4 Reasons 2023 is Going to Be a Financial Roller Coaster — and What to Do About It
1. The Sting of Inflation
Prices in 2021 rose at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years, and inflation looks like it’s going to be Americans’ biggest economic challenge in 2023. Consumer demand, supply chain problems and the spread of the Omicron variant threaten to keep prices rising sharply this year.
A lot of us are feeling the effects at the grocery store, but there are things you can do to save money there. A free app called Fetch Rewards will reward you with gift cards just for buying toilet paper and more than 250 other items at the grocery store.
Here’s how it works: After you’ve downloaded the app, just take a picture of your receipt showing you purchased an item from one of the brands listed in Fetch. For your efforts, you’ll earn gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart.
You can download the free Fetch Rewards app here to start getting free gift cards.
Over a million people already have, so they must be onto something.
2. Rising Rent and Housing Costs
The rent is too high! Rents jumped up by 10, 20 or even 30% in some cities, while the cost of houses just keeps on rising.
Are you thinking about buying? Then there’s something you need to start thinking about right now: Your credit score. We know that sounds boring, but it’s actually super important, if you’re going to be signing up for a mortgage sometime in the future.
The higher your score is, the better deal you’ll likely get on your loan. So a good credit score can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
If you’re looking to get your credit score back on track — or if you just want to bump it up some more — check out what actually matters with your credit score.
this is totally safe.”
3. The Unpredictable Stock Market
What will the stock market do in 2023? Who knows? If we knew this kind of thing for certain, we’d already be rich.
The stock market did well in 2022 despite COVID-19 still hanging around. For instance, the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq all posted double-digit returns. Basically, all that jargon means investors made a lot of money.
We don’t know what 2023 will bring, but we do know that analysts don’t expect the stock market to crash. Which means that if you haven’t started investing yet, you should consider starting.
Whether you’ve got $5, $100 or $800 to spare, you can start investing with Robinhood. Both investing beginners and pros love it because it doesn’t charge commission fees, and you can buy and sell stocks for free — no limits. Plus, it’s super easy to use.
What’s best? When you download the app and fund your account (it takes no more than a few minutes), Robinhood drops a share of free stock into your account. It’s random, though, so that stock could be worth anywhere from $5 to $200 — a nice boost to help you build your investments.
4. Higher Car Insurance Premiums
Car insurance rates are expected to go up in 2023, according to a number of industry sources who have been quoted in the media.
Why? It’s because the overall cost of doing business is increasing for practically every company in the U.S., and that includes insurance companies. They’ll be passing on that cost to customers like you in the form of higher premiums.
You should be checking your rates every six months to make sure you’re not subjected to the higher monthly payments. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
