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save up as much as you can and get ready for what will probably be a bumpy road ahead.<h1 id="d5cb">Home Prices Up Most in 7 Years</h1>In what has been a recurring news item during the pandemic, the housing market is on fire, but this January has seen it turn into an inferno.<blockquote id="d93c">The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 11.1% in January from a year earlier. That’s the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/financial-markets-home-prices-prices-coronavirus-pandemic-5f01185ee13a69234972f13179896a2f">biggest gain since March 2014</a>.</blockquote>Interest rates are low. Demand has skyrocketed. Supply has bottomed out.So what does this mean for the average person?If you are selling, then only sell if you’re downsizing. Otherwise, any money made from the sale will be eaten up by the equally large down payment and mortgage on your new house.If you are buying, then only buy if you are truly going to stay in the house for 5 years or more.I know, I know, this kind of advice is normally reserved for the personal finance articles that warn against buying a house too early, but those articles are written in normal times. And we are in a time that is anything but normal.<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/coronavirus/">Panic is bad</a>. Overreaction is good.Saying, “Screw it,” and moving forward with your dream house, using your entire savings to meet a minimum 3% down, is panicking. It’s trying to get into the best home you can out of fear that there will never be any homes to buy, ever again.Not the case, as we say after the housing bust.However, saving much more than the bare minimum, or buying a much smaller house, or just putting up with your current situation aren’t bad choices. They’re overreactions, sure, but they won’t end in catastrophe.It may take a few years, and those few years may suck, but patience is a virtue when it comes to buying a house.<h1 id="cd3f">Suez Canal is Open</h1>The Ever Given has f<a href="https://apnews.com/article/egypt-middle-east-coronavirus-pandemic-shipping-suez-canal-494901d4bf6f06c88e30d56d7f5a86d8">inally been free</a>, and ships can start crossing the Canal aga

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in.You’ve probably seen the news about “the ship that got stuck”, and it seemed kind of ironic at one point. A giant ship with 21st century technology getting stuck sideways in a mistake out of the 19th century.But aside from the headlines, there is a real impact on consumers. $9.7 billion in consumer goods traverse the Suez Canal every day, or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boat-stuck-suez-canal-costing-estimated-400-million-per-hour-2021-3">$ 400 million every hour.</a> With 3 1/2 days of delay, those costs are certainly going to be passed onto customers.Why is this important?Because it belies the notion that <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cpi/">inflation </a>is “too low” and the extra money from stimulus and impact of global problems like the Ever Given don’t impact the little guy.It may take 6 or 12 or 24 months, but inflation is coming.What can you do?The best way to fight inflation is to increase your income faster then the cost of living. That means investing in productive assets, either yourself (through job promotions or side hustles), hard assets (rental properties, if that’s your thing), or other financial instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.).You can’t fight inflation by decreasing spending.Cutting your expenses is like cutting from the bone. Sooner or later, the meat will be gone.<h1 id="3be0">Most Recent Stories</h1><ul><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/jobs-jobs-everywhere-and-not-a-soul-to-work-313e7d35a323">Jobs, Jobs Everywhere, and Not a Soul to Work</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/covid-19-cases-up-home-prices-up-again-suez-is-open-d2664af0dee3">COVID Cases Up; Home Prices Up (Again); Suez is Open</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/the-unemployed-arent-lazy-landlords-make-bank-bd00d16c7714">The Unemployed Aren’t Lazy; Landlords Make Bank</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/covid-destroyed-womens-finances-just-in-time-takes-way-too-long-5b5553d3771d">COVID Destroyed Women’s Finances; Just-in-Time Takes Way Too Long</a></li></ul>This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information may be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.</article></body>

COVID-19 Cases Up; Home Prices Up (Again); Suez is Open

Stories for Tuesday, March 30

The ship that went sideways. (Image credit: Fox Business)

CDC Warns that COVID-19 Cases Are Rising

Over the weekend, and again on Monday, the CDC and President Biden warned that relaxed precautionary measures taking effect across the US has caused the uptick in COVID-19 cases this month.

The other reason for the increase is that the US is in a breakneck race to battle not only the original coronavirus, but the variants that have spread across the rest of the world.

While there is some experiential data that the current vaccines protect against some of the “variants of concern”, empirical evidence is hard to come by this early in the game.

Why the concern? Just take a look at Brazil.

While Bolsonaro never took the pandemic seriously, the variants have wreaked absolute havoc in his country, with an expected death toll of 60,000 in March alone.

Can you imagine if that were to happen in the United States?

It would mean shutdowns (again), job losses (again), and an increase in the wealth gap (again). There would also most likely be a(nother) stimulus package to help dig the economy out of the whole it’s in (again).

So save up as much as you can and get ready for what will probably be a bumpy road ahead.

Home Prices Up Most in 7 Years

In what has been a recurring news item during the pandemic, the housing market is on fire, but this January has seen it turn into an inferno.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 11.1% in January from a year earlier. That’s the biggest gain since March 2014.

Interest rates are low. Demand has skyrocketed. Supply has bottomed out.

So what does this mean for the average person?

If you are selling, then only sell if you’re downsizing. Otherwise, any money made from the sale will be eaten up by the equally large down payment and mortgage on your new house.

If you are buying, then only buy if you are truly going to stay in the house for 5 years or more.

I know, I know, this kind of advice is normally reserved for the personal finance articles that warn against buying a house too early, but those articles are written in normal times. And we are in a time that is anything but normal.

Panic is bad. Overreaction is good.

Saying, “Screw it,” and moving forward with your dream house, using your entire savings to meet a minimum 3% down, is panicking. It’s trying to get into the best home you can out of fear that there will never be any homes to buy, ever again.

Not the case, as we say after the housing bust.

However, saving much more than the bare minimum, or buying a much smaller house, or just putting up with your current situation aren’t bad choices. They’re overreactions, sure, but they won’t end in catastrophe.

It may take a few years, and those few years may suck, but patience is a virtue when it comes to buying a house.

Suez Canal is Open

The Ever Given has finally been free, and ships can start crossing the Canal again.

You’ve probably seen the news about “the ship that got stuck”, and it seemed kind of ironic at one point. A giant ship with 21st century technology getting stuck sideways in a mistake out of the 19th century.

But aside from the headlines, there is a real impact on consumers. $9.7 billion in consumer goods traverse the Suez Canal every day, or $400 million every hour. With 3 1/2 days of delay, those costs are certainly going to be passed onto customers.

Why is this important?

Because it belies the notion that inflation is “too low” and the extra money from stimulus and impact of global problems like the Ever Given don’t impact the little guy.

It may take 6 or 12 or 24 months, but inflation is coming.

What can you do?

The best way to fight inflation is to increase your income faster then the cost of living. That means investing in productive assets, either yourself (through job promotions or side hustles), hard assets (rental properties, if that’s your thing), or other financial instruments (stocks, bonds, etc.).

You can’t fight inflation by decreasing spending.

Cutting your expenses is like cutting from the bone. Sooner or later, the meat will be gone.

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This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information may be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.