A Change Would Do You Good

A change would, do you good? Do you remember that Sheryl Crow song boy has changed on me good recently, and I hope it has for you as well. We're on the other side of

This historic presidential election

And as a financial advisor, I've kind of made it a practice over the years to not mix financial

Advising and politics.

In fact, I've rarely seen

Spoken about my political beliefs publicly until recently, but this year, really for the first time in my life, something has shifted in me and I have felt more compelled to share my thoughts on this subject because politics became much more personal for me this year. And that's because politics have collided with my personal values, social justice, diversity inclusion, human rights, and decency matter. Leadership matters, good leaders. I feel unite people. They do not divide people and words matter. Combative words have the ability to do great harm, significant damage to people. So for me, this election was way more than politics. It was a victory for humanity and healing. And I have to admit I'm very hopeful. I mean, I feel like I can actually breathe again. It's so encouraging to me to be gaining a leadership team in this country that is smart and kind, and decent and conscientious and authentic. And I look forward to the tension and the division that we have been experiencing really over the last four years, I look so forward to that subsiding because we're all in this together. And we have to learn that it's okay to disagree and to not share the same values or the same beliefs, but we still have to respect each other and treat each other dignity. That is so important. And I am not okay with leaders who don't teach this message or lead by example. I just can't support that.

So if you are a part of my retirement money gal community, it doesn't matter to me what your politics are. And it's okay if we don't share the same values, it's not really about politics for me, as much as it is about personal values. That's where I draw the line for myself. But I know many people out there, including friends of mine, including peers in the financial services industry that I'm acquainted with or friends with as well. They voted policy over personal values or over, I heard someone say personality. So I get it that we don't all share the same values and that's okay. Members of my family don't share the same values as me and that's okay. I still love them. I still have a relationship with them. Very good relationship with my family members. The point is that we can all still respect each other and treat each other with kindness.

Even if we disagree on things. Another incredible historic moment happened with this election. We have the first ever female, first black and first South Asian to be elected as the vice president of this country, which is believable. The glass ceiling now has broken at the very top. And my hope is that it will not trickle down in this country, but that it will pour down on us, that it truly has been shattered. And that this paves the way for all women in this country who have goals and dreams and who work hard in their careers in supporting their families, all the things that we do as women, the reality is that there will be backlash. There always has been. And as women we need to prepare for that, it's always been the one step forward, two steps back. I hope it's not that way, but it probably will be.

And it will come out sideways in probably some way shape or form that we can't even think about or imagine right now. But remember, women are projected to control two thirds of the wealth in this country. By the year 2030 women are also responsible for the majority of consumer purchasing decisions in this country. As women, we are closing the gender gap slowly but surely, and we have to stay strong and steadfast in our race. We have to keep running this race with endurance. It just is what it is. Okay. Now what about business? Can we get back to business now? I don't know about you, but the last year has just been all consuming with politics. In addition to a global pandemic, COVID being concerned and afraid about our own personal health, an economic recession, a bear market and politics politics should have never been on the table with any of this.

We had enough on our plates to deal with. So can we get back to business? Well, I just want to share with you the state of things as I see them currently and give you some idea of where I think we are right now and, and what the near future might look like. So first I think despite all of the hoopla, the threats, the lawsuits, the circus that Trump has been putting on, I think Trump has been fired Biden and Harris have won this election fair and square in my opinion. And I think this will become more and more evident as time goes by. I would not be surprised if we see an all out battle, uh, through this transition. I would also not be surprised if for Trump, this is about PR it's a PR stunt it's related to entertainment, and maybe Trump is setting the stage for something else that he plans to do, but who really knows what he will do. I definitely don't think he's going to disappear. And I think he will be a force of resistance to the new administration, unfortunately. So we have this upcoming transition, which will probably be Rocky, but I am hopeful. And I'm confident that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will, will indeed take the office of the presidency and the vice presidency. And we will move forward.

Next COVID is on the rise again, as I'm sure you are aware, and it's really everywhere again, in cases are spiking across the country. You need to be very, very careful out there. I am hearing about it again, all over the place in terms of friends and friends of friends and people coming down with COVID. So it's everywhere. It's all around you. And it's great. Take some time and cooperation to get it back under control. The good news is we may have a vaccine coming very soon, but it's still going to take time to distribute a vaccine. There are also some new therapeutic remedies that are very close to being approved by the FDA. And that's always a great thing to have medications that can mitigate the risks of a virus like this, but cases are definitely peaking now. So keep wearing your mask, keep social distancing.

Don't let your guard down. I think a lot of us have done that over the past month or two, but it's time to put your guard back up for your own safety. Good news is the tone in Washington will be much stronger on this front. It already is. Biden is already starting to be a leader about that this global pandemic and getting it under control. I don't think the economy will be shut down. I think certain areas may be targeted for selective shutdowns of nonessential businesses. Unfortunately, I think that's probably what it's going to take to get rid of this thing. So just be careful and be safe. Hopefully we will be on the other side of that. Very, we also have potentially a divided government if the Senate remains Republican. Now, we still I'll have a couple of runoff races in Georgia that are very, very critical and we'll determine the outcome here.

And the outcome could make a big difference in terms of what we might see coming out of Washington over the four years. If we have a divided government where we have a democratic president and a Republican Senate and a democratic house, we will be less likely to see any major changes in healthcare or any major tax increases. And the markets like a divided government, because it's just simply more certain, we're less likely to see any major changes. Again, it's also possible that the Democrats win the Senate and we have a blue wave that's when you might see more of the democratic agenda being pushed through Congress. So I did an episode a few weeks back on the Biden tax plan. You can go back and listen to that episode and learn a little bit more about what it might entail. If we do have a blue wave and how that might impact your tax situation.

We also will probably get another economic stimulus package and with a divided government probably won't be as big as the last one, but I think we're going to get one and I'm not sure when we really need one right now and it may not be until January. So overall, the economy has been showing great signs of improvement. Things have turned around. We definitely have bottomed, but the longer we go without this additional stimulus, the economy may sputter along a little bit here for a while. So it's probably going to be choppy in the near term in terms of the markets with this threat of, well, not even a threat with COVID cases, spiking and with a little bit of uncertainty regarding the white house transition. And when we can really get back to business and Congress can start discussing a stimulus package. So we kind of have this time period here of some uncertainty, but overall, even though we may have this near term volatility, I think that we are going to see a new Dawn and a new day.

And I think things are going to continue to improve. We're going to get this vaccine, we're going to beat COVID and we're going to start getting back to normal probably later in the year, 2021. I'm not sure when we would get back to traveling normally and these sorts of things, but I feel like we're, we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here. We can see the other side and that's encouraging. Although it does feel like we may go into a dark winter. I hope not. I really hope not. So as long-term investors, we stay focused on looking long. We don't get caught up in the day to day because ultimately we have no control over what happens in the white house. What happens with Congress? What happens with the economy? None of those things really have an impact on us short term, unless we react emotionally and we make a bad financial decision based on current events versus our long-term financial goals.

So that's what you have to stay focused on. What is it, what are you looking long for? What do you have plans for your, your life goals and your dreams and keep the focus there? I just really felt like doing an episode like this because of everything that we've been through over the last couple of weeks. And I haven't spoken about my thoughts or feelings about it. So I just wanted to do an episode where I was very authentic with you and sharing my personal beliefs and values. Next week, we will get back to a more normal retirement money gal podcast. I'm going to be sharing with you a guest interview with a Medicare expert, and this gal really knows her stuff. I think it's important that we understand the ins and outs of Medicare, not only for ourselves, but for our parents or siblings or other relatives who may need help navigating Medicare.

It's pretty darn complicated. And right now we're in the midst of open enrollment, which happens once a year, where you can make changes to your existing Medicare plan. So I'm really excited to introduce this guest to you next week. And I hope you will tune in at that time. I want to thank you for being a part of my community and for listening to this podcast and for sharing this information with your friends. I spoke with someone today who found me through my podcast and we are working together now doing some financial planning together. And she just felt so strongly that the things I'm talking about on this show really resonate with those of us who are women professionals in mid-life and all of the challenges and opportunities we face, not just financial challenges and opportunities, but all of the other parts of our lives that are impacted as we get older and as we hit midlife. So I'm excited that comments like that make me feel really good and make me feel proud that I'm doing this and that it's making a difference. It's making an impact on people. That's my goal. I want to inspire you. I want to educate and teach you how to be smart about your finances so that you can retire smart, secure, and happy. And I also want to talk about your work and your purpose and career, what you're doing with your life

And your wellness and your well-being taking care of yourself so that you have a great quality of life, the best quality of life you can possibly have from this point forward. So thank you so much for listening and I'll be back with you next week. If you're in your forties, fifties, or sixties, I'd love for you to join my women. Retire smart community. You'll receive these podcast episodes by email, as well as additional ideal retirement resources that can help you retire smart, secure, and happy visit retirement money, gal.com forward slash community to join. This show is for informational and educational purposes only. Please do not consider any of the content as personalized financial investment tax or legal advice.