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Learn the most affordable housing markets in the U.S. Graph printed in Investor's Business Daily report, week of 2/6/17. Source: 13th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey Looked at "affordability in 92 major housing markets in nine countries found 11 affordable areas - all in the US." "The survey used Q3 2016 data to gauge the 'median multiple', the ratio of median home price to median pretax income." Ratio of median home price to median pretax income, with 3.0 or below being "affordable." For example, if median pretax income is $100,000, you can afford a $300,000 home pretty easily so it's deemed "affordable". The 13th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey covers 406 metropolitan housing markets (metropolitan areas) in nine countries (Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States) for the third quarter of 2016. A total of 92 major metropolitan markets (housing markets) --- with more than 1,000,000 po

Learn how to run your family finances like a Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Interview with author of Family Inc., Doug McCormick.

Learn how much the Dow Jones Industrial Average has changed and why it is a poor indicator to gauge stock performance. I decided to research changes in the DJIA. How many companies from the last 20 years are the same and how many have changed? I researched the companies in the DJIA from 1997 - 2017. In the last 18 years, the Dow doubled from 10,000 to 20,000. That's an average of a 4% return. How many companies in the Dow are the same today? Are we comparing apples to apples? For example, if I go to the grocery store and pick out 30 different cans of food - olives, soup, green beans, peaches, etc. and add up the prices for each can, then twenty years later I change 10 cans and compare the prices to the original group of 30 cans from 20 years ago to today's group of 30 cans, what is that telling me? All we know is 66% of the cans are the same. That's what the Dow Jones Industrial Average is like. Only 66% are the same companies from 20 years ago. The DJIA lost these 10 companies: Sears AT & T Eastman Kodak

Learn about ETFs and mutual funds Listener question - Are ETFs or mutual funds better? What they are: ETF's: Fixed basket Trades like a stock, continuously priced throughout the day Transparency Low fees Broad index or sector Long or short Mutual funds: Funds pooled together Professionally managed Priced at the end of the day Decisions made for you Only know what stocks are in it quarterly Don't need a brokerage account, can go direct to the fund Higher fees Can cause unwanted capital gains Manager is paid to beat the indexes, but they don't always accomplish it. Can invest regular deductions from your bank account ie. $25/mo. Question is which one will provide better performance? Use ETF's for indexes. Use mutual funds for good manager's track record. Asset allocation model - core + satellite, creating a combination portfolio To get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth", go to www.lindapjones.com.

Learn the 3 secrets about financial education that most financial experts don't tell you. This show is all about financial education! Specifically, how to make it understandable and interesting, even if you're usually bored by financial topics! 1. Financial management is very doable on your own. It takes a bit of learning a few concepts and terminology, but it can be done. The truth is, most advisors put you into an asset allocation model and look at it quarterly. They are not watching your account like you might think. Why not learn how to do your own asset allocation and save 1 - 3% annually? 2. Financial advisors think their best service is to hold your hand when you are scared by market volatility. Perhaps if you understand what to expect, you can do that for yourself. Rather than hoping deep dips and wild swings won't happen, you have to accept them as part of investing and learn what to do because the stock market drops about 10% every 11 months on average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 2

Learn if the economy can get to 5% GDP growth quickly or not. Weakest GDP since 2011 - went from 3.5% to 1.9% in one quarter! Lower earnings reported by Chevon, other energy companies, Google, Colgate-Palmolive and Starbucks. Even with some disappointing corporate results, fourth-quarter earnings are expected to show growth of 6.8 percent, which would mark the biggest increase in two years and second straight quarter of growth, according to Thomson Reuters data. Dow hit 20,000 for the first time. Took 18 years to double - that's a 4% average annual return. Is most of the good news already baked into 2017? Consumer spending is up .5% in December, largest jump in 3 months, which is 2/3 of the economy. Good news there. Pending home sales up 1.9%, 17 year shortage of housing. Trump growth of 5% is going to take a while and won't happen right away. Cycles are showing massive swings up and down in the market this year. FED may raise rates 3 times - inflation is flaring up. IMO, we have the EU break up to look forwa

Learn key economic signs to follow. For the election, GDP grew over 3%. FED raised interest rates, now GDP is 1.9%, markedly lower. Where do we go from here? FED wants to raise rates 3 times next year. Housing prices are in a bubble - inventory is at a 17 year low! Housing moves in an 18 year cycle. Trump has policies to grow the economy, jobs, cut regulations and cut excess spending. Will have massive stimulus from infrastructure spending and the wall. Taxes being massively cut. The spending + reduced taxes will help GDP but growth must happen, so we need job creation badly. The FED controls interest rates. If they continue to increase rates, that's a strong headwind against the economy. There's a battle happening here! We'll watch and see what happens.

  Learn if it's smart to contribute to a 401k if you're not getting a match. Should we contribute to our 401k, even though there is no match? Benefits of a 401k are that: 1. Your income is not taxed when deposited into a 401k 2. Your money grows without tax 3. Some people think it's a forced discipline to save, that otherwise the money wouldn't be saved, but…there are: 1. Limited investment options, usually large cap, mid cap, small cap, international and bonds, usually mutual funds with higher fees. 2. Don't have wider options such as stocks, low cost ETF's, sector funds. Leaves out gold/silver, technology sector, agriculture & commodities, country funds, etc. 3. There's a whole universe of investment options and you're restricted to a limited menu. 10% penalty if not 59-1/2 or if you don't withdraw money under allowed hardship withdrawal rules or penalty free rules. In summary, if you are a disciplined person you can save or set up an automatic deduction plan to deduct your investment money into your in

Learn what the challenges are for the stock market going forward. It's a new record; the Dow made history! DJIA is only 30 companies, but been around over 100 years. S & P 65% of all stocks 1966 was the first time above 1,000 11/21/95 above 5,000 3/29/99 above 10,000 5/3/13 above 15,000 1/25/17 above 20,000 Hmmm, is that at 4 year cycle for every 5,000 points? Will Dow 25,000 happen in 2021? Still the 2nd longest bull market in history. Since 2009. Expecting a major top this year. Major cycle change in the Fall. Cycles repeat and guide expectations in the stock markets. Although the Dow hit 20,000 and we have a new President, whether or not you voted for him, there are certain things he will be forced to deal with on his watch. I watched the hearings of the Treasury Secretary, Mnuchin. The questions and statements by Congress were very telling. Here are some of the things they discussed: *Underfunded pensions as a widespread problem that possibly needs a bailout *The $20 trillion deficit and whether to d

Learn 11 financial moves to make in 2017 1. Identify any mistakes made in 2016 - Stocks to sell, trim losses 2. Review & rebalance portfolio - Make sure you own some small caps 3. Consider strategic investments in high growth areas - Spice up your portfolio with India, silver, China, tech, etc. - What can you buy low? Commodities? Uranium? Miners? 4. Reduce debt - Refi or pay off 5. Avoid long-term bond funds - 30 year bonds have the most risk in a rising interest rate environment 6. Save and invest more - Savings accounts have low interest rates, investment accounts offer potential of higher compounding, but have more risk. 7. Think over large purchases - Do you really need a new car? - Could you invest instead? 8. Start a side hustle for extra income? - Never easier to start a business 9. Consider how big picture changed and how it will affect you - New President, lower taxes? - Interest rates rising - Banks in Europe in crisis? 10. Things that didn't change - Debt in USA - Your work? Income? Mortgage?

Learn what 2016's Top Stock Funds are according to Investor's Business Daily. Hard copy of the numbers are posted on my website at www.lindapjones.com, podcast 217. While you're there, get my free report, "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" to move your net worth forward in 2017 and beyond! www.lindapjones.com

Learn the Best and Worst Performing ETF's in 2016 according to Investor's Business Daily. Get the information in print form at my website, www.lindapjones.com, podcast 216. While you're there, pick up the free report, "11 Quick Tips to Boost Your Wealth" and get your net worth moving in the right direction in 2017 and beyond. www.lindapjones.com.

Learn which companies have been paying rising dividends for 25 straight years. Many people are looking for higher interest rates because bonds are paying low interest rates, for example, .88% on a 1 year Treasury bill and 2.4% for 10 year Treasuries. To help you find some substitutes for bonds, I'm sharing dividend paying stocks with you. They are companies that have steadily and consistently raised their dividends for 25 straight years, which is an indication of excellent and consistent cash flow. You may also want to look at corporate bonds - high quality, not junk bonds. This is a report from Investor's Business Daily of the S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. Statistics are on my website at www.lindapjones.com. Podcast 215. To get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth", go to www.lindapjones.com.  

Learn why contrarian indicators move opposite to the crowd. British economist, John Maynard Keynes identified features of financial markets that subject prices to herd-like behavior. "The herd-like nature and influence of animal spirits in financial exchanges, and its potential to shift independently of changes in objective facts, is, according to Keynes, a primary, ineradicable source of economic instability." Groups move together in crowds and it impacts markets. Media is calling it "animal spirits" - Bloomberg, Barron's, financial websites. The cover of Barron's says Dow 20,000, pre-conditioning you to think it's going there. Look inside Barron's for some bullish indications that are saying the public is 63% bullish right now. Here are the reasons you need to be a contrarian investor: 1. When a good investment becomes obvious, it's very late in the game. This means when you're judging solely by price or return and something has gone up 100% or is crossing 20,000, you are one of the last ones in! I often te

Learn from a listener question: Will the Dow Go to 50,000 Without a Rest? Listener question: Dear Linda, My friend say the market is off and running and will go to 50,000 from here. Will the Dow shoot to 50,000 without a rest? Raoul The Dow is only 30 companies large companies like American Express, Caterpillar, Chevron, McDonald's and Walt Disney, and some tech like Apple, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Intel, and IBM. Stocks move in waves called cycles. It's the nature of things. Nothing goes anywhere without a pause or move in the opposite direction for long. The indicators look extended. The MACD looks toppy, relative strength is overbought, consumer confidence is 63% bullish - which is a bearish indicator. Way above the 50 day moving average - all show the market will rollover soon. How low? Don't know yet, see if it breaks support. To get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth", go to www.lindapjones.com.

You've heard me talk about following cycles. We are in the midst of several cycles happening simultaneously. Bonds lost over $1.7 trillion in November. The FED was talking about raising rates and bond market anticipated FED raising rates. Five year Treasury note went from .91% in July to 1.87% recently - a double! Thirty year yields went from 2.1% to 3.06% or a 50% move. Enormous! A 30 year mortgage is now 4.125%, still a good, low rate historically, but that rise in interest rates could move some adjustable rate mortgages by 25%! Interest rates are a 30 year trend and are rising again. This has had a negative impact on real estate since some sales have slowed and foreclosures are actually on the rise again. It's not surprising since interest rates have been skyrocketing. Interest rates also impact currencies and although the dollar has trended stronger, other currencies around the world have had wild swings in value, not the least of which is the pound, which was recently at a 31 year low! Higher rates make

Learn The Leading ETF's of 2016 To get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth", go to www.lindapjones.com.

Top holdings are Apple, Amazon, Facebook - poor performers this month. There's been a rotation of leadership in the S & P 500 since the election. These have been strong: Financial Medical Energy Construction-related materials Those are up 10% since the election (total 80 companies); 30 are banks and financial firms. About 50 financials are up at least 5%. In the S & P makeup: 14% financial sector 14% healthcare 20% tech (largest sector) 12% consumer discretionary   To get "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth", go to www.lindapjones.com.  

I love talking about the importance of mindset in wealth building. We haven't visited mindset for a long-time, so I thought we would today. Recently I was reading about Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. He was a successful investment banker who quit his job. Left in the middle of the year and left his big bonus. Talked to his boss about it, who said great idea, but better for someone else who does this stuff! Think long-term for life decisions. He calls it "Regret Minimization Framework". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ Project your life forward to age 80. Look back on your life. Minimize the regrets in your life. Look back on your life. He wouldn't regret trying to participate in the internet. Wouldn't regret failure. The one thing he would regret is not having tried. That would haunt him every day. Gets you away from the daily pieces of confusion, like leaving his bonus. Think long-term to make good life decisions you won't regret later.      

4 Choices for a Former Employers' 401(k) Hi Linda, I would like your opinion on the following; my wife is beginning a new chapter in her career and starting a new job after 11 years.  She has a 401k with a significant amount of funds and now we have to make the decision on what to do?  The one decision that has been made is that we will not withdraw any money from the account, but we are not sure what our best option is: 1 Keep it as is within her old company's 401k plan? I am not a fan and I know that we could incur administration fees plus we have a limited investment selection. 2 Rollover into her new company's retirement plan? My reservation with this option is again having limited investment options. 3 Fidelity has a 401k rollover IRA plan that allows us to have full control of our investments (funds, stocks, etc.). I like this option but I know you are fan of ROTH IRAs better, but if we try to convert from a 401k to a ROTH IRA—would we get taxed? We believe the best option is #3 but I value your opinion