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Learn 7 Signs Why a Recession May Be Looming. 1. Corporate profits are tanking. Corporate profits have been weak since late in 2014 according to JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli. Growth in corporate profits has been negative since Q3 and Q4 of 2015 and flat Q1 of 2016. The three main reasons corporates are under so much pressure are the strong US dollar, collapsing oil prices, and rising wages. "Declining corporate profits as measured by US equity EPS have been closely followed by, or coincided with, a recession 81% of the time since 1900," said Dubravko Lakos-Bujas at JP Morgan. Paul Mortimer-Lee from PNB Paribas projects that the risk of recession over the next 12 months is somewhere between 40% and 50%, depending on how terrible the incoming labor market data looks. Some people speculate there is little to no earnings growth expected globally. 2. Unemployment report Only 38,000 jobs were added - far short of the 160,000 estimated. 3. The dollar has been strong since 2015. Strong dollar makes US exports m

Learn why wealth building requires investing, that frugality is not what is going to make you rich and the steps to move forward. In financial articles, I often hear people say the secret to being financially successful is "spend less than you earn." Spending less than you earn will obviously keep you out of debt, but it won't make you rich. People miss the point. Spending less and earning more are not the crucial parts of wealth building. (This is what drives me crazy about the frugality movement). Its really all about investing. Remember the "6 Steps to Wealth" and step 4 is investing in a money engine and step 5 is compounding at a high rate? Those are the crucial steps to wealth building! So the question becomes, how are you investing? What are you investing in? Why are you investing in those things? Have you consciously thought, "where is the best place to invest now?" meaning "where is the place that is going to grow my money best or at the highest rate?" Because THAT is how wealthy people think. Then t

Learn where you're wasting money, what's really causing problems with saving money and 6 ways to have more money at the end of the month. This is listener question Friday. Here is our question for today: Linda, I make a good income but at the end of every month I don't have any money and I can't seem to save money. What can I do? Thank you, Chris Well Chris, this is a common problem. Many Americans make a good income yet have nothing to show for it. An article says the poorest Americans percentage-wise spent almost as much on restaurants as the richest. 16.6% of their money is spent on eating out. Only the top 20% spend a higher percentage than that at 17.8%. My friends in NYC made a high income and couldn't afford to buy a home. The most common problem is eating out too much according to this article. As Elizabeth Warren and her daughter, Amelia Tyagi, revealed in their book The Two-Income Trap, the problem wasn't lattes and other frivolities. In fact, the cost of everything was significantly lower than it w

Learn the 4 steps to automate your personal finances and the apps and websites to help you. Interview with Jen Turrell from the "Financial Fluency, Speaking the Language of Money" podcast. Here are the 4 steps: 1. Automate bills at your own bank for free. Batch your bills on the 5th and the 20th. 2. Set up a separate bill pay checking account that is attached to autopay bills. Add up all your regular bill amounts. Live a month ahead and put a month's expenses in there as a buffer. Automate your savings too. 3. Audit your purchases and see if you can cut any subscriptions or impulse buys for your emergency savings account. 4. Turn on automation and make sure all our bills get paid. Monitor your system. Resources: Book: I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Remit Sethi Apps: Acorns, Digit Websites: Mint.com, Betterment, Motif, Ellevest, WorthFM by DailyWorth Listen to Financial Fluency, speaking the language of money on JenTurrell.com or iTunes.  

Learn how to raise kids that are financially fit and savvy with money. Interview with Shannon McLay from Financially-blonde.com. Tweet: Financial literacy begins in the home. @financially-blonde @lindapjones Here are the 7 steps to raising financially fit kids: 1. Say no. Limit the things you say "yes" to and learn to say "no" more often. 2. When you say "yes", have a budget and constraints. A "yes" is not an unlimited budget. Give them parameters and explain the cost to the family. Let them contribute. Give them a dollar limit to pick out a toy. 3. Use cash to teach your kids about money. Let them count the money and be aware of how much they have. Don't hand over credit cards and debit cards or it will become a mindless swiping activity. They don't have an awareness how much something is worth or how much is left on the card. 4. Allow them to fail. It's ok to let kids experience failure with money. Make it as realistic as possible. Let them use their money even if they spend it all and can't buy something e

Today is listener question Friday. I received an email about asset allocation and I thought that would be a good topic to podcast about. Asset allocation is how you decide to divide up your equities and fixed income (stocks and bonds) as determined by your risk tolerance in order to minimize risk and maximize return. Think of it like a pie that is cut into varying sized pieces. Each piece of the pie is called an "asset class". Asset classes include: large cap growth, large cap value, mid cap growth, mid cap value, small cap growth, small cap value, international stocks, REITs, commodities, emerging markets, bonds and cash. The overriding concept is that it's difficult to determine which asset class (pie piece) will perform the best, so you want to have a little of the important ones. Traditional AA is Aggressive, Moderate and Conservative and most investors feel they fit one of those categories. Aggressive - Has 20 or more years until retirement. Moderate - Has less than 20 but more than 5 to 7 years until re

Learn how to overcome financial stress, why finances can affect your health, what kind of stress money can cause, and how to overcome health issues related to money. According to the American Psychological Association, 73% of respondents cited money as a significant source of stress in their lives…and for people coping with existing health problems financial and interpersonal stress can exacerbate their conditions. It can lead to ulcers, migraines, back pain, anxiety, depression, heart atttacks, lost sleep, marital issues… Three out of 4 Americans are in debt according to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. If you're in debt, tackle it head on. There are many things that are within your control like: a) Talk to the credit card company and asking for a lower interest rate. Many companies will try to accommodate you if you've lost your job or have health issues in the family, for example. b) Talk to a debt consolidation company. Companies can consolidate your debt into one payment and it usually do

Learn the advantages and disadvantages of renting vs. owning a home, how to decide what's right for you and the ONE thing that should be the deciding factor. Advantages of Home Ownership: Forced savings in the form of equity Tax benefits (interest deduction) In control You own the property Can do what you want to it Benefit from prices rising Disadvantages of Home Ownership: Mortgage interest to pay and mostly interest at first Debt around your neck Can be foreclosed Pay for repairs, maintenance, insurance, yard Property tax Advantages of Renting: No real responsibilities other than rent No cost of repair or maintenance No Taxes or insurance Might be less expensive than buying No down payment Opportunity cost of down payment Flexibility to move, change neighborhoods or states Disadvantages of Renting: All the money goes out the door Opportunity cost of down payment - could earn $$ or 0 Can't personalize the rental to your liking or make upgrades At end of 30 years, own nothing You have a landlord Owner is in

Learn how much money you need to invest in stocks. I worked in the mutual fund industry for most of my career. That's where professional money managers manage a pool of stocks, bonds or a combination on behalf of investors. The investor pays a commission or fee or both for it. One of the reasons mutual funds became so popular in the last 50 years, was not only because of professional management, ease of purchase, good relative performance and diversification was because they had a low minimum initial investment. Prior to mutual funds, you had to buy shares of stock and that could be expensive. Mutual funds had a $500 or $1,000 minimum and to buy 100 shares, called a round lot, of stocks was 100 x $30 = $3,000 for one stock, which offered no diversification. All your eggs were in one basket. Today we have more choices of where to invest money - ETF's are the biggest change. We can invest in unmanaged, diversified baskets of stocks, bonds or both. Instead of having a professional manager, it's a static group o

Learn how to choose a Financial Adviser and what questions to ask for investment advice. Interview with best selling author of Rich as a King, Doug Goldstein. Places to check up on Financial Advisers: Finra.org/brokercheck CFP.net Sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm Doug's book: Rich as a King Doug's website: RichAsAKing.com

Learn 2 ways you can make money during a stock and/or bond market decline: inverse ETFs and Puts. Listener question: Hi Linda, I've been listening to you and I'm concerned about the stock and bond markets. How do you recommend I protect my account? Christy There are 2 ways you can make money during a stock and/or bond market decline: Inverse ETF's and Puts. Inverse ETF's are Exchange Traded Funds that make money (go up) when the market declines. You are buying futures, and this was not possible a decade ag????. It was something only professional traders could do. You have to be very careful, it's not something to buy and hold. You want to trade and be in and out of these. They can move against you quickly. There are about 75 inverse ETF's providing protection on US equites, government and corporate debt, foreign markets and commodities. One of the most popular inverse ETFs is ProShares Short S & P 500 (SH). If the market dropped about 10%, it would go up about 8%. At the time of this recording, the S &am

Learn are a few of the important terms you need to know as an investor. 1. What is a stock? Shares in a company. A way to raise capital. It creates wealth. Increases in value if growing earnings. Risk is limited to amount invested. Example of Tory Burch - wants to open boutiques worldwide and sells stock in an IPO - Initial Public Offering - to do it and raise capital for boutiques, inventory, etc. 2. What is a bond? An IOU; debt from a corporation, government or municipality. Supposed to be less risky than stocks. Considered more conservative investments. Moves inversely to interest rates. Cycles in interest rates run about 30 years. 3. What is asset allocation? The percentage allocated to stocks and bonds, a virtual pie chart. The most important factor in Modern Portfolio Theory; a finding by Henry Markowitz, Nobel Prize Winner. Asset allocation is where the majority of returns come from. A rising tide lifts all boats. It's not from stock picking or timing the market. It's from the choices you make about wh

Learn about billionaire Carl Icahn, how he made his money, what stocks he owns and his outlook on the stock and bond market. Carl Icahn is an 80 year old investor worth $20 billion and one of the 50 wealthiest people in the world. He owns 90% of Icahn Enterprises, an investment fund, the symbol is IEP. He's a shareholder activist, one of the original corporate raiders and greenmailers. That means he buys stock in companies and causes contention with management about why their stock is undervalued, to the point that they pay him to get rid of him. He's famous for trying to takeover companies and they either succumb to his management suggestions or pay him to go away. Attempted to takeover Nabisco and was paid $600 million by Philip Morris to go away. Carl Icahn gained fame in the 1980's by taking over and attempting to take over some large companies like Texaco, TWA and American Airlines. He was successful taking over TWA. It went bankrupt and eventually re-emerged. More recently he's been contentious with man

Listener Questions - How to Get a Spouse on the Same Page; Broker/Dealers And now for listener questions... From Jacob: Hi Linda! I just wanted to thank you. I have listened to your first 20 podcasts and I am a believer.  I am a hairstylist, and I give quality service for a dollar store price, and I have been pretty unsuccessful. Your podcasts have been helpful for helping me understand why. I'm developing a brand and your information has been so helpful. The next thing I do today is to give you a 5 star rating on iTunes. Thank you thank you thank you! I also want to know, how to get a spouse on board with becoming wealthy? My personal mentoring clients have struggled with this. 1. The first thing I do is explain the difference between how women and men invest. Men comfortable with risk, women like security. You're already at odds! He wants to grow the money, she wants to protect the money. A woman's #1 fear is being homeless. So the nest - your home - is important. BTW, I believe that's why women usually wan

First, let's see if you qualify for a Traditonal or Roth IRA. Annual contributions to both accounts are the same in 2016 as in 2015 -- up to $5,500 per person, or $6,500 for individuals who are 50 or older. You may earn too much to fund a Roth, because they're available only to individuals whose modified adjusted gross income doesn't exceed a maximum of $132,000 in 2016. For married couples filing a joint tax return, eligibility requirements end at $194,000. With a traditional IRA, you may be able to claim a full income-tax deduction for your contributions, as long as you don't have access to a retirement plan at work, such as a 401(k). Single filers who do have access to such a plan can take a full deduction if they earn $61,000 or less, or a partial deduction up to $71,000 in 2016. The income limits are trickier for married couples filing jointly. If you have access to a plan, the limits are $98,000 to $118,000; if your spouse has access to a plan but you do not, the limits are $184,000 to $194,000 for join

Learn 9 things to consider before investing in a crowdfunded company, how small investors can be venture capitalists and the 2 classifications to buy shares. 2 Classifications: 1) $100k of income and $100k of net worth. Can invest up to 10% of lesser of income or net worth, up to $100k maximum. For example, $100k income, $500k net worth, could invest ($500k x 10% = $50k). 2) Under $100k income and $100k net worth. Can invest up to 5% of lesser of income or net worth, whichever is less. Compare that to $2k and choose larger number. So if you make $50k and have $150k net worth. 5% of $50k = $2,500 vs. 5% or $150k = $7,500. Lesser is $2,500 and is more than $2k so $2,500 investment is allowed. See more details at www.ZacksInvest.com for a crowdfunding portal. 9 Reasons to consider before investing in a crowdfunded company: 1) No liquidity 2) High risk of loss 3) Early stage companies are not fully tested in the marketplace 4) Long-term commitment 5) Questionable accuracy of information 6) Investing in a product

Listener QuestionsChristy has 2 questions:Linda,I love your show and I've been binge-listening to old episodes.I've always been really afraid of investing and intimidated byanything related to finances. Your show is shifting my perspectiveand helping me take charge of my future with confidence. Thankyou!I have two questions. 1. What other resources (besides yourshow, and mailing list) would you recommend to someone who istrying to learn about this world with no prior knowledge. I want tolearn as much as I can as fast as I can, and there is no end to theamount of books and podcasts, and blogs about the market,investing, business and economics, where is the beginning?Thank you, Christy. I'm so glad the show is giving youconfidence and shifting your thinking! That's why I'm here! I thinkmany financial experts make investing too difficult and technicaland it just doesn't have to be that way. I also believe thatthere's a mental connection to wealth and your thinking isparamount, so I include mindset, belief, and p

Learn what rewards are available with credit cards, are they worth it, which are best and why it might be something you shouldn't do. Websites mentioned to track points: Mint.com and AwardWallet.com A credit card enthusiast tells you how to use credit card reward programs to your advantage and pitfalls to avoid. Main cards discussed are Chase, Discover, Amex as well as airline cards. Points for airline miles, hotels, groceries, gifts and cash back.

What you'll learn are how investing is different from gambling,how it's similar to gambling and why real investors are far fromgamblers! I just returned from Las Vegas. I'm not a gambler, mainly because I respect how much effort it takes to make money. I didhowever sign up for a card to get a discount at a nice restaurantand along with that came a guaranteed ace. So I did find myselfseated at a blackjack table with some chips in front of me. I accepted the guaranteed ace and was dealt a 21. I left the table up $2! Lol! That shows you what a gambler I'm NOT! That got me thinking, some people have told me they think investing in the stock market is gambling and I wanted to address that and why I don't agree with it. Investing is a legitimate way to grow money and compound athigher rates. -My 5th Step to Wealth -Necessary to get higher rates to retire comfortably and build wealth. 2. You're investing in companies, not making a wager. - If done correctly, shouldn't be all or nothing -Gambling is win/lose on each

Learn how to separate the stock from the company, what to look for when you buy a stock and why you don't want to judge a stock by how it's done in the past. Today we'll talk about what happened to Apple recently, as an example of why not to fall in love with the stock. What I mean is "don't fall in love with a stock just because you love the company." You'll also learn my reasons to sell a stock.