Are you on track?

Hello everyone- welcome to the October 2023 edition of the boodle blog! If you’re new here, we are pleased that you are curious about financial literacy. If you are returning, we are glad to have you back! Here at boodle, we believe that the person best able to manage and grow your money is you, and one of the best ways to grow your money is to grow your (financial) knowledge.
With 3 months left to go in the year, we thought that it might be a good idea to give you our opinion on how you can keep your focus, and make sure you are “on track” with your portfolio to finish up 2023 in good shape. If you currently don’t have a portfolio, you can give us a call (815-793-6059) to get started. If you have set up your portfolio, then use these 6 points as a guidepost to make sure your financial train is moving in the direction that you want to go in. So, here are the things that you should focus on with your own financial portfolio-

·        Make sure that your portfolio is tracking (or beating) the performance of the Stock Market. You can check this by going to MarketWatch or CNBC, or Yahoo Finance and checking the return of the S&P 500 index.

·        If you own any individual stocks, check to see how their performance stacks up the index. Is it beating the index? In our opinion, we would like individual stocks within our portfolios to beat that benchmark. Also, if you own an individual technology stock, you should compare that stock to the performance of the NASDAQ. You should always compare “Apples to Apples” within your portfolio.

·        Are you keeping an eye on portfolio cost? Did it cost you money to buy a stock? Are you paying a sales charge (Load)on your mutual funds? You shouldn’t be. Calculate the cost of your mutual funds by looking at the expense ratios 12b 1 fee, and any other charges. Boodle is a proponent of low fees, because we believe that low fees can help you achieve high returns.

·        Have you read a financial book, or financial magazine this year? If not, boodle suggests you visit your local library and check out these materials to sharpen your financial knowledge.

·        Watch a financial show on TV or online and listen to what is being said about the economy, interest rates, housing, employment, and other metrics. All of these economic indicators have an effect on stocks and mutual funds. Take a few minutes and sharpen your knowledge.

·        Have you set up a “DCA”- Dollar Cost Averaging” component in your portfolio? If not, contact boodle and we will explain this concept in more detail. Visit our website www.goboodle.com and go to the “Contact Us” page, or phone us at 815-793-6059.

Follow these 6 recommendations within your own portfolio and you will gain a sense of confidence and a feeling of control that until now, you may not have had.