When I was a senior in college I took a personal finance course taught by a financial advisor. Without a doubt, that class had more of an impact on my life than any other class I ever took. I remember him saying that if you prioritize saving and investing $500 a month you would be a multimillionaire. He then showed us the difference it would make if you waited to begin.

The amount was remarkable - I was sold. That class changed my life, and I believe that consistently saving and investing can change yours too.

To calculate how much you will have in the future based on your monthly investment plan, here’s a free compound interest calculator from Investor.gov.

Weekly Stock Market Update

After five positive weeks in a row, the S&P 500 broke its winning streak last week with a minor decline of -0.42%. The chart above is one I will be sharing every week. The black line is the S&P 500 Index. The red and blue lines are called simple moving averages (SMAs), which I use to identify mid-term and long-term trends.

As of Friday’s close, the S&P 500 remains above both moving averages, however, it’s worth noting that when it gets too far above these moving averages, it might be a sign that the waves are topping out in the short term. We don’t know if or when that will happen, and it’s nearly impossible to predict, but leveraging the charts can help us prepare.

Thank you for reading and have a great week ahead!

Brian Bond, CMT