Money / Financial Planning
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Around two years ago, COVID-19 was just starting its journey around the globe. All these months later, the virus has killed over 830,000 Americans, and close to 5.5 million globally. Now, if you’re wondering why a personal finance story is kicking off with such a depressing news flash, it’s because this seemingly unending pandemic, like it or not, is what our world revolves around — and that includes the economy at large and, on a more micro level, how we individually approach money matters.
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The pandemic has rapidly and radically changed the way we spend and save. In 2020, we saw the skyrocketing of online shopping — a trend that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Later that year and into 2021, interest rates plummeted and the demand for housing soared, causing home prices to spike to unfathomable heights. And then came the not-so-steady rise of inflation, which has caused the price of everything from groceries to electricity to surge.
So what’s in store for our financial lives in 2022? It looks like many of the same trends we saw in 2020 and 2021 will continue, but more intensely. We can also expect consumers to get smarter and more adventurous with their money, after such a prolonged period of chaos and uncertainty.
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More Investing in General — Particularly for Beginners
“We have seen an increase in beginner investors over the pandemic, which will increase throughout 2022,” said Julien Brault, CEO of Hardbacon. “People want their savings to begin working for them, especially with all the uncertainties the pandemic has brought. So they will start investing more money into stocks this year, especially ETFs and relatively safe low-growth stocks.”
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Continued Investing in Crypto
“More and more will continue to invest in crypto. Cryptocurrency is a great way to diversify any portfolio, because crypto is one of the least correlated assets to stocks and bonds, and this is what makes it a great hedge against different asset classes,” said Andrew Lokenauth, CEO of Fluent in Finance. “Crypto is also an exciting way to think about money, and has the ability to change how we do many things in the future. Crypto can be sent anywhere in the world, at a low cost.”
More Momentum Around NFTs
“More [people] will invest in NFTs,” Lokenauth said. “When you purchase …….
