missed the feature last month, check out Crain’s Chicago Business article “She's written a 'Lean In' for our times,” which compares my book, A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power to Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. In the article, I said “I recognize that prejudice and racism over the years have left women of color on the outside looking in. Instead of trying to seize a seat at the table against long odds, she suggests they decamp and set up their own table—as entrepreneurs at their own companies.” 

This week, as you follow your own path and define success for yourself - albeit the corporate or entrepreneur route - remember to “find mentors and sponsors to facilitate advancement and be ready to take risks when the time is right.”