How do Presidential Actions Affect Your Income?

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Good Evening! The first week of February has hit us with lots of stuff – members of the Charisse Says community are acting boldly when it comes to their money, Black history month, more Presidential activity that could affect your wallets, and economic news that affects the stock market.

First and foremost, Grant C. shared with us that he opened up a Roth IRA account and specifically:

“It’s been on my mind for a good while and I told myself - I just need to do it. I can forego a couple of records this month! I couldn’t afford to start off with a ton of money but, I plan on contributing into it for the long run. Just wanted to thank you for the financial investing tips/education/energy!  Looking forward to mastering it over time and adding other investments.”

Congrats to Grant! If this isn’t bold, I don’t know what is. I want to encourage you to reflect on the trade-off Grant made to make his investment happen. You may be thinking of taking a bold move and I’m hopeful that Grant’s story inspires you too. Get to it!

Now, here’s what you need to know:

  • Black History Month Wealth Spotlight. This week, I’m highlighting the Oprah Winfrey Network series Queen Sugar. You know that I love movies and creative content. I spent my Christmas holiday binging on the first season of this new series directed by Ava DuVernay. It’s full of wealth-related concepts and specifically highlights how a Black family in Louisiana is forced to revisit how it thinks about generational wealth and investing in high return projects. I don’t want to give it away, but let’s just say that it was my favorite series from 2016.
  • Dodd-Frank Act Investigation. President Trump signed a memorandum ordering “a review of the Dodd-Frank Act, the post financial-crisis regulatory overhaul that has guided regulators such as the Federal Reserve.” Trump’s goal to “cut out a lot” of the rules means that he is trying to make it easier for financial companies to conduct business without hefty regulatory oversight. Now, this can go a bunch of different ways, so the test will be in what the investigation brings forth. I will be looking out for any information on how we maintain enough oversight so that we don’t find ourselves in another crisis. But, the fact that we saw bank stock prices go up means that investors take it as a positive sign that banks might be able to return more money to shareholders. Are you looking to invest in themes based on Presidential actions?
  • Fed’s Decision and Jobs. Last week, the Fed left the fed funds rate the same last week as anticipated. Furthermore, the U.S. added 227,000 jobs in January, signaling continued strength in the economy. The stock market reacted positively to these new pieces, so keep this in mind when you see market movements because of economic data.

Lastly, I was recently interviewed by YouCollective, a platform that democratizes voices of individuals with achievement and impact.  I was humbled to be selected as a YouCollective Pathmaker and shared my personal story on how I forged my path and overcame challenges along the way. Feel free to listen to my story here.