Here I am Stuck in the Middle With You.
Who knew that Stealers Wheel was talking about the 2020 election in 1972.
There is so much going on right now politically. Every four years, we dread the commercials. We complain about the politicians from the side that we are not affiliated with. We even complain about all politicians.
We should all have the goal of being stuck in the middle. Take control of your life and choices. Don’t let whatever political party is in office be the reason you were not successful. Both sides are pitted against each other. We need to stop complaining about what the government is doing or not doing for us and make it happen.
Being stuck in the middle does not mean you don’t vote. It would be best if you still voted for who you think will be the country’s best candidate.
401k seems to be a hot topic. Trump says the stock market has done really well since he became President. He is correct. However, it also did really well under Obama.
https://www.macrotrends.net/2481/stock-market-performance-by-president
If you look at the graph for the first 45 months of their presidency, Trump had a 43% return, and Obama had 63%. With Obama having a major dip in the market before starting his term, I expect him to have a larger return. Both of these returns are great for people investing in themselves with their 401k.
Let’s look at why people feel like their 401k looks better since Trump took over.
If you started investing in 2009 with $3,000 a year and 11% interest, you would have approximately $68,000 at the end of 2020. You almost doubled your investment of $36,000.
It feels like your account gained more than it did the 8 years prior, even though the interest rate has continued to stay the same. Your first year, the interest was $330, and last year, your interest was $6,455. Your account balance was $35,578 in 2016, and it will be approximately $68,140 at the end of 2020. So your account did double under Trump, but it is not because his stock markets did better. It is because of compounding interest.
This is not an endorsement for any of the candidates because we have clowns on the left and jokers on the right! We need to do better for ourselves and realize our future is on us and not whose sitting in the Oval Office. Invest in yourself and fund your 401k. It may go down tomorrow, but when you need it in 30 years, it will be much higher.
There are so many issues that need to be fixed, and it doesn’t matter who the President is. They will not be able to fix them all. Figure out if you can live with the clown or the joker. What the stock market has done in the last 12 years should not be in the decision process.
Do you need help knowing where to start with your retirement planning?