Raise your hand if you predicted 2020 would see a global pandemic, massive unemployment caused by
the first ever government mandated economic shut down in history, a highly contested election, and a
stock market recovery from the lows that was amongst the strongest in U.S. history, all in the same year?
Ok, put your hand down, there is always one in a crowd! While the calendar has turned all the pages of
2020, there are many differing opinions as to the current health of the U.S. economy and financial
markets, have they come too far too soon, what effects will government stimulus and economic
dislocations have on the financial markets in 2021 and beyond?

Widespread uncertainty in 2020 failed to dampen the outlook and recovery of equities in Q2 and Q3
2020, record low interest rates were certainly the fuel and spark the markets needed, however the markets
took a pause in early Q4 as election chaos gave investors pause, until positive vaccine news once again
provided the spark in November 2020. Stocks across the board have risen to new heights, awakening even
value stocks from their multiyear slumber. However, following such an impressive rise some on Wall
Street believe the rally has come too far too soon, prompting calls of a “bubble” in both stocks and bonds.

While it is our opinion that we are not currently experiencing a bubble in equities, we will grant that the
most striking characteristic of economic bubbles, the very thing that fuels their existence is our blindness
to them! Perhaps we should first define what a bubble is, one definition of a bubble is that an assets price
rises rapidly to the point of being disconnected from any reasonable measure of its inherent value. This is
typically caused by emotional inertia driving future expectations higher causing an implausible gap
between price and value, some might say Bitcoin! Just an observation largely based perhaps on an
inability to make a case for its value given many still can’t even determine if it’s a currency or a
commodity! If it’s a currency there is not, and cannot ever be enough in supply to serve this role, if it’s to
be viewed as a commodity similarly to gold or silver, I’ve yet to find anything that requires Bitcoin in its
manufacture. It may very well continue its explosive price ascent, but attempts to determine “what it’s
worth” have been difficult, if not futile.

One asset class where we believe weakness will continue is bonds; with rates at record lows and
significantly elevated federal spending to support the economy as well as fund party pledges, we are
aware the Fed’s desire is to keep short term rates at low levels, this does not preclude the free markets
from pulling the intermediate and long end of the yield curve higher. This realization may seem unsettling
to some investors, however, if the economy does start to show better growth in the second half of 2021 as
we expect it will, we will likely see rates rise and bond prices fall. Alpha Fiduciary has focused on bond
allocations largely supported by real assets or special circumstances which we believe are preferable to
own, relative to traditional fixed rate bonds, in rising rate environments.

Finally, earning season will likely provide support for stocks as we begin to see the world return to a
more normal operating environment, it would not surprise us to see at least a temporary surge in
economic growth before settling in to a more gradual and sustainable GDP growth in the 2.5% range as
pent-up demand is satisfied in 2021.

While we don’t think most longer-term investors should underweight stocks in this environment, we favor
a core/tactical approach to equities as we believe this presents an attractive upside capture while posed to
potentially reduce downside exposure should factors signal to reduce equity exposure in the event it’s
warranted.

There are many different approaches to the tactical management of equities, designed and employed with
the goal to gain exposure to asset classes when they are rising, and to reduce exposure to those asset
classes to limit or reduce downside capture.

If you would like to discover if Alpha Fiduciary’s wealth management approach can benefit you, please
visit Alphafiduciary.com, or call us at 480-505-4033.

Alpha Fiduciary is a SEC registered investment advisory firm. This blog is provided for informational
purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice and should not be
considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security or investment advisory service. Please refer to the
Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov) to review our Form ADV
Brochure for more information.

Image Credit

Debt is something that everyone will experience, and it will likely follow you through life until you finally get to the point where you can pay it all off, however long that might take. But debt isn’t just a fact of life, whether credit card debt or student loans, it can also have a severe effect on your mental and physical well-being, which is why it is vital to try to escape and free yourself from debt.

Pay Off More Than The Minimum

One common reason that people struggle to escape debt is that they will only pay off the minimum amount each month, and if you’re working with thousands of dollars in credit card debt, 20 bucks every month is not going to make much difference. Even paying twice the minimum will slash the amount of time you need to repay in half, so if you can afford to do so, consider changing your monthly payment to slightly more. Ideally, you want to pay off as much as possible while still having money to live and save, but if you can double, triple, or quadruple your monthly repayment, you will free yourself from debt much faster.

Snowball It

Snowballing is a technique where you analyze your finances and identify what you owe. They start paying off the smallest costs to reduce the payments while still making minimum payments on everything else. Once the smallest debts are paid off, they move to the next and so on until they are only left with the most substantial charges. While there is still some way to go, they at least don’t need to worry about defaulting on payments, and all of their excess funds can go directly into paying these charges off, which will speed up reducing the balance.

Cut Your Expenses

We all have expenses that we deem necessary to survive, but the reality is often quite different from this. It’s possible you have plenty of monthly charges for services you don’t even use, so you’ll need to get rid of these before anything else. Once you have achieved this, consider things you could cut out of your daily life, such as a morning coffee from Starbucks, or even your cable TV, especially considering you can access unjust information about everything online nowadays.

Seek Lower Interest Rates

Seeking lower interest rates from your lender is something many people explore when they cannot handle the extortionate interest rates. Considering Mark of Freedom says all banks are a scam, high-interest rates are no surprise. However, some lenders may take pity on you and allow you to negotiate a reduction to help you manage your money better.

Freedom

Paying off all of your debt and finally being free is not something you can achieve overnight, but the feeling you will get when you see your credit card balance at zero is hard to beat. It will take time, and it will take plenty of discipline with a few bumps along the way, but with these methods, you can start the process of freeing yourself from the nasty clutches of debt in all its forms.

Savings are something we can all benefit from having in our life. You never know what’s around the corner and what you might need to be financially prepared for. Here are some tips to help with your savings this year.

Image Credit

Try To Avoid Using Your Savings

Firstly, it’s important to try and keep your savings as savings until you need to use them for bigger expenditures and things that might be very meaningful. You should be spending it like any spending money you have available for the month ahead. Try to avoid having that attitude towards your savings and instead make your savings hard to access so that you’re only going to end up using them when it’s really necessary to do so. If you’re treating your savings like another spending pot, then you’re not going to have any savings left, so use them wisely. For bigger expenditures that you might want to hold onto your savings, you can always look to apply for Installment Loans so that you’re not having to spend all your savings on things when you could pay it off in parts.

Save Something Each Month Regardless

It’s always good to try and save some money each month, even if it’s only just a small amount. A little bit here and there is going to make all of the difference when you’re trying to build your savings pot. Look at how you could save more and try to set aside some money, whether you get paid at the end of every month or whether it’s every week. If you’re saving anything, it’s going to help you improve your attitude towards saving money, so try and do more of it where you can.

Create A Better Budget

Budgets are good to have when you’re trying to save money, and whether you’ve got one already or not, you can always make it better. We can always cut down luxuries and find ways to make your money stretch further. Think about how you can set out a budget if you’ve never made one before and if you already have one, is there anything that you can wiggle in order to help you save more money? Be strict with your expenditures and try to direct as much as you can towards your savings pot.

Find Ways To Make Extra Money

We’d all like to earn extra money and for some, it can be easier than others. However, with the online world, there’s so much out there where you can make extra money. It’s all about being aware of what’s out there and what you could with the opportunities that you’re presented with. There are plenty of ways to make extra money, so think of what you can take advantage of, whether it’s starting a blog and making a living from it or selling your services to the local community in your area.

There are lots of ways that you can help improve your savings, so do what you can to help make a difference to your savings.

Living below your means can seem impossible sometimes, especially if you are already struggling to make ends meet, but spending more than what you can afford regularly will eventually lead to financial ruin if you aren’t careful.

If you are fed up with continually trying to keep up with your monthly credit card bills, increasing debt, and lack of financial breathing space, use these three tips to help you start your journey to improve your finances by living below your means.

Image Credit

Stick to your budget

To successfully live below your means, you need to have a budget in place; otherwise, you will keep overspending. A budget is vital to ensure success and will give you an accurate picture of your monthly cash flow. Once you can see the whole picture, you can then focus on your weak spots and areas for improvement to help you save as much money as possible and get out of debt. Doing this will help you to identify habits that you need to change and where you are wasting your money. Make sure to do a new budget at the beginning of every month, either in a dedicated planner or an Excel spreadsheet, and aim to stick to it. Just leave a little bit of wiggle room for those last-minute surprises that life inevitably throws at us from time to time. Remember that your budget is very individual and will differ from everyone else’s, the most important thing is that it works for you. If you find that realistically your budget doesn’t work in the first month, then that’s also fine – you can always go back and tweak it, but having a budget, even if not perfect straight away, will stop you from mindlessly spending money allowing you to save more.

Make more money

If you have budgeted as much as possible, and find that you are still struggling and feeling deprived, then it might be time to start thinking of ways to increase your income. Easier said than done? Of course. But there are also many money-making opportunities out there if you are willing to look around and work hard enough. In an era where just about everyone has a side hustle, there are plenty of part-time, freelance jobs that you can easily do in your spare time on evenings and weekends, and many from the comfort of your own home. The trick is to simply get started, keep persevering, and take every opportunity you can. If you don’t want to work for someone else, why not start your own business on the side instead and look into starting your own blog or promoting your skills and becoming a freelancer? This will help you to save more and live below your means a little easier, meaning that you are more likely to stick to this new way of living.

Don’t spend more just because you earn more

Should you be successful in finding ways of making an extra income, then congratulations! Just make sure that you don’t fall victim to the vicious cycle of spending more now that you are earning more. It might be tempting to go after lusted-over purchases now that you have some extra money, but remember what your overall goal is. Instead of using your extra income on mindless spending, start using it to pay off current debts and add to your savings. Regardless of how much you earn, if you elevate your lifestyle every time you get a pay rise, you will never gain control over your finances, and you’ll always be living in debt. If you are struggling with severe debts and don’t know how to deal with them, reaching out for professional help from specialists such as gaining a DTSS Membership is a great first step to finally gain control over your finances. Living below your means is challenging, yes, but think about why you’ve boosted your income, all of the progress you’ve made in the first place and the financial freedom that you are ultimately trying to achieve.