The Senate and Amazon...and Your Wallet.

I hope you are gearing up for the last week of June. Oh my! Like you, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about the Senate Health Bill. Man, we are living through a difficult time in our country. Between our President and our Congress, sometimes I just want to bury myself in a hole.  Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the bill is bad for all of our wallets. While we may not think we’re affected, the bill has an impact on the entire health care system. And when the system gets impacted we all suffer, as the indirect effects find a way to impact our finances. The New York Times reported on the Congressional Budget’s report on how the bill will affect us. Here’s several main points that make me angry about the bill:

• It would increase the number of people without health insurance by 22 million by 2026 – unacceptable
• Deductibles would be higher, in many cases – this is not good
• Premiums for most older people would be higher – higher costs does not ease the strain for the system
• Nearly half of all Americans could be affected by these cutbacks in “essential benefits,” and that as a result, coverage for maternity care, mental health care, rehabilitation services and certain very expensive drugs “could be at risk.”

While the Affordable Care Act is far from perfect, I believe that everyone should have access to quality healthcare, and that it should be affordable. Even as I reflect on my own insurance coverage through my employer-sponsored package over the last few years, it’s apparent that I have been paying more for less services that are covered.  Hmmmm…

We all will continue to allocate a significant portion of our income to spending on health care, and thus we should continue to watch (and speak about) how we will tackle these issues as a country in the months and years to come.

What else has grabbed my attention?  Amazon Foods – That’s my own name for the Amazon’s announced purchase of Whole Foods. I’ve been processing this one for the last week and a half and I’m still fascinated by the $13.7 billion dollar price and the decision. If you saw Bloomberg’s article, "Expensive New E-Commerce Operation Compete With Amazon?," describing how Wal-Mart bought Jet.com to keep Amazon from dominating e-commerce, you know that it’s now a show-down between the big gorillas in shopping. Who will win on making the experience for customers like you and me affordable, easy, and different?

With Amazon’s announced purchase of Whole Foods, we have the master of online in Amazon (raise you’re glass if you’re an Amazon Prime junkie like me), and the master of seduction in Whole Foods, who lures you into a store to take your whole paycheck (me too).

Time will tell whether Amazon will benefit most from the Whole Foods’ data treasures, brick-and-mortar presence, supplier base, or distribution integration opportunities. I am confident that Amazon will find a way to disrupt and make anew how we spend our money and thwart off Wal-Mart.  You won’t want to miss what happens here in the years to come.

If you own Whole Foods stock, please share with me in the comments if you’re pleased with the acquisition and your thoughts on where Amazon is going next.

Kevin Durant, Finance, and You!

Amidst the craze of today I hope you are standing in good spirits this Wednesday. First, I want to extend thoughts and prayers to all of those affected by the events in DC today. Second, I am wishing you an early “Happy Father’s Day.” And, if you’re not a father, I hope you enjoy the fathers in your life. In that vein, I’m sending an early special shout-out to my terrific father, Frank Conanan! Even if you’re not a big basketball fan like me (which I owe to my Daddy), you couldn’t have missed all the hoops and hollerin’ about this past week’s NBA finals, starring the redemptive Golden State Warriors and the defending Cleveland Cavaliers champs.

In case this doesn’t ring a bell, the Warriors won! They added an ace in Kevin Durant to this year’s line-up and Durant is now on top of the hill – NBA champ and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player - because of his brilliant decision to leave the Oklahoma Thunder for the Warriors.  I can only smile and be happy for a man a man who spent 10 long years on a B team before upgrading himself to an A team in the Warriors to give himself a better chance at a prized championship.

We can all learn something, particularly when it comes to our money and wealth, from Kevin Durant’s decision. Here’s what we can draw:

1. It takes action to make a change, regardless of the potential outcome. Durant spent years trying to make it work on a team, but he needed a change to have a different outcome. Many of us toil in financial stress and dissatisfaction for years before we get to that super low point before we make a change. You can flip the script on its head by making a change before things get so dire. Focus on one action you can take to make a change to your financial situation. I know it’s scary that you don’t know the outcome yet, but that’s part of the faith journey.
2. Surround yourself with A players, not B. KD went with the A squad in the Warriors. When it comes to your money and wealth, you want to be around A players, from financial advisors, to accountability partners, and people in your life that will strive for excellence when it comes to your money matters.
3. You Must Play Hard. Durant played with fire in his eyes, whether dunking over 2 people or shooting the lights out with his 3-pointers. When it comes to managing your money, you have to approach the process with your own fire in your eyes. If not you, then who? I’ve talked a lot about being the CEO of your money, and part of assuming this role is also working hard to achieve the goals and outcomes you desire.

Do you have another wealth lesson from the NBA finals? Share it with us.

Kevin Durant is very wealthy, and while he is definitely amongst the top 1% of American earners, we might not be so far from him when it comes to how we think about privilege.

Specifically, I read this weekend’s New York Times piece, “Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” which raises some serious questions about American class privilege. My favorite quote:

“The American myth of meritocracy allows them to attribute their position to their brilliance and diligence, rather than to luck or a rigged system.”

I love the British author’s constructive outside perspective. But, the author doesn’t offer up concrete solutions to solve the problem or deal with the complexities of why this is the case. Do you have any ideas for solutions to not simply “raise our consciousness about class,” as the author purports, but also do something about it?  Share your thoughts.

Summer Boldness

This Wednesday I think we are all taking time to reflect on what happened in England Monday evening. Innocent lives were taken, and there are so many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends without their loved ones. While I preach that money matters, what matters most is the gift of our lives and the right to not have that life taken from us. I'm keeping those affected in my prayers, and I hope one day we will be free of senseless violence. Summer Boldness

As we get ready for vacation season it is time to make some BOLD decisions about how we spend our vacation money. Remember it is our year of boldness. Do we splurge for the five star hotel or use some of the funds for a once in a lifetime excursion? Is the fancy restaurant worth it or can we do a deli instead? I've found that shopping around for hotels and car rentals can make a big difference in how much we spend. I also love discount websites for things like museum passes and restaurant deals.

How are you spending your summer money this year? What BOLD decisions have you made about prioritizing your vacation money? Are you skipping the vacation altogether and doing a staycation instead? I love hearing the ideas people have.

In Case You Missed It 

Chicago Booth put out a great piece on how pricing strategies can have an impact on debt. Companies that rarely change their prices are more likely to go into debt than those that practice price flexibility. This is all interesting, because it can easily explain the problems the car companies had before the bailout. Car prices rarely change, and as a result the money eventually runs out.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week. I am looking forward to the long weekend.

Pop Goes the SNAP!

I hope this Wednesday afternoon finds you well. I had plenty of “Oh Snap” moments over the last week, and here’s the top 3:

• The NEXT LEVEL: How to Make Money in the Stock Market class is almost sold-out and there’s only 1 seat left – you can claim it HERE now
• SNAP, the parent company for social media app Snapchat, had its first earnings announcement since its IPO in March – a complete disaster as the stock took a nose dive, although it has rebounded over the week
• Your ability to deduct mortgage interest deduction on your taxes is whetted to our country’s current wealth divide – A recent NYTimes article, “How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality,” is fascinating and real

Your NEXT LEVEL seat – only 1 Left

I am waiting for YOU to take the leap of faith and there’s one lucky seat waiting for you. Tired of working hard and still feeling like you can’t get ahead with your money? Well, this class will help you learn to make your money work for you in the stock market. I extended the final deadline a few hours until 9pm CST tonight so that you have some time to sign-up after you get home from work. If you missed it last week, I also now allowed a monthly payment plan. If you have any last questions, please let me know. One enrolled student has already expressed her expectation on how the class will help her:

“I see this class a way to empower myself as work with my financial advisor so that I am more knowledgeable about my money and where it’s going.” Claim the last spot now HERE. 

SNAP took a nose dive

One of the cardinal rules for companies that IPO is this - set reasonable expectations for the investment community. And by reasonable, I mean expectations that you can beat with no problem. SNAP did the opposite. When the company released earnings last week, revenue and user growth fell short of expectations. As a result, the stock tanked. If you need a refresher on how earnings announcements affect stock prices, please see my video on why they matter. At the same time, SNAP’s CEO took home a $750 million dollar bonus for taking the company public – think about that one.

That said, its stock has rebounded nicely (as of yesterday’s close) and gained back almost half of the value that it lost a week ago.  See the chart below. Are you still interested in the stock? What's changed?

The Inequity of Mortgage Interest Deduction

The NYTimes article, “How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality,” is probably one of the best I’ve read in laying out the history behind this tax benefit, and its effect on the wealth divide. One of the major takeaways is that the mortgage interest deduction has been a main vehicle to help people grow their wealth over time. I have personally benefited from deducting mortgage interest on my taxes as it has effectively provided more money back into my pocket. That said, what are we doing to provide any relief for rent-burdened individuals? Feel free let me know your thoughts.

You Have Questions! I Have Answers!

It’s Hump-day, and I hope this Wednesday sends a smile to your face.  I have some great advice for you on how to add a global perspective to your investment approach. Before then, I have GREAT NEWS! Your fellow Charisse Says subscribers have grabbed up seats for the upcoming NEXT LEVEL: How to Make Money  in the Stock Market class, starting on May 18^th. They are ready to develop their own investing strategies, buy and sell stocks with confidence, and learn from people who’ve had success investing.

Are you ready? It’s not too late for you, or someone you love. You can even give the class as a gift to a phenomenal mother. Don’t let fear stop you! That said, I want to answer your questions about the NEXT LEVEL course.

Can you ask me your questions directly before you sign up for this class?

ABSOLUTELY – I’ve made it easy!

I am hosting a SPECIAL WEBINAR tomorrow, Thursday, May 11^th at 7:30pm CST to answer your questions and talk about all of things you will learn and do in this class. For all those who sign up and attend this webinar, I am offering a $75 discount off registration.

You can sign-up and submit your questions HERE!

If you asked yourself, can I make monthly payments over one year?

Here is the answer - YES!

I’m now allowing students to pay in installments over the course of the year. Check out the class details and get your spot to have the financial future you want. Seats are filling up quickly, so don’t miss your chance.

Now, onto that global perspective on investing…

With all the chaos in Washington, there’s so much activity globally, with new presidents elected in France and North Korea.

I recently got asked – how do I manage my investments with a global perspective and ability to take advantage of what’s happening in global markets? I attended a conference yesterday, and I was reminded that we are all connected globally.

Well, my short answer: I think it’s smart to incorporate a global perspective into your investments. One of the best ways that I’ve done so is through international equity mutual funds and exchange traded funds, where appropriate.  When my international funds are performing well, my U.S. funds and ETFs are sometimes performing poorly, and vice versa.  Now, this isn’t always the case because some international markets are highly correlated with U.S. stock movements, which dampens the effect of them moving in opposite directions.

I know this sounds counter-intuitive – wouldn’t I want all my stocks to do well at the same time? Not necessarily. It’s important for you to diversify your holdings so that you can protect yourself in case all your stocks go down at the same time. Most people neglect the downward cycled. As the adage goes, you do not want all your eggs in one basket and setting up a diverse portfolio is helpful to manage risk  (aka “in case Sh$t happens – and, it happens in investments)!

Do you have other questions or needs that you want to hear about? Email me.

Until then, have a great week and so pumped for all the mothers celebrating Mother’s day. Happy early mother’s day! A big shout-out to my mom, Barbara Conanan – she rocks and is an astute investor.

Let's Take Your Investing to the NEXT LEVEL!

I hope this first week of May is finding you in good spirits. Today, the House passed a proposal to over-haul the Affordable Care Act, and this would bring big changes to health care coverage. While the proposal would still have to go through the Senate, here’s a quick guide, from the WSJ, on how these changes might affect your money.

And if you (or have empathy on those who are) affected by the Affordable Care Act, you still have a voice in advocating to your local government officials, which at this time are your Senators. Please use your voice.

Affordable Care Act or not, health care costs are rising across the board and this affects us all. Some people are using a health spending account through their employers or other ways to invest and save for health care expenses. Please share any strategies you have used.

A NEXT LEVEL Solution

I recently received this question from a Charisse Says member:

“Charisse, how do I invest in the stock market without losing too much money?”

Well, the timing is perfect because I just announced the new online stock investing class, “NEXT LEVEL: Making Money in the Stock Market,” this past Sunday to help address this fear. I want to give you the tools to take your investing prowess to the next level.  Don’t worry – there’s still time to get in for the inaugural class, which starts May 18th. We’ve already had members of the Charisse Says community sign-up.  Yes!

As a reminder, in the class, you will:

• Learn how to make money buying and selling stocks with your current budget

• Get unlimited access to the class modules and bonus content, which are available to you anytime and anywhere you want

• Join weekly group calls with me to get your investment questions answered and join a community of like- minded individuals

By the end of the class, you will:

• Know how to do solid research on companies before you buy them

• Buy 5 stocks in a paperMoney account

• Develop a personal investing strategy, after I teach you how Warren Buffett and other well know investors have made money investing

I received so many requests to extend early registration accessforCharisseSays members through 11:59pm TONIGHT.  If you sign-up by then, you will get $100 off (Use Discount Code: LOYALTY).

Tomorrow, I will open registration to the entire world, and the price will go up. So, get your seat now before the price rises.

Ready to go NEXT LEVEL and have the lifestyle you want for you and your family?  Classstarts onMay 18th.Click on the button below to sign-up.

Embracing the Light

I hope that you are doing well I’m taking a minute to pause today. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.  This past weekend, I attended the memorial service of a friend who passed away. While there, I was encouraged to remember her whenever I turn on a light because she could light up a room with her electric personality.

I turned on a light to write this post and it’s only fitting to pause in her honor.

Her name was Deirdre Louise Jackson Jones.

In addition to being a friend, she was a member of the Charisse Says community – speaking up to support this work, inquiring about ways to build wealth, sharing my financial content on social media, discussing money issues out loud, offering to be helpful to me when I started Charisse Says, and supporting the cause of financial empowerment.

Netflix & Bold Retirement Decisions

I hope this Wednesday morning finds you well. Boy, I have some goodies in store for you…

Keep Watch I have been following what’s been happening at Netflix ever since I got a subscription years ago. Truth be told – I’m a House of Cards and Orange is the New Black junkie. I wrote about “cord cutting” in favor of streaming services like Netflix earlier this year, so take a look if you missed it. The stock is up 19% this year and it’s continued to pique my interest as I always have my investor hat on.

Well, Netflix’s recent company results highlight an issue that most innovative companies deal with at some point in their lifecycle – how does the company continue to grow profitably? At Netflix, they can either grow subscribers or prices, both of which drive revenue. Recently, their subscriber growth has slowed and the cost of producing original content has gone up. While profits beat expectations this quarter, Netflix said that profits will take a hit next quarter.

So, you might be asking yourself – can I make money over the long-term by investing in Netflix’s stock at this time?

Whether it’s Netflix or some other company, I am going to help you answer that question. Next week. Please stay tuned.

Charisse Says Member Bold Question Given that this is still the year of boldness, I want to share a recent bold question that I received from your fellow Charisse Says community member. I’ve gotten this question plenty of times before and so now it’s time to answer.

In what cases should I keep 2 or more 401k accounts (holding my money) sitting with previous employers instead of combining them?

I’ll provide 2 cases for you to ponder:

1. The investment options in your previous 401k plan are better – more options and/or lower fees. I left JPMorgan almost 10 years ago but I’ve kept my 401k assets on their retirement platform because of the plethora of investment fund options. Also, many of the funds have fees less than 0.20%. Now, this fee structure is lower than average because JPMorgan manages a lot of the funds itself, unlike other employers who have to outsource the funds.

1. You can live with checking two or more different accounts – Most people think it’s a headache to check multiple 401k accounts. Not me, especially if case 1 holds true. Mathematically, if the funds are earning a similar return but in two different places, the performance will be similar. For instance, if you have $100K in one account and $10K in another, and both options return 10%, the $100K account will generate a return of $10k and the $10k will generate a return of $1K, giving you $121K across both accounts. If you have both of these in the same account, or $110K, and it returns 10%, your new total is also $121K.

The problem only rises if one 401k plan is doing better than the other consistently. Also, if you have multiple 401k plans in different places, you often may forget to look at your accounts holistically to manage diversification.

So, consider these two cases when evaluating whether you should keep separate 401k accounts with previous employers, or not.

Do you have other questions?

Defaulted Student Loans, 16% Interest, and a Rant

I hope this Wednesday is treating you well. It’s mid-April and we all know what that means – your tax filing is due in a few days. If you are in rut and need more time, get an extension. Don’t feel bad about it either. I will get an extension this year as life has gotten busy and I have no shame in my game. In fact, I’m jumping up for joy. Now, if you are expecting a refund, you’re probably rushing to file your taxes so I support you in meeting the 4/15 deadline.

This week’s chatter…

What really got me boiling this week was Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s move to allow guaranty agencies to charge a predatory 16 percent fee on defaulted student loans. Huh?

These agencies administer the federal guaranteed student loan program and collect payment from borrowers. DeVos’s move reversed the course of the Obama Administration, which prevented these companies from gauging borrowers who defaulted on their loans.

Talk about BAD move in my book – if there are little provisions to protect people from incurring more debt, how are people supposed to climb out of debt and build wealth?

I’m almost done ranting.

Before I stop completely, please make sure you know your student loan repayment options. If you need assistance, check out www.studentloan411.com, which provides advice to assists borrowers with payback options that could result in lower payment in the shortest amount of time.

On a more positive note…

Emily, a member of the Charisse Says community, shared a story about her family in response to my “Creating a Wealth-Building” blog post. Here’s an inspiring snippet:

What I find interesting is how, in these later years of her life, [my mother] seems determined to direct how that wealth will make an impact beyond her years – not just for building wealth, but also for strengthening family bonds. She has begun purchasing real estate…[Read More]

Over the last week, I have also had a lot of conversations with Charisse Says members who have a desire to build wealth by starting a social enterprise or investing in one.

Don’t know what social enterprise is? No worries.

I wrote about social enterprises for American Express’s OPEN Forum. One of the biggest challenges in starting a social enterprise is obtaining the right financing. In that vein, here are 3 takeaways:

• Impact investing means different things to different people, so find out what’s mutually important from the owner and investor perspective

• Place-based investing in social enterprises is growing

• In addition to financing, you might also need straight-up advice to scale

So, hopefully you’re all excited now!

For my Christian brethren, happy Holy Week and enjoy the Easter holiday. For those of you of the Jewish faith, Happy Passover!

Living a Wealth-Building Life

It’s Wednesday evening and here I am in your inbox on Hump-Day. Yipee. I just got back from a trip to see my family in NY, and I’m ready to be bold. While in NY, I went to see the 9/11 Memorial, which is beautifully painful (think about that one). In seeing the memorial and losing a friend over these last few weeks, I’ve been reminded that life is short. We cannot get back the time that we have on this earth, and I’m confronted with the question –

How do I live the life that I want?

A few things pop out for me - I want to spend time with my loved ones, make an impact, learn laugh a lot, enjoy new experiences, and have no regrets. Tell me about the life that you want?

In order for me to have this life, I must continue to have a wealth-mindset. I’ve talked about this earlier this year, but how does this play out in reality? Well, my recent trip to NY gives some insights into wealth-building activities.

Wealth-Building Mindset in Action

Have a plan. Before taking the trip to NY, my husband and I decided how much money we would spend on trips this year. Our NY trip fit into our travel plans, and thus decided to splurge a bit by staying in downtown Manhattan to be close to the action. Before we went on our trip, we allocated our trip money for the 5-day stay and utilized the same bank card for every transaction so that we knew how much money we spent. We compared rates on the Hotel Tonight app to hotels.com, and the hotels.com was actually far cheaper for some of the same hotels. We economized by staying at an apartment-style hotel with a full kitchen. For those who haven’t heard of AKA Hotels, it’s sweet. Since the NY location opened just 7 months ago, we got a room for $150/night – Yes!

Look for Sustainable Trends To Add Money to Your Pocket. Part of being a good investor is paying attention to your surroundings. While in NY, it was hard to miss the continued development of areas such as Park Slope and Battery Park. I’ve previously written about ways to evaluate a neighborhood for investment, but I was intrigued by a few trends – more concept food chains similar to Chipotle and the same construction companies outlined on the gates of redeveloped parceled land. I then asked myself what public companies are similar to the private ones and began to research which ones I might potentially make money on over the long-run.

Talk about wealth with the family. My family and I traded investment ideas on ways for us to build wealth. Sometimes it’s easy to default to our comfort topics of politics, culture, and food, but we found it refreshing to discuss how we can build wealth together. If you do not have a family structure to discuss these topics, consider a close friend group. Tell me what you’re talking to your family about on my blog.

BTW - Congrats to all you Tar-heels fans! Poorly played game, but surely a sweet outcome for the team.