It’s incredible to think about how much happens in one year. Every year there’s all sorts of stuff that no one can predict. The good news is you don’t need to predict it. It can be fun trying, but it won’t make a difference in your wealth building journey.

Why doesn’t it matter? What would you have done at the start of the year if we told you there were going to be some of the largest bank failures in history, US national debt was going to shoot up, mortgage rates were going to spike to the highest in decades, etc? You probably would have thought the stock market would go down. But you’d be so WRONG. Despite all of this, the S&P 500 was up 26% in 2023.

So, if you enjoy following all the latest developments in the financial market, you are welcome to! But make sure it doesn’t impact your investing journey. Focus on increasing your income and investing as much of it as you can each month in index funds. That’s how real wealth is built.

We are using data from ICE for the housing affordability index. It hasn’t been this bad since 1984. Inflation data is from the US CPI from the BLS. The monthly car payment data comes from Edmunds. Mortgage rate data is from Mortgage News Daily.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.‎

-Vivi & Shane